The course applies a sociological perspective to the relationship between the products of design and their users, analyzing several social dimensions that are involved in that relationship.
For attending students, course materials will be presented during the course.
For non-attending students, the written exam sill be on the following readings:
1) Chiesi L., Il doppio spazio dell’architettura. Ricerca sociologia e progettazione, Napoli: Liguori 2011.
2) Costa P., Valutare l’architettura. Ricerca sociologica e postoccupancy evaluation, Milano: FrancoAngeli, 2014.
3) Chiesi, L. e Surrenti, S., L’ospedale difficile. Lo spazio sociale della cura e della salute, Napoli, Liguori, (only pages 1-26 and 75-112).
4) Wilkinson, R. e Pickett, K., La misura dell’anima. Perché le disuguaglianze rendono infelici, Milano: Feltrinelli 2009 (except chapters 7, 9, 10, 11).
Learning Objectives
The course aims to develop students’ sensitivity about the multifaceted relationship between their intentions and the interpretations of those intentions by final users/inhabitants of what they design.
Students will acquire methodological knowledge of research tools to study social production of space.
Prerequisites
No prerequisite needed
Teaching Methods
The course promotes students’ active involvement, through class discussions, group work and fieldwork to practice empirical research methods.
Further information
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Type of Assessment
Students attending the course will be graded through individual and group works, deliveries, presentations and tests.
Students who will not attended the course can take a written exam on a list of readings.
Course program
The course promotes a critical approach to design. The course has both a theoretical and a methodological approach. Students are first introduced to a set of concepts of sociology and other social sciences and to a theoretical framework on the relationship between people and the products of design. Then the course presents a wide range of sociological research tools that will be experimented in fieldwork activities.