Department of Visual Arts

Permanent URI for this community

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/647

Browse

Browsing Department of Visual Arts by Author "Botes, Herman"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exploring critical citizenship and decolonisation as a framework for design education in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Botes, Herman; Costandius, Elmarie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In 2020 the globe is in turmoil. When this study commenced in 2018 the call to action for the citizen designer was premised on the #Feesmustfall campaign and the #Rhodesmustfall student protests, the July 2021 social unrest in South Africa that resulted in unprecedented violence and looting, rampant corruption in public and private sectors in South Africa and growing nationalism seen from BREXIT and the Trump administration in the USA. The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic brought even more attention to the role of the citizenry and how citizens can be capacitated to navigate uncertain and difficult times. Within the field of design, the concept of citizen designer is established. It was considered that the notion of educating a ‘citizen designer’ could be further developed in the South African design education context. The study therefore focused on how critical citizenship and decolonisation perspectives can contribute to a design pedagogy framework for citizen designer education in the context of South African universities of technology. Theoretical perspectives from critical citizenship and decolonisation provided the theoretical base for the study. A qualitative research approach was taken that involved case study research methodology. The data in the study was collected from a survey of and interviews with South African design educators as well as interviews with South African design students. From the data, South African citizen designer can be decribed as designers that have a deep understanding of self, ethics and critical thinking; they operate in transdisciplinary settings with a focus on the tangible betterment of sustainable quality of all life through a caring conscience. The study determined that the themes in critical citizenship and decolonisation perspectives that can contribute to design pedagogy for educating a South African citizen designer can be broadly categorised into concepts related to context, African focus, personal development and curriculum development. The category of context determines the relevance and approach to be taken when engaging with the African focus, personal development, and curriculum development categories. The study concludes with a list of suggested themes in these categories that could be considered for implementation by design educators in their specific field working towards the development of a South African citizen designer.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exploring critical citizenship and globalization discourse to conscientize industry expectations of design education at Universities of Technology
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-03) Botes, Herman; Costandius, Elmarie; Perold, K.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Design educators are expected to demonstrate a high level of confidence in the industry for which they are preparing students. When I reflected upon my own design industry and higher education experience while engaging with critical citizenship and globalization discourse, my confidence in and perceived authority of the design industry became challenged. I came to the realization that it could be useful to view the demands from the neoliberal design industry on design education through the lenses of critical citizenship and globalization. The insights gained from such an investigation could assist design educators involved in developing new design programmes to conscientize the expectations set by the design industry. It is argued that the conscientizing of expectations set by the design industry could be achieved by focusing on conscientizing design graduates that may in turn influence the design industry at large. The main aim of the study is to create a conceptual framework that supports theoretical concepts that could conscientize industry expectations of design education. The main research question thus questioned how critical citizenship and globalization discourse could be used to conscientize industry expectations of design education at Universities of Technology (UoTs). The objectives of the study are twofold: to identify, firstly, current industry expectations of design graduates from a University of Technology in South Africa and, secondly, to identify theoretical concepts in critical citizenship and globalization discourse that could be used to conscientize industry expectations of design education at UoTs in South Africa. Theoretical concepts in critical citizenship and globalization discourse were identified through a literature review; the identified concepts were used to develop a conceptual framework. The empirical section of the research design consisted of a case study that included industry interviews, alumni surveys and my own experience as the main sources of data. The theoretical concepts identified in the literature review of critical citizenship and globalization discourse were used to structure an inductive content analysis of empirical data collected to identify possible theoretical concepts that can be used to conscientize industry expectations of design education. The picture that emerges from this study creates a worrying image of a profession in crisis. I identified the urgent need to instil compassion into design education so that our alumni can intuitively act against situations where their dignity is under threat. This can be done by means of inclusion of critical citizenship and globalization discourse in curriculums of design programmes at UoTs. The theoretical concepts in critical citizenship and globalization discourse that can possibly be used to conscientize industry expectations of design education at UoTs are identified as: transformation, diversity, racism, social disparity, visual culture, civic identity, civic engagement, ethical relationships, shared participation, problemsolving, critical thinking, and imagination skills. I also conclude that the debate regarding the conscientizing of the design industry is of such importance that it should not be limited to only critical citizenship and globalization discourse ‒ the debate must go further and deeper.