Putting genealogy into perspective : for a genealogical critique of design and designers

Abstract

In this work, genealogy, as a form of historical critique inaugurated by Friedrich Nietzsche and later taken up, refined and consolidated by Michel Foucault, has been extensively studied. Since Foucault was responsible for the refinement and application of genealogical techniques of analysis in the field of modern disciplines, Foucault's corpus on the subject has been painstakingly analyzed in order to develop a genealogical method for the analysis and critique of design discipline. To reveal the origins of design and its relations to diverse networks of power, the discourse of design throughout history has been studied in order to compile an inventory of design concepts, statements, definitions, etc. Definitions of design has been isolated from this inventory on the assumption that they are most susceptible to genealogical analysis. Then, through an analysis of design definitions, the specific mechanisms of design discourse through which designers responded to diverse networks of power has been revealed.