The Subconscious as Politics: An Inquiry of Collaborative Design Education through Radical Speculation
2022
#education #writing #publication design
Read it in full here.
2022
#education #writing #publication design
Read it in full here.
“The Subconscious as Politics: An Inquiry of Collaborative Design Education through Radical Speculation” is a thesis written and designed for the completion of the RISD TLAD MA Art + Design Education program.
I examine how dreaming, speculation, and alternative worlds become frameworks for political resistance in marginalized bodies. Furthermore, how are these frameworks visualized in design, especially a communal artistic and educational practice? I designed and conducted two virtual workshops (with participants from the US and internationally) to examine how a collaborative design space can cultivate space for dreaming and speculation.
I examine how dreaming, speculation, and alternative worlds become frameworks for political resistance in marginalized bodies. Furthermore, how are these frameworks visualized in design, especially a communal artistic and educational practice? I designed and conducted two virtual workshops (with participants from the US and internationally) to examine how a collaborative design space can cultivate space for dreaming and speculation.


“Dreaming is a key method in my research to seek out and materialize alternative worlds. It became the object of my interest in visualizing speculative futures in contrast to the present we currently live in. It became a reality in which I could rekindle trust with those who hurt me and I could engage in abolitionist praxis with my broken relationships. My fantastical dream worlds became a safe refuge for me to mobilize in my politics and rest through burnout, allowing me to extend my reality beyond the current oppression so I can dream towards a world of reflection and liberation. Through my previous and ongoing research, dreaming has become and continues to be an important practice in my politics and life.”





