Register for the “Myth” of Global Design History planned by Design Justice Portland

Join us for a facilitated course viewing with BIPOC Design History that challenges dominant design narratives.

Criticized for its lack of diversity, the design history canon has sought to redeem itself by integrating a ‘global’ notion to make up for excluding the histories of nations in the Global South. But what constitutes a global design history and why are certain people representative of an entire region?

We’ll be critically examining ‘global’ design as a myth with Randa Hadi in a facilitated viewing of the course The “Myth” of Global Design History taught by Danah Abdulla, a Palestinian designer, educator, and researcher currently based in London, UK.

The conversations that took place during the live streaming of this class was in the summer of 2023, during the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the illegal settler state of Israel.

As we gather to discuss, untangle, and unlearn the design histories that have been passed down to us by institutions, we’re also fostering a safe space for difficult dialogues and conversations to take place.

As Palestine continues to face genocide, how can we highlight, uplift, and share their narratives to ensure that these histories don’t get violently erased and forgotten?

This class is from the BIPOC Design History course series Design Histories in the Southwest Asia & North Africa: Voices from the SWANA Diaspora 12th – 21st Century.