DEA 2510

History of Design Futures

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This course addresses the history and theory of environmental design with an emphasis on the role of design in cultural and technological change.  Readings, lectures, discussion, and analytical exercises isolate key projects, methods, and ideas across time periods from classical to 20th Century, encouraging a speculative approach to historical material.

Permission Note Enrollment preference given to: DEA undergraduate majors.

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025FA, 2024FA, 2023FA, 2022FA

Outcomes

• Develop a foundational understanding of movements and periods in architecture, interior design, art, product design, furniture and landscape and object/space design, and relate them to their cultural, technological, social, and spatial contexts.
• Explore the use of research, writing, visual analysis, and multimedia in formulating and presenting a thesis or position.
• Cultivate a speculative approach to historical material, identify potential linkages between past and current design practice.
• Explore how historical precedents can serve as points of inspiration or resistance in contemporary design practice.
• Consider the impact of shifting modes of technology and systems of communication on cultural, social, physical, and intellectual experiences of spaces and objects, and trace their trajectories.

Distribution Category (HA-HE)

When Offered Fall.

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