SPEC 16
Liberal Arts for Epic Challenges: Design Thinking for Social Change
Winter 2020
This is not the current course catalog
Class Details
A workshop that will involve learning and applying design thinking techniques to develop creative human-centered solutions to a significant, complex social problem, like loneliness in the community or transforming travel around small towns. The actual topic will be one of several proposed in a global competition from London’s Royal Society of Arts; course projects will be submitted against students from around the world in March. Work will occur in two teams; the experience will emphasize techniques for creative confidence, learning to take risks and advance from failures, creative collaboration, and focusing problem solving on human-centered solutions-similar to how innovation is explored in design firms, start-ups, government agencies, and NGOs.
The workshop will meet twice a week for 3 hours. There are few readings (mostly manuals on techniques from leading consultancies), but will involve ethnographic research in observing and exploring how real people perceive the problem and solution and team meetings between classes to brainstorm ideas. For more on design thinking, see Williams.edu/designthinking.
The Class:
Format: lecture
Limit: 12
Grading: pass/fail only
Limit: 12
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation:
final project or presentation
Prerequisites:
none
Enrollment Preferences:
experience, curiosity, interests of students in applying problem solving techniques to complex world problems
Class Grid
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SPEC 16 - 01 (W) LEC Design Thinking, Social Change
SPEC 16 - 01 (W) LEC Design Thinking, Social ChangeRic GreféTR 10:00 am - 11:50 am
Schapiro Hall 1412318
Megamenu Social