Qualitative Research on Architecture & Design Education, A Public Lecture by Dr. Arlene Oak

Thinking While Drawing: A Lesson in Being an Architect
Thinking While Drawing: A Lesson in Being an Architect

Dr. Oak researches how spoken language in natural settings shapes the creation and reception of architecture, design, and fine art. Her focus on the relationships between objects, language, and perceptions of personal and social identity is informed by her background in studio-based design practice, design history, and social psychology.

Lecture Description:
University-level education in architecture and design is explicitly about making objects, but it is also implicitly about learning how professional practitioners behave: while clearly-communicated information about design shapes the participants and the items they create, so also do the tacit rules of social conduct. This presentation considers how university-level design education can be an effective site for exploring the innovative outcomes of creative practice, such as buildings and products, but also as a site where powerful social norms and taken-for-granted interactional practices may be revealed.

This public lecture is co-hosted by the Department of Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design and the School of Art, Art History & Design, with support from the Research Council Visiting Scholar Program.