Abstract
This paper explores how Citational Justice can transform design education, challenging the dominant narrative of the isolated creative genius in favour of design as inherently relational and collaborative. Through a case study of a design theory seminar with 16 bachelor students, the paper demonstrates how Citational Justice reshapes teaching practices by revealing networks of influence and knowledge in design work. Drawing on relationality and care perspectives from Escobar and Puig de la Bellacasa, the research implements power-critical pedagogies such as “brave spaces”, and collaborative feedback. Results show three key transformations in students’ understanding: a new attitude toward inspiration and influence, recognition of design as networked knowledge production, and increased awareness of a designer’s responsibility. The findings suggest that centering Citational Justice in design education effectively transforms individualistic approaches, toward more relational, power-conscious practices.
Keywords
Design Education, Citational Justice, Design Theory Seminar, Power-Critical Pedagogy, Caring Relationality
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.44
Citation
Baumgarten, L.(2025) Citational justice in design education: Teaching/Learning relationality, in Brandt, E., Markussen, T., Berglund, E., Julier, G., Linde, P. (eds.), Nordes 2025: Relational Design, 6-8 August, Oslo, Norway. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.44
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Exploratory Papers
Included in
Citational justice in design education: Teaching/Learning relationality
This paper explores how Citational Justice can transform design education, challenging the dominant narrative of the isolated creative genius in favour of design as inherently relational and collaborative. Through a case study of a design theory seminar with 16 bachelor students, the paper demonstrates how Citational Justice reshapes teaching practices by revealing networks of influence and knowledge in design work. Drawing on relationality and care perspectives from Escobar and Puig de la Bellacasa, the research implements power-critical pedagogies such as “brave spaces”, and collaborative feedback. Results show three key transformations in students’ understanding: a new attitude toward inspiration and influence, recognition of design as networked knowledge production, and increased awareness of a designer’s responsibility. The findings suggest that centering Citational Justice in design education effectively transforms individualistic approaches, toward more relational, power-conscious practices.