The Body as ‘Site’: Design Approaches to Cultures of Care
摘要
This research demonstrates and encourages a transdisciplinary approach to the problems associated with the areas of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood, through the lens of Design Practice, and Design education. The chapter illustrates specific Design approaches that relate to the body, and to systems of knowledge that address these. Through a showcasing of professional and student projects, it reveals the ways Design Thinking addresses issues of health, and social systems in service of the body—specifically, the reproductive body. The diversity of approaches to this landscape makes a case for Design to interpret and assist the work of healthcare professionals—by offering complementary approaches and methods to dealing with the recurring, age-old problems associated with narratives of the body. The text references studios taught at the Emily Carr University for Art + Design between the years of 2020 and 2024. The chapter illustrates the approaches through different projects that in turn highlight the value of, and need for, a more holistic approach to the reproductive condition.