JOHANNES FELIX LOTZE
Avoiding Pax Americana - Design for multiethnic Futures.
21. December 2023
This Essay was initially written for a seminar on the topic of Design and Diversity during my studies at the University of applied Arts Vienna.
Design is an ever-changing discipline that has evolved from the initial wish for production simplicity, over social implications to a way of thought. With the role of the designer changing in the twenty-first century, away from creating aesthetics, design education also must follow suit. While the concept of design thinking has now reached broad industry acceptance I want to focus on the designer's power to tell stories and the role of speculative design in shaping how we understand what’s to come. In this essay, I want to briefly draw a connection between the importance of optimism toward the future and ethnofuturistic narratives.
A recent addition to the plethora of design subcategories is speculative design. It diverges from traditional design paradigms by focusing not on solving current problems, but rather on exploring potential futures and alternative realities. Importance is given to the plausibility of the created futures and alternative presents. Speculative design involves carefully managing speculation to maintain a 'perceptual bridge' between the audience’s world and the proposed fiction, ensuring engagement and relatability (Auger, 2013). Projects are supposed to inspire and foster a more pluralistic understanding of the future. They should not be seen as a single possibility, „Their very intention is to demonstrate alternates.“ (Jain, 2019). I understand it as an interdisciplinary approach, working together with experts of all involved fields, harnessing the potential of a story, and designing its presentation to best illustrate what one is trying to communicate about the present or future. Design is seen as a tool to help people to understand.
Building on the concept of speculative design, it is crucial to understand how our personal beliefs about the future impact our actions and the role of design in shaping these beliefs. The vision one has of the future greatly influences whether one actively takes part in shaping it or passively let it happen (Figueres & Rivett-Carnac, 2021, p. 49-50). The most prevalent example of this is eco-anxiety, described as „the generalized sense that the ecological foundations of existence are in the process of collapse“ (Albrecht, 2012, p. 249). According to Figueres & Rivett-Carnac, humans have learned to react to this ecological collapse with helplessness. The complexity of the issue is used to deter responsibility. They advocate for self-education. Since the response of helplessness is learned, one has to teach himself that ecological collapse may be happening, but is not unavoidable. One has to be optimistic about the future to truly be motivated to work towards it (2021, p. 50-54).
I would extend this argument to educators and designers, both instrumental in shaping the public's opinion. In educating the public on potential futures, it is possible to shift sentiment and instill hope, also leading to more meaningful discussions on how to deal with the necessary change. Projects like Gerald Geiers Remember the Future, which is a visual imagination of plural futures in which climate change has been overcome (2023), actively explore the necessity of designers crafting positive narratives of the future.
While climate-related futures have been greatly explored by practitioners, an area still waiting to be discussed is culture. The reaction to a perceived loss of culture and the surrounding fear is marked by a different kind of reaction than the reaction to eco-anxiety. Instead of it being in action, a vivid „‚reawakening‘ of traditional culture“(Eriksen, 2010, p. 302) can be observed. This reawakening is happening across cultural circles, from Hindu communities in Trinidad (Eriksen, 2010, p. 302-303) to a new European nationalism („The hard right is getting closer to power all over Europe.“, 2023). Many of these movements are marked by a return to socially conservative norms of the „original“ culture (Drosopulos, 2022 P. 81-83) and are like in the case of the Turkish diaspora actively exploited by nationalist movements. Especially in such diaspora communities, there is the added factor of racism and active exclusion from society that greatly increases the attractiveness of populistic narratives (Arkilic, 2021 P. 597-598).
Host countries do not realize the role they play in this. Racism and a lack of inclusion towards immigrants drive them into radicalization, with the hosts then further accusing them of not immigrating, resulting in a vicious cycle (Ünveren, 2023). However, radicalizing factors within communities have also played a part. The threat of cultural eradication is a leading factor in radicalizing migrant youth (Drosopulos, 2022 p. 84).
Eriksen remarks that cultures always evolve and the complete eradication of cultures seldom happens (2010, p. 308). Culture has to be understood as an ever-changing process instead of a set of in-groups. Culture is not intrinsic to a society. It is made and changed through a dialectic process between all involved actors. It can be both a tool for oppression and a tool for resistance (Storey, 1996).
Viewing this through the lens of re-educating oneself to foster a better future, both sides have to learn that their culture can flourish even under new circumstances. The threat of cultural loss might seem daunting, but overcorrection is as flawed as inaction is with climate change. The bigger task however is for the host societies, which often have invited their migrant communities, to accept and incorporate these imported aspects of culture as equal. Only then can a progressive discussion about which parts of both constitute a newer shared culture be had.
Current narratives of the future are marked by inequalities. They are driven by the idea of Pax Americana and the narrative of a post-ethnic future (Avanessian & Moalemi, 2018 p. 9-10). Pop culture and marketing often predict a singular path for the future. During a previous design project, I identified this unwillingness to accept multiple possibilities as a major pitfall hindering futurism in pop culture today (Lotze, 2022). Ethnofuturistic stories help to inspire and uplift those not represented in the Future presented today. Further, they act as a counter-narrative to the neo-colonial tendencies seen in post-ethnic futures (Avanessian & Moalemi, 2018 p. 9). However, pop culture always comes with a tendency to commercialize.
Speculative design emerges as a crucial tool for broadening these narratives, offering a platform for diverse voices and perspectives without explicit commercialization (Auger, 2013 ). By envisioning futures that are inclusive and visualizing these in transformative ways, it can transcend the echo chambers of academia and the design industry, reaching people in their everyday environments. Augers Tooth Telephone in Time Magazine (2013 p. 25) or Saks Affidis SpaceMosque at a historical tourist site in Vienna (2023). Viewers are confronted with both of these projects in an unprepared-for context. Affidis SpaceMosque is situated in a temple-like building in Viennas Volksgarten, a public park in the center of the city. While still in an exhibition setting, it is presented with a sense of normalcy which completely negates the usual discussion about Islams' role in Austria (Akinyosoye, 2013). Augers Telephone transcended design circles, went viral in news media, and ended up being discussed as a real invention (2013 p. 21- 25).
Through such channels, designers have the opportunity to reshape narratives, fostering a more holistic and equitable vision of the future. This approach not only stimulates imagination but also encourages active participation in shaping a future that is truly representative of the global mosaic of cultures, values, and beliefs. I advocate for designers to face the difficult challenge of incorporating the future of culture in our work instead of using the promise of a singular global culture as an easy way out. I hope to consider a future where cultural differences are not just tolerated but celebrated, where environmental sustainability is not an afterthought but a foundational principle, and where socio-political inclusivity is a standard, not an exception.
Citations:
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