Structuring Future Social Relations: The Politics of Care in Participatory Practice

The paper offers a brief description of the role of politics in early Participatory Design (PD) in order to demonstrate that it has long attempted to change social relations through designing. In addition, the authors believe that PD is beyond the immediacy of designing objects or services during project time in the past, and the pragmatic argument has changed to designing with users and their problems that they were able to manifest their ethical position through intervening in the ethical politics of the workplace.

The authors reference some papers to note that it is fundamental to engage users in designing for them to test the accountability of the design to the world it creates and lives of the individuals inhabiting them. Besides, they mention that the participatory design legacy is not only the impact of ICT design, but the pursuit of how to best bring people involved into the design of invisible mediating structures around them. Thus, they decide to extend examinations on ethics care from feminist studies of technology.

Furthermore, the paper presents three case studies to illustrate how care and relational structures are concerned;

Case Study 1: Structuring Care for Conviviality

Case Study 2: Structuring Care for Survival

Case Study 3: Structuring Care for Growth

In conclusion, the case studies highlight how interventions change social relations, not just peoples awareness and understanding of them, but also how they continue remaking them beyond initial encounters. Because design is never complete, the increased attention to be paid to the ways that design is completed in use as a way to contribute to resolving ethical issues and conflicts that arise in change is recommended. Ethics and politics are required to be considered separately.

Note: I have selected the paper entitled ” Designing technology for and with developmentally diverse children: a systematic literature review”, because I found it interesting and close to my research background.