Design History Beyond the Canon

Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler is Associate Professor of Design History at Purdue University, USA. She is a design historian focusing on American interiors, technology, and furniture design of the 20th century. Her research includes an emphasis on studying mundane spaces and objects as a way of examining the role of design in everyday life, looking at the intersection of the social, technological, and political aspects of design. She has published articles in the Journal of Design History and Design and Culture, and is the author of Open Plan: A Design History of the American Office (Bloomsbury, 2021).Victoria Rose Pass is Assistant Professor of Design and Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art, USA. She is a specialist in Visual Culture, particularly in areas of design and fashion. Her research considers the history of fashion culture in the 20th century and focuses specifically on issues of gender and race. She co-edited Women’s Magazines in Print and New Media (2016).Christopher Wilson is Lecturer of Architecture and Design Historian at Ringling College of Art and Design, USA. He earned a BA in architecture from Temple University USA, an MA from The Architectural Association, UK, and a Ph.D. from the Middle East Technical University, Turkey. He is the author of Beyond Anitkabir: The Construction and Maintenance of National Memory (2013) and currently serves as Board Chair for the Sarasota Architectural Foundation.

• Foreword: A Pre- and Post-History of “Teaching the History of Modern Design: The Canon and Beyond”, Carma Gorman (University of Texas at Austin, USA) and David Raizman (Drexel University, USA)Introduction, Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler (Purdue University, USA), Victoria Rose Pass (Maryland Institute College of Art, USA) and Christopher S. Wilson (Ringling College of Art and Design, USA)Section One: Users/Consumers1. Kul’ttovary : Bringing Culture into the Soviet Home, Yelena McLane (Florida State University, USA)2. Diversionary Tactics at Work: Making Meaning Through Misuse, Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler (Purdue University, USA)3. Everything Old is New Again: Modernization, Historic Preservation, and the American Home, 1920-1966, Emily Wolf Hetzel (Boston Architectural College, USA)Section Two: Intermediaries4. Representing Modern Architecture in The Rockford Files (1974-1980), Christopher S. Wilson (Ringling College of Art and Design, USA)5. CLOTHES CLOTHES CLOTHES PUNK PUNK PUNK WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN, Maria Elena Buszek (University of Colorado Denver, USA)6. Using Digital Tools to Work Around the Canon, Matthew Bird (RISD, USA)Section Three: Designers7. Confronting Racial Stereotypes in Graphic Design History, Karen L. Carter (Ferris State University, USA)8. The Mangbetu Coiffure: A Story of Cars, Hats, Branding, and Appropriation, Victoria Rose Pass (Maryland Institute College of Art, USA)9. Adventure Play in Physical and Virtual Spaces, Gayle L. Goudy (College of Charleston, USA)10. The Case of William Pahlmann: Challenging the Canon of Modern Design, Marianne Eggler (State University of New York, USA), Erica Morawski (Pratt Institute, USA) and Sara Desvernine Reed (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)11. “I Was Not a Woman Designer… I Was a Designer Who Happened to Be a Woman”, Russell Flinchum (NC State University, USA)Epilogue: Beyond the Canon: Building the Case for and Cases for Interdisciplinary Design History, Stephanie E. Vasko (Michigan State University, USA)Notes on the ContributorsIndex

[An] exciting anthology ... [It] challenges us to critique the concept of a canon in our teaching narratives and selected research projects, and also to critique the canonical methods that have shaped the field of design history to date.