Course Description Reengineering current technologies to solve new or different problems is a design process that humans have adapted for centuries. This course explores socially-driven alternative uses of existing technologies, and carves out the space for engaging discussions about the future of responsible engineering and critical design. “We cannot solve the problems we have today by thinking in the same way that we did when we created them.” -Albert Einstein What will Students do? Students of all creative backgrounds and skill sets, both technical and non-technical, are invited to apply to this course. Students will learn how to use their creativity to design a second life for existing products and systems, one that questions the motives behind technologies, transforming them into socially and environmentally impactful designs that promote positive change. Final projects for this course could include the following: Reengineering traditionally hostile military technologies as anti-war products that diffuse, rather than facilitate conflict; redesigning tools that distribute chemical pesticides as tools that enrich or purify crops; reimagining chastity belts that impose external restrictions on women’s bodies as self-operated devices designed to keep women safe. What other tools, technologies and methods can be re-designed with positive alternative solutions in mind? Final products will be accessible to all, existing in the public sphere as social artifacts designed to prompt reactions and encourage discussion rather than sit behind closed doors in galleries. Structure Over the course of 7 weeks, students will meet once per week to explore how existing designs can be repurposed into socially and environmentally responsible products. Students will be introduced to the work of artists, designers and engineers who have reengineered products in innovative ways. The class will also feature guests who will speak about their relevant projects and provide critiques, advising students on their research direction. The second part of this course will allow students to apply their research as they redesign tools and systems for alternative uses. Through an iterative process, students will prototype, test and eventually produce their own unique designs. The overall structure will be organized in the following manner: Week 1-2 // Research and Learning Students will be asked to conduct first hand ethnographic research with people that are relevant to their chosen topic. Week 3-4 // Prototyping Students will designs iterative prototypes based on the findings from their research. Week 5-6 // Field Testing and Revision Students will test their prototypes in the ‘real’ world with ‘real’ people, modifying their designs accordingly. Week 7 // Presentations Students will present their projects by explaining their process, demonstrating their prototypes as well as describing how they see their projects evolving. Learning Outcome By the end of this course, students will have learned how to think differently about products, and to see them as opportunities to redesign technologies in order to create better solutions and promote positive social and environmental changes. Fr 3:20pm – 5:50pm (09/07 – 10/19)

ITPG-GT.2027.1 () | Instructor: Vanessa Harden | Fri 3:20pm to 5:50pm | Meeting Pattern: 7-First Half | Start Date