Course syllabus
Byrån för Glömda Saker, 2022
Installation for Lilla Änggården & Göteborg Stadsmuseum by Betty Wallingford
Photo credits: Milly Dray
The general theme of the course is children and society and contains components that highlight the role of the designer and the target group in society. Furthermore, the student is given the opportunity to be placed in activities aimed at children and understand the designer's role in these contexts. The course offers a specialisation to design as academic discipline and research subject. Through components of practical character, the student deepens their knowledge of the design process and their ability to artistic expression connected to the topic issue. The student explores the topic issue and builds an archive for implementation of an individually formulated design project and future degree project. The project should clearly demonstrate the student's ability to relate to the subject of design and child culture via theory and artistic practice in project form.
(From the course syllabus)
Welcome to the course Children and Society.
Children are embedded in society through adults (e.g. parents, relatives, friends of parents), organizations (e.g. youth movement, leisure, sport) and institutions (e.g. education, health care) in which they may or may not have a say and may or may not play an active role. While some adults believe that children should have a carefree childhood without duties and responsibilities in society, others argue that children – as leaders and decision-makers of the future – should be introduced as soon as possible to the functions of society, their role in it and how they can work to achieve what is expected of them. Another group believes that children – as current citizens – should already now participate in society in accordance with their maturity level. The latter group is growing, and work is currently being done to implement these ideas in practice. Design is a way to make this possible... it's our way.
The title Children & Society refers to the overall theme of the course to provide children with constructive agency in their interaction with society. The aim of this course is to explore a relevant topic in society related to children and seek ways on how design can empower children in such specific situations. The project is research-driven and is based on material exploration, interaction with your target audience and related actors in society, and critically examining the context through related literature and design practices. A Design Research strand is embedded in this course to support your research.
The course gives you the opportunity to identify, explore and test your individual approach as a Child Culture Designer in defining an entire topic and design project. It serves as preparation for your graduation project. The course results in the formulation of a project brief that will serve as the basis for your graduation project. By the end of the course, you should be able to develop a clear argumentation for your individual design goal and process.
All information and content for the course will be presented during the course introduction on August 28th.
The course starts on August 28th 2023 and ends on January 12th 2024. End of year/Christmas holiday: last day on site before the holidays is the 15th of December and the first date on site after the holidays is the 5th of January. You will continue to work on your own during that time.
See you soon,
Johnny, Lieselotte, Pontus, Lotta, Louise, Erika, Linda, Jonas, and Annelies
Course coordinators are Johnny, Lieselotte, and Annelies. If any urgent questions before the course starts, you can contact us.
Student Portal
The University's Student Portal gathers information and services for you as a student and you will find
information that is specific to students at HDK-Valand – Academy of Art and Design.
Register for your courses
Don´t forget to register for the course i Ladok services. Registration opens one week before the start of course. You must also be registered to be able access all course material published in Canvas.
If you have problems with the registration or questions about your studies please contact admission@hdk-valand.gu.se.
Schedule
Find your course schedule by searching on the course name or course code in TimeEdit.
Note that the course schedule is preliminary up to two weeks before the course starts.
Course Syllabus and Literature List
Find the course syllabus and literature list by searching on the course name or course code in the syllabus database via the Student Portal.
Study Counselling
If you need help with planning your studies or need study support during your studies, you are welcome to contact the Study Counsellours at HDK-Valand. Read more at My Studies.