This course explores how design can respond to the reality of a warming world—and the roles it must now play. Rather than approaching the climate crisis as a “problem to be solved,” we frame it as a discontinuity—a ongoing shift in our reality that demands new tools, new postures, and new forms of design. Students will learn to develop design-driven solutions, interventions, and narratives that can move the needle in the chaotic now. Building on diverse frameworks developed to challenge the status quo, we’ll explore what it means to design across multiple levels of impact—materials, business models, experiences, and mindsets. During the semester, students will develop an intervention that applies climate design principles to a challenge of their choice. The course supports them in building climate-literate design knowledge, mindset, and agency—equipping them to be both radical and practical in imagining and delivering design-driven solutions with real impact.

Globally and nationally we are confronted by health and climate crises, socio-economic and political polarization, human rights abuses, devastating war and human loss; and daily acts of hatred and violence. A common element across these crises is the deprioritization of care for fellow humans. What if caring for people were the central design principle of our social, economic and political relations and structures? In this hybrid seminar and studio, we will critically examine the many facets of the global care crisis, harnessing design to imagine ways to address care disparities and to bridge societal divides. Students will select a care focus (loneliness/isolation, intergenerational connection, caregiving, disability, bias of different forms, group and interpersonal conflict, etc.) and work individually or in small groups on a semester-long care intervention using methods and ideas drawn from strategic design, social practice art and alternative economies. Such interventions may include services, experiences, campaigns, economic models, or products. Interdisciplinary readings and guest lectures by designers, artists, and civic actors will guide our inquiry about designing with and for care. Students will also participate in the Visibilize-ing Care Festival organized by the Parsons CareLab to be held at The New School this coming Spring. This is an elective course for the Graduate Minor in Civic Service Design

Business models have been blamed for the fall of democracy, the poor mental health of teens, and the rise of surveillance capitalism. In this course, students explore mental frames we use to describe how organizations create value, and why entrepreneurial ventures continue to perpetuate cycles of inequity through status-quo startup methods and financing mechanisms. Students will learn how to center the core value of an organization to provide for the unmet needs of a community. Additional explorations will widen the description of entrepreneurial organizations to include cooperative structures, collectives, community benefit organizations, and other nonprofits, collaboratives, and public benefit companies. Through discussion, analysis, community-engaged research, and financial modeling, students move towards designing a business model and fundraising plan that creates and shares value toward more equitable outcomes.

Traces of Artificial Intelligence can be found in nearly every facet of our lives. While champions of the technology point to evidence of its contribution to societal progress, critics highlight cases of harm and caution against its unfettered development. This course will, in part, focus on AI's impact on society, the potential risks and benefits of using it, and the responsibilities of AI developers and users. Students will interrogate topics such as the accuracy of algorithms, the impact of automation on jobs, how AI affects privacy and security, and how to achieve greater technological transparency and openness. We will learn about the torrent of guidelines that organizations and governments publish to support AI's effects. Students will gain a deeper understanding of these topics through experimentation with AI tools, field trips, and workshops complemented by visiting lecturers and critical resources that provide windows into the world of AI. Students will leave the course better equipped to collaborate on AI projects, navigate the ethical dilemmas that arise in the development and use of AI, and make informed decisions in future jobs or positions. No programming experience will be required, and all disciplinary backgrounds are welcome.

This course offers a design driven approach to examining the intersection of community engagement and the arts with a focus on the New York City cultural landscape. In order to remain relevant, arts organizations must now use their arenas in part for causes related to social justice, as well as civic and community engagement. In a world with an ever changing cultural and socio-political landscape, can art and design induce social change? Students in this course will be exposed to a variety of foundational civic and community engagement programs in the arts that have been designed over the last 20 years. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to hear from arts leaders and cultural activists in NYC, who will share strategies for building relationships and working with various communities toward leading engagement efforts that incorporate a multidisciplinary artistic landscape. Students will be exposed to artistic leaders in the field and will experience community based artistic public programs. Over the course of the semester, students will research a select group of arts organizations in NYC which are currently deploying civic and community engagement programs. Based on findings, students will select one organization to focus on and will then design a civic or community engagement program in alignment with the organization’s mission. As a culminating project, leaders from each selected organization will attend class so that students can pitch their newly designed engagement programs to a slate of artistic leaders.

Digital technologies have been transforming and disrupting multiple facets of businesses, societies, and policies, from individuals' perceptions and practices, to organizations' structures and cultures, to local and global communities, to industry ecosystems and regulatory landscapes. This course investigates the strategic impact of different established and emerging technologies, such as online streaming, e-commerce, mobile computing, fintech, and artificial intelligence, on both private and public organizations from diverse sectors and economies worldwide. Taking a strategic perspective on digital technology and design, the course encompasses a portfolio of case studies, articles, and discussions on strategic decisions in diverse real-life scenarios. The goal of the course is to equip students with the analytical frameworks, concepts, theories, and mindsets for strategically analyzing, conceptualizing, organizing, managing, and leading technology- and design-related projects and initiatives in today's complex and ever-changing global business, social, and policy environments.