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Monday, 12 June 2006 | Levent OZLER
EAD2007: The 7th International Conference of the European Academy of Design
Call for Papers
Dancing with Disorder: Design, Discourse & Disaster
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey, will host the 7th conference of the EAD between 11-13 April 2007 under the general headline: Dancing with Disorder: Design, Discourse & Disaster.
Introduction
"Tough guys don't dance." (Norman Mailer)
Three thematic components of this design conference - disaster, discourse and disorder - indicate three interrelated but relatively autonomous fields that highlight various aspects related to contemporary issues in design. Design discourse involves the current language of design, i.e., the terms with which we conceptualize and talk about design. Design management, design research and current issues in design are some of the specific topics that can be addressed within this framework. This area of the conference includes presentations that seek to go beyond the over-asked question of "what is design?" and advocate a re-appraisal of accepted design conventions.
Definitions of design include such terms as plan, purpose, intention and function, besides others such as artistry and creativity that take central importance in definitions of art. Plan, purpose, intention and function are concepts related to predictability and hence systematic thinking. Systematic thinking in turn is related to order. Design brings order to the relationship between us, and the objects that we use, see, and perceive. Order, on the other hand, suggests a straightening out so as to eliminate confusion. The function of design then, is to eliminate disorder, i.e., confusion, chaos, unpredictability.
All of this is based on a binary thinking which privileges purpose over idleness, function over dysfunction and order over disorder. Order is a desirable attribute the failure of which ends up in disaster. But how are order and disorder defined at first place; by whom; on what basis; and in whose interests? What is the price that is paid in order to establish order and who pays for it? Is order a historical concept having acquired different meanings in different contexts? If so, what is the order of today's world, bodies, objects? Is it one or many or have we lost our sense of existence based on plan, predictability and order? What is the meaning and role of design in relationship to changing notions of order?
Disaster is related to order as one may define disaster as the breaking down or order. Presentations that are included in this theme will address specific contexts when notions of order, control, social hierarchy and unity are rendered irrelevant. Like order, the identification of disaster too may be dependent on context. What counts as disaster for a particular culture, group or society may be regarded as victory for another. Also, disaster may be seen as a precondition for the birth of novelty, especially in the field of design. Hence the questions range from "what counts as disaster in design?" to "what is the place of design in a world of natural disasters, war, crime, cruelty and deprivation?"
The relationship between discourse, disaster, disorder and design calls for multi-disciplinary approaches and can be addressed from a variety of diverse theoretical perspectives such as science, metaphysics, phenomenology, post-structuralism, feminist and psychoanalytical theories, anthropology, evolutionary approaches, management, etc. Papers are invited to address contemporary or historical situations from clearly stated research experiences.
Topics of Interest
We invite participants to submit research papers, presentations, seminars, workshops and colloquia in the generalized area of "current topics in design" that seek to go beyond the over-asked question of "what is design?" and the relationship between design, disorder and disaster. The conference is structured around a number of topics that include but are not limited to:
* Disaster
* Discourse
* Disorder
The role/position of design will be particularly scrutinized from the point of view of:
"Disaster"
* Nature as a disastrous phenomenon
* Nature and its modifications
* Design against disaster
* Natural disasters: Earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tsunamis etc.
* Design Disasters
"Discourse"
* Design Research
* Design and everyday life
* Images and representation
* New materials and methods
* Design Management
* Emergency design
"Disorder"
* What can design do for physical and mental disorders: Dysfunctional bodies, schizophrenia, hysteria etc.
* How can design contribute to the end of social disorders: War, vandalism, crime, epidemics etc.
* How can design counteract virtual disorders: Viruses, hacking, fake identities etc.
* How can design prevent societal collapse?
Structure of the Conference
The conference will take place over three days, much of which will be given over to structured/chaired sessions. There will be 3 keynote presentations and other paper presentations of 20 minutes each. It is also proposed to have workshops and tabled papers for distribution at the conference and posting on the conference site.
It is intended to post all abstracts on the conference website and publish an edited selection of the papers in a peer-reviewed journal.
Important Dates
Deadline for abstracts: 28 August 2006
Notification of acceptance: 31 August 2006
Deadline for final papers: 5 January 2007
Submission and Relevant Information
We invite submission of proposals from all of those interested in design research, whether academic, student, or practitioner. Proposed papers should be based on original research, primarily analytical and interpretative rather the descriptive in nature, and cannot have been previously published, nor presented in public except to a small, local audience.
Further information is available at conference website http://fadf.ieu.edu.tr/ead07
For further information about submissions, please contact conference Co-ordinators.
Contacts
Conference Co-ordinator:
Tevfik Balcioglu
Faculty of Fine Arts and Design
Izmir University of Economics
Balcova, Izmir, TURKEY
Tel: + 90 232 488 8215
Fax: + 90 232 279 2626
tevfik.balcioglu  ieu.edu.tr
Ozlem Caglar Tombus
Department of Architecture
Faculty of Fine Arts and Design
Izmir University of Economics
Balcova, Izmir, TURKEY
Tel: + 90 232 4888394
Fax: + 90 232 2792626
ozlem.tombus ieu.edu.tr
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