Design and the Environmental Humanities

To date sustainable design has arguably left little space for questioning the premise that solutions to complex environmental challenges will arise from focusing primarily on the human (Galloway, 2012; Mancini, 2011). While there has been an important focus on the use of sustainable materials and sustainable modes of production (Fuad-Luke, 2013, 2006; Braungart and McDonough, 2009) deeper questions around the relationship between humans and the environments they are interdependent with have not been adequately addressed (Fry, 2013; Thackara, 2006;). For the emerging field of Environmental Humanities (EH), such questions have been of central concern; however the field’s interest in the material world has not yet led to a sustained engagement with the practices of material culture and technology. As a result, this project will bring these two fields into conversation through a lecture series and a pilot project, building capacity at the University of Edinburgh (UoE) for leading discussions onf the role that design practice and enquiry might play within current multi- and interdisciplinary environmental research. In particular the project will work to strengthen links between Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and the Edinburgh Environmental Humanities Network (EEHN) which has members across UoE and beyond. In addition it will build new international links with Madeira’s Interactive Institute of Technology (M-ITI), as well as with researchers in the U.S., Australasia and Asia.