Ten Things: An Archaeology of Design
Taught by Michael Shanks this class looks at the history of design through the close exploration of ten things. The website is here. Although an 8am lecture (no students thought this was possible) the material is very interesting. Professor Shanks looks at the "things" in very different and nuanced ways to describe their significance. So far we have explored a prehistoric hand axe (humans as cyborgs), pyramids at Giza (the machine and function of management), ancient Greek perfume jar (looking at cutting edge design in its earliest state), and a medieval castle (the nature of military function). In the future we will be looking at a Wedgwood teapot, the electric light bulb, Eddie and Joan Hall's Bentley, the Leica Rangefinder IIIc, the computer mouse, and Gordon Murray's city car. Our project in the class is to think of an 11th thing and speak about the importance of its design. I will be working with my lovely roommate, Maia.
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