This paper explores the intersection of Human-Comput- er Integration (HInt) and Critical Disability Studies (CDS) to explore how a posthumanistic epistemology in design can produce knowledge and know-how for the application do- mains of Health and Well-being. To use disability as a catalyst for innovation, a rethinking in the philosophy of sciences is necessary to establish knowledge production that emerges from new fluid politics that operate in ‘composition’ instead of ‘organization’. By placing an emphasis on nomadic practic- es that move beyond fixed borders, the encounters between Disability Studies or Human-Computer Integration can pro- duce situated, embodied and contingent design knowledge that study deviant and complex embodiment, and the kinds of alterations of human characteristics and abilities through technology. The first section of this paper explores the re- thinking in the philosophy of sciences. The second section ar- gues for a posthumanistic epistemology in design, which can be seen as the perfect way to produce situated, embodied and contingent design knowledge on the intersection of HInt and CDS. The final section of this paper highlights the poten- tial for the disciplines of Somatechnics and Soma Design to engage in each other’s body of knowledge to produce trans- formative knowledge through a shared focus on deviant em- bodiment and disability. The takeaway message of this paper is that the intersection of HInt and CDS potentially leads to new – otherwise overlooked - insights on the human-technol- ogy relationship, and therefore can take part in the historical strive for man-machine symbiosis. The posthumanist episte- mology allows for alternative ways of thinking that move be- yond the current Humanist perspective, and builds on a plu- ral, relational and expansive foundation for the development of design practices that catalyze innovation in the application domains of Health and Well-being.
This paper explores the intersection of Human-Comput- er Integration (HInt) and Critical Disability Studies (CDS) to explore how a posthumanistic epistemology in design can produce knowledge and know-how for the application do- mains of Health and Well-being. To use disability as a catalyst for innovation, a rethinking in the philosophy of sciences is necessary to establish knowledge production that emerges from new fluid politics that operate in ‘composition’ instead of ‘organization’. By placing an emphasis on nomadic practic- es that move beyond fixed borders, the encounters between Disability Studies or Human-Computer Integration can pro- duce situated, embodied and contingent design knowledge that study deviant and complex embodiment, and the kinds of alterations of human characteristics and abilities through technology. The first section of this paper explores the re- thinking in the philosophy of sciences. The second section ar- gues for a posthumanistic epistemology in design, which can be seen as the perfect way to produce situated, embodied and contingent design knowledge on the intersection of HInt and CDS. The final section of this paper highlights the poten- tial for the disciplines of Somatechnics and Soma Design to engage in each other’s body of knowledge to produce trans- formative knowledge through a shared focus on deviant em- bodiment and disability. The takeaway message of this paper is that the intersection of HInt and CDS potentially leads to new – otherwise overlooked - insights on the human-technol- ogy relationship, and therefore can take part in the historical strive for man-machine symbiosis. The posthumanist episte- mology allows for alternative ways of thinking that move be- yond the current Humanist perspective, and builds on a plu- ral, relational and expansive foundation for the development of design practices that catalyze innovation in the application domains of Health and Well-being.
In recent years, the importance of sustaining social innovation initiatives, onceinitiated, has gained increasing attention and, in particular, the role that design(ers) can play in this process. However, both the academic study and the practice of design and social innovation are currently lacking sufficient insight into how initiatives are sustained outside of experimental or academic settings and rarely move beyond the involvement of designers and/or researchers. The paper shares experiences from practitioners from Asia-Pacific that are operating in the real world, highlighting their precarious working conditions. The significance of building and maintaining healthy social relations in essential in this context, as these enable the weaving of a strong social fabric around the initiatives that will provide necessarily shelter and to endure long after the practitioners’ involvement. Therefore, facilitating the creation of meaningful social relations should be the key objective for design, instead of designing artefacts.
