Preface and Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
I. Design for the Real World: But Which "World"? What "Design"?
What "Real"?
1. Out of the Studio and into the Flow of Socionatural Life
25
2. Elements for a Cultural Studies of Design 49
II. The Ontological Reorientation of Design
3. In the Background of Our Culture: Rationalism, Ontological
Dualism, and Relationality 79
4. An Outline of Ontological Design 105
III. Designs for the Pluriverse
5. Design for Transitions 137
6. Autonomous Design and the Politics of Relationality and the
Communal 165
Conclusion 202
Notes 229
References 259
Index 281
Arturo Escobar is Kenan Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
"Escobar’s literature review and theoretical discussion stand out.
Some of the ground he covers includes critical design studies,
ethnographic approaches to design, participatory design, and
decolonized design. Anthropology has a lot to offer design, Escobar
argues, because we study the interplay of materiality, meaning, and
practice. . . . Escobar’s discussion is built on a foundation of
work emanating from a panopoly of Latin American scholars, all of
whom appear to be fascinating in their own rights. . . . Through
Escobar I felt like I was glimpsing the depth and breadth of that
body of literature for the first time."
*Anthrodendum*
"Designs for the Pluriverse is a heavy-hitting theoretical
framework with potential to inform the practice of the design
scholar or professional in any field, from planning or architecture
to product design, engineering, and beyond. The work makes sense of
generations of decolonial scholarship, pushing the reader towards
understanding their design work as more relational,
long-term-oriented, and transformative than previously
assumed."
*Carolina Planning Journal*
“I can emphatically state that Designs for the Pluriverse is a
superb and welcome addition both to the expanding literature on
design in anthropology, and to design theory more broadly. . .
. Indeed, there are so many ways to read this book that
almost anyone who picks it up will find something to think
with.”
*Anthropological Quarterly*
“Designs for the Pluriverse is an excellent text for design studies
scholars who are interested in exploring methodologies and theories
of collective existence and creation, intertwining a series of case
studies that support autonomous design with the theories to
challenge modernist anthropocentrism. Together, they provide a
strong foundation for readers to continue pursuing how to
decolonize the world by redesigning the human being and designing
the pluriverse, a world in which many worlds fit.”
*Design and Culture*
“Escobar’s book brings together a wealth of relevant perspectives,
initiatives, and references and is essential reading for all those
interested in design and its potential for transition movements and
the struggle of marginalized communities.”
*Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute*
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