Critical Theory and Interaction Design (Mit Press) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 026203798X ISBN 13: 9780262037983

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2018

Synopsis

Classic texts by thinkers from Althusser to Žižek alongside essays by leaders in interaction design and HCI show the relevance of critical theory to interaction design.

Why should interaction designers read critical theory? Critical theory is proving unexpectedly relevant to media and technology studies. The editors of this volume argue that reading critical theory―understood in the broadest sense, including but not limited to the Frankfurt School―can help designers do what they want to do; can teach wisdom itself; can provoke; and can introduce new ways of seeing. They illustrate their argument by presenting classic texts by thinkers in critical theory from Althusser to Žižek alongside essays in which leaders in interaction design and HCI describe the influence of the text on their work. For example, one contributor considers the relevance Umberto Eco's “Openness, Information, Communication” to digital content; another reads Walter Benjamin's “The Author as Producer” in terms of interface designers; and another reflects on the implications of Judith Butler's Gender Trouble for interaction design. The editors offer a substantive introduction that traces the various strands of critical theory.

Taken together, the essays show how critical theory and interaction design can inform each other, and how interaction design, drawing on critical theory, might contribute to our deepest needs for connection, competency, self-esteem, and wellbeing.

Contributors
Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell, Olav W. Bertelsen, Alan F. Blackwell, Mark Blythe, Kirsten Boehner, John Bowers, Gilbert Cockton, Carl DiSalvo, Paul Dourish, Melanie Feinberg, Beki Grinter, Hrönn Brynjarsdóttir Holmer, Jofish Kaye, Ann Light, John McCarthy, Søren Bro Pold, Phoebe Sengers, Erik Stolterman, Kaiton Williams., Peter Wright

Classic texts
Louis Althusser, Aristotle, Roland Barthes, Seyla Benhabib, Walter Benjamin, Judith Butler, Arthur Danto, Terry Eagleton, Umberto Eco, Michel Foucault, Wolfgang Iser, Alan Kaprow, Søren Kierkegaard, Bruno Latour, Herbert Marcuse, Edward Said, James C. Scott, Slavoj Žižek

About this title

About the Author

Jeffrey Bardzell is Professor of Informatics in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington.

Shaowen Bardzell is Professor of Human-Computer Interaction Design in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington.

. Mark Blythe is Professor of Interdisciplinary Design at Northumbria University.

Jeffrey Bardzell is Professor of Informatics in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington.

Shaowen Bardzell is Professor of Human-Computer Interaction Design in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington.

Review

“This comprehensive book is an eye-opener for the realm of critical theory, drawing inspiration from Aristotle to Žižek. Established HCI commentators do a wonderful job elucidating the writings of these seminal critical theorists, dovetailing them with their own perspectives on their value and relevance for interaction design. An illuminating and provocative interpretation of critical design for those interested in an alternative take on technology."

―Yvonne Rogers, Professor of Interaction Design at University College London

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 026203798X
• ISBN 13: 9780262037983
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 840
• Editor: Bardzell Jeffrey, Bardzell Shaowen, Blythe Mark