Associate professor in design history and design theory,
PhD.
E-mail: maria.goransdotter@umu.se
Phone: +46 90 786 70 36
More: mariagoransdotter.se
Background
I am a first generation Umean, grew up in Saudi Arabia, and have
since then mostly lived in Umeå (with stints in Gothenburg and
Italy). My educational background is in the History of Science and
Ideas at Umeå University, and I also studied semiotics and
aesthetics at the University of Bologna, Italy. I hold a PhD in
industrial design, and have previously been a PhD student and
teacher in the field of history of ideas. I began teaching at
UID in the mid-1990s, first as an external teacher and
later as a part-time lecturer. I work here full time since 2008,
when I stepped into the leadership group as Deputy Head of
Department and Director of single subject courses. In 2013 I was
appointed Head of Department, and served as Vice Rector between
2015 and 2018.
What I do at UID
I mainly contribute to design education and design research with
perspectives relating to histories and theories of design.
Currently, I am working together with a group of colleagues on
developing a new bachelor programme in industrial design that fully
integrates approaches of sustainability in content as well as in
structure.
Teaching
My main areas of teaching are design history and theory,
focusing on ideas and practices central to critically probing
matters of concern in contemporary designing. At UID, I mainly
teach on the BFA programme, the
IxD programme, Industrial Design
Intensive, and on single subject courses. I teach
in pedagogical courses for university teachers at the Centre of
Teaching and Learning (UPL) at Umeå University, and have also with UPL
developed pedagogical courses for design teachers. I also teach on
a PhD course at the Faculty of Arts at Umeå
University. In 2015, I was appointed 'recognized university
teacher' at Umeå University.
Research
During 2021, I am Senior Resident Researcher at the Department
of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, working on the project
Designing Design Methods: Exploring past and present methods
development to face emerging practices and unstable
futures.
I defended my PhD thesis, Transitional Design Histories, in September
2020. In my research, I explore how design history might matter more to
design, and make a difference in how and why designing is done.
By proposing different design histories, that take a starting point
in designing rather than in designed things, I propose that these
could contribute to opening up conceptual spaces for critically
engaging with core concepts and methods in design. Read
more about my PhD project»
Talk to me about:
How history matters for how we see and do things today and in
the future;
How different perspectives allow us to see and understand things
in different ways;
Writing in relation to the design process
Publications
Spara
Spara
Spara
Spara
