Masculinities in Design: Objects, Identities and Practices

Design History and Theory

The objects, identities and practices of design are profoundly shaped by their relationship to cultures of masculinity, but there is a surprising scarcity of historical and theoretical analysis on the subject. Feminist scholarship has rightly prioritised focusing on the structural and social exclusion of women from the history and practice of design, illuminating places where their work has been under-valued or under-recognised. Historians and sociologists of work have established the potency of gender ideologies that drive professionalisation and industrialisation. However, the subject of masculine identities and their role in the making and unmaking of design culture has escaped serious critical attention.

This two day symposium in the department of Design History and Theory, University of Applied Arts Vienna, invites scholars working on objects, practices and identities of design in its widest sense, including fashion, craft, product, architecture and the built environment, alongside scholars of gender studies, cultural history, business history, organization studies, material culture and technology studies, in any time period and in a global context, to propose papers that respond to the following themes and questions:

• How can we theoretically and historically contextualise the relationship between different forms of masculinities and design culture more deeply? How has this relationship been formed over time, across social and geographical spaces and between design practices?
• What or who are the agents in shaping, performing and representing cultures of masculinities in design?
• How does the study of masculinities in design culture put different emphasis on gender binaries and boundaries, such as public / private; professional / amateur; industrial /domestic, design /making?
How can we move beyond these binaries?
• What is the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and masculinities in design?
• How do designed objects themselves illuminate, or efface, gendered narratives?
• How might a more nuanced history or theory of masculinities in design better inform the politics of gender and sexuality in design culture?

Proposals should be sent to masculinitiesindesign@gmail.com before the 14th January deadline and should not exceed 500 words, including references.

Selected papers from the symposium will contribute to a forthcoming Special Issue in the journal Design and Culture.

Keynote Speaker:

Dr Joseph McBrinn, University of Ulster, UK

Organising committee:

Leah Armstrong, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria Leah.Armstrong@uni-ak.ac.at
Luca Csepely-Knorr, Manchester Metropolitan University , UK L.Csepely-Knorr@mmu.ac.uk
Pınar Kaygan, University of Southern Denmark kay@iti.sdu.dk
Zoë Thomas, University of Birmingham, UK Z.Thomas@bham.ac.uk

Online event, 24-25 May 2022
CFP Deadline: 14th January 2022

Symposium

Downloads

More information

Courses Online (Base)