A World History of Design and the History of the World

Abstract

World history, as an institutional enterprise with a community of scholars, a journal, and a professional association, is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Although comprehensive world histories continue to appear, design historians are only gradually confronting the question of how a world history of design might be written. A major problem is the limited definition of design that has, for many scholars, confined its study to industrialized regions of the world. We need to understand how different cultures have provided for their respective material needs, as well as how larger forces of politics and economics have shaped the conditions for material production in those cultures. Design is an integral component of modern production and a world history of design should argue for its vital role in economic development. Other issues include the rise of nationalism and the question of race. Looking at the history of design from a world perspective enables us to see that people of all ethnic backgrounds have been active designers within their own communities, even if they have largely worked outside the orbit of advanced industrialization. Writing a world history of design with an emphasis on how empires, nations, and other political entities have used it to advance their political and economic agendas links design to the larger problems of the world.

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