Abstract:

It is integral to student engagement and success to develop innovative design curriculum that immerses undergraduate and graduate students in global cultures as a medium for social inclusion. Through outreach, engaging diverse local communities as potential global collaborators is vital to future learning outcomes. Experiential curriculum facilitates open discussions related to complex matters associated with local and global systems.

Through experiential learning, curriculum can be developed to challenge students to investigate the role of “fast” and “slow” producers and their value within the global supply chain. Evidence from courses I developed, traveling to Arequipa, Peru (MFA), and Oaxaca, Mexico (BFA) shows that this curriculum allows students to consider the positive and negative effects of these systems, the product, the environment, and the human factor have life-long benefits on graduates. Daily onsite working activities can be introduced to allow students the chance to observe skills being practiced and possibly integrate these methods into their thesis collections or capstone projects. When students are immersed into new cultures, they have a unique chance to discover by asking questions related to current and future opportunities as well as challenges between designers and makers about equipment, resources, skills, technology, trade rules, natural and human resources, training, and communication.

Further evidence shows that when a class of 16-20 students travel with me as the faculty lead to diverse local and global communities, the curriculum provides them an opportunity to examine the complexities of “fast” vs. “slow” global production/making systems. Onsite visits allow local and global producers a chance to mentor young designers and collaborate during their onsite excursion in ways that cannot be achieved in a conventional classroom. This new curriculum encourages students to recognize the importance of sustaining local and global production as well as the commitment to honoring and respecting slow design methods within these systems. Students’ findings are documented to share stories during a student-led symposium about various communities and key differences within these settings.

Design and business curriculum must be developed to educate regarding ethics and sustainability allowing students to connect and learn firsthand about the entire supply chain - this includes visiting farms (agriculture), speaking with farmers (social and ethical), understanding commitment to animal well-being. Viewing the entire development process through to the consumer market enables students to obtain a global perspective about their design impact. This new way of learning provides an opportunity for students to engage the world, potentially make long-term connections, and examine the complexities of “fast” and “slow” production from a cultural, social, political, economic, and responsible design (sustainability) point of view. As a result, students consider the effects of various production and design systems, as well as the impact on the product, environment, and the human factor. Daily excursion activities allow students the chance to observe skills being practiced discovering new processes by asking questions linked to a range of opportunities. Students have a chance to assess challenges, and exchange ideas between designers and factories regarding equipment, technology, natural and human resources, training, and communication.

Keywords:

Experiential, sustainability, design, international, globalization, supply chain.