Globalization, Interdisciplinary Trend, and Implementation: Design Higher Education in China
摘要
As interdisciplinary education is inevitable, how to implement it in different disciplines needs to be studied. This chapter reviews the development of design higher education in China and early interdisciplinary implementation under the impact of globalization. Through the analysis of theories of interdisciplinarity, the definition of interdisciplinary education is clarified that it needs the collaboration of at least two different disciplines. However, commonly many people would think that interdisciplinary design education is a kind of learning and teaching of the integration of art and design. On the other hand, some design education projects; even if they are interdisciplinary, people in the team still work in their own way and there is a lack of communication. The unclear perception of professional attributes by course leaders also leads to the slow development of Chinese interdisciplinary education in the field of design. Bias of technology-driven and no long-term goal are another two issues that lead to the failure for interdisciplinary design education in China. Thus, three successful cases in this context are discussed, and the experiences of implementation are then identified in this chapter (i.e., team with multiple disciplines, effective management, and unified pedagogical goal). Additionally, this chapter indicates the growth of artificial intelligence is having an impact on design. Increasing data designers are needed. On the other hand, most of the time educators in the universities have put more focus on the technology to meet the trend but ignoring the logic that shaped the technology and the purpose of design, which would lead to people becoming tools of technology rather than dominating and utilizing technology. How to better achieve the desired goals with the support of technology is the significance of interdisciplinarity.