Abstract
This paper reconsiders what it means to be critical in design studies under Post-Anthropocene conditions. It proposes slow relational critique as an orientation. In doing so, it stays with the fragile entanglements through which oppression is enacted by both human and more-than-human entities. Drawing on Actor–Network Theory, the paper revisits a case of a cradle in a caste-oppressed community in Sri Lanka to show how power and inequality are relationally produced through mundane associations of “things.” The analysis demonstrates how critique can remain empirical and attentive to objects while resisting the purification of problems into grand Anthropocene social explanations. Rather than presenting ANT as a new method, the paper reflects on how its attentiveness can open a more cautious and situated descriptions of objects—one that lingers with things, holds contradictions in view, and contributes to a slower, more careful design scholarship in the age of posthuman design.
Keywords
Actor-network theory; Oppression; Post-Anthropocene design studies;
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.681
Citation
Karunakaran, T., and Nawarathne, D. (2026) Tracing oppression through things: Facilitating a slow critique in post-anthropocene design, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.681
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Included in
Tracing oppression through things: Facilitating a slow critique in post-anthropocene design
This paper reconsiders what it means to be critical in design studies under Post-Anthropocene conditions. It proposes slow relational critique as an orientation. In doing so, it stays with the fragile entanglements through which oppression is enacted by both human and more-than-human entities. Drawing on Actor–Network Theory, the paper revisits a case of a cradle in a caste-oppressed community in Sri Lanka to show how power and inequality are relationally produced through mundane associations of “things.” The analysis demonstrates how critique can remain empirical and attentive to objects while resisting the purification of problems into grand Anthropocene social explanations. Rather than presenting ANT as a new method, the paper reflects on how its attentiveness can open a more cautious and situated descriptions of objects—one that lingers with things, holds contradictions in view, and contributes to a slower, more careful design scholarship in the age of posthuman design.