Designing against oppression
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In 2019, Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy teachings became a target in Brazil as right-wing politics rose. In response, Brazilian academics founded the Design & Oppression network in 2020 to discuss how design can react to and combat oppression. The network hosted online discussions using Theater of the Oppressed techniques to examine oppression in design and development work. Currently, the network focuses on design by the oppressed for the oppressed, with the goal of fighting all forms of oppression.
Designing against oppression
- 1. Designing against oppression Frederick van Amstel @fredvanamstel Industrial Design Academic Department (UTFPR) Design & Oppression network, Brazil fredvanamstel.com
- 2. In 2019, public universities and the prominent educator Paulo Freire became two of the main targets of right-wing politics.
- 3. Paulo Freire was no longer alive, but his books on critical pedagogy were being widely read and discussed in public universities.
- 4. Oppressor Historically privileged social groups Oppressed Historically underprivileged social groups underestimation exclusion dehumanization reaction resistance conscientization Critical pedagogy became a target because it teaches how to react to oppression. aesthetic interactions
- 5. The academic community reacted but we could not organize street demonstrations after the 2020's pandemia.
- 6. Together with likeminded academics in several universities of Brazil, we founded the Design & Oppression network in 2020. Van Amstel, Frederick; Batista e Silva, Sâmia; Serpa, Bibiana Oliveira; Mazzarotto, Marco; Carvalho, Ricardo Artur; Gonzatto; Rodrigo Freese. (in press). Insurgent design coalitions: the history of the Design & Oppression network. Proceedings of the II PIVOT 2021 Virtual Conference. Design Research Society.
- 7. The first action of the network was to open up a weekly reading group in a Discord Server, which has now +500 members.
- 8. The network hosted a series of live streams that discussed the relevance of authors who theorized oppression to design.
- 9. While reading Augusto Boal, we adapted Theater of the Oppressed Games to Discord: whose hand is this one? (2021)
- 10. We experimented doing Image Theater with 3D body modeling in Magic Poser (2021).
- 11. We used an online whiteboard to examine the oppressors that live inside us in The Rainbow of Desire (2021).
- 12. We held online Theater-Forum sessions on platform work and design precarity with USP students (2020). Artificial Intelligence that distributes client demands through the digital work platform Precarious designer working for a digital platform Precarious designer who sees himself as an entrepreneur
- 13. In another Theater-Forum, we addressed methodological colonialism in design for development (2021). Local artisan who needs to develop a business but wonders what is and how design thinking can help with that Gringo Design Thinker who act as a consultant to development programs Brazilian designer who translates, applies, and eventually question what the gringo says
- 14. Thinking on people who do not speak Portuguese, we offered the Designs of the Oppressed international course (2021).
- 15. The best part of this course was perhaps the playlist we fed to the Discord music bot with the finest Brazilian protest songs.
- 16. What can design do for the oppressed? This is how it started This is how it is going What can the oppressed do with design?
- 17. The Design & Oppression network is currently interested in design by the oppressed for the oppressed with eventual allies, against all forms of oppression.
- 18. Thanks! Frederick van Amstel @fredvanamstel Industrial Design Academic Department (UTFPR) Design & Oppression network, Brazil fredvanamstel.com