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This course raises the question: what is sustainable design in 21st-century China? Why and how does it matter to all of us across the planet? The course is organized around the kinds of things that have long been forms of organizing social and cultural life in China: the "five phases" (wuxing 五行) of metal, earth, fire, water, and wood. It introduces new phases to the mix: people, plastic, garbage, silk + cotton. Students will learn about sustainable design related to each "element" and at the end of the term will contribute to the creation of group projects on sustainable design.

Emphasis will be on sustainable design. We will borrow the UA Office of Sustainability's working definition of sustainability: 

Sustainability is a broad concept that includes interlinking dimensions of social justice, environmental health and responsibility, inclusive economic conditions, social equity, cultural vitality, and creative problem-solving. Sustainability is a dynamic process that recognizes, promotes, and protects thriving natural and human systems that tend toward equity and/or renewability. Sustainability involves future-oriented decision-making processes to preserve land, water, air, wildlife, economic production and consumption, resources, recreational opportunities, and the ecological and social systems of which these are a part. Sustainability addresses historical, current, and future pathways to peace in the prevention of war and violence and recognizes that stewardship of the ecological, economic, and social systems upon which humans rely requires the opportunity for people to feel secure and flourish.

 

Students are not expected to have any prior experience in Chinese Studies. 

QUESTIONS OF COURSE:

What are we trying to sustain?

Who has a stake in sustainabilty?

Can we write a connective history of sustainability? Why does sustainable design in China matter to all of us across the planet?

Are "traditional" long-lived practices of sustainable design in China being resuscitated by designers there and around the world? What about new technologies?

WINTER 2021 Tues, Thurs 2:00-3:20
FAB 2-20

Professor Lisa Claypool
Office hours: after class meetings and by appointment
Office: FAB 3-89B
Telephone: 780.248.1758
Email me: claylisa@ualberta.ca

Graduate Teaching Assistant: TBA
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