Design and Feminism: Re-visioning Spaces, Places, and Everyday Things [Hardcover]

Joan Rothschild (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

How well do our designed environments- the places and spaces where we live, work, and play- meet our aesthetic and functional needs? Increasingly, the distinction between the spaces considered public and private or work and home is becoming more blurred. As a result, innovative designs are needed to meet the challenges of our ever-changing environment. Our streets, parks, dwellings and tools are designed to a "one-size-fits-all" standard, and the responses of the design community to meet diverse needs have been mixed at best. Design and Feminism offers feminist critiques of these inadequate design standards, and suggest ideas, projects, and programs for change.

The interdisciplinary essays reflect the writers' diverse fields- architecture, planning, industrial and graphic design, and architectural, urban, and design history.

Essays cover such subject as rethinking the American city, graphic design and the urban landscape, working at home, theories of women and design, and a trio of essays on industrial designs. A review essay of the literature in these fields- the first of its kind- rounds out the collection.

Contributors are Amelia Amon, Wendy E. Brawer, Cheryl Buckley, Sue Cavanagh, Alethea Cheng, Roberta M. Feldman, Etain Fitzpatrick, Alice T. Friedman, Dolores Hayden, Ghislaine Hermanuz, Barbara Knecht, Ellen Lupton, Maggie Mahboubian, Francine Monaco, Nancy Perkins, Victoria Rosner, Joan Rothschild, Susana Torre, Lynne Walker, and Leslie Kanes Weismann.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The essays in Design and Feminism range from experiential reflections to critical inquires of contemporary and historical practices; but all pose wonderfully insightful, intriguing, and viable possibilities for revisioning the landscapes of our lives. The book beckons a wide audience, not simply because of the diversity of ideas covered but also because the language is refreshingly clear and free of jargon." -- Sherry Ahrentzen - professor of architecture, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

"There is one central message in this stimulating collection of essays: the built world would work better for everyone if women were more involved in its design." -- Rosalind Williams - dean of students and undergraduate education, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"This impressive collection of essays by leading scholars and practitioners gives hope for a future where cities, buildings, and objects of daily life will reflect the multifarious needs and desires of women." -- Pat Kirkham - professor of design history, Bard Graduate Center --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

How well do our designed environments- the places and spaces where we live, work, and play- meet our aesthetic and functional needs? Increasingly, the distinction between the spaces considered public and private or work and home is becoming more blurred. As a result, innovative designs are needed to meet the challenges of our ever-changing environment. Our streets, parks, dwellings and tools are designed to a "one-size-fits-all" standard, and the responses of the design community to meet diverse needs have been mixed at best. Design and Feminism offers feminist critiques of these inadequate design standards, and suggest ideas, projects, and programs for change.

The interdisciplinary essays reflect the writers' diverse fields- architecture, planning, industrial and graphic design, and architectural, urban, and design history.

Essays cover such subject as rethinking the American city, graphic design and the urban landscape, working at home, theories of women and design, and a trio of essays on industrial designs. A review essay of the literature in these fields- the first of its kind- rounds out the collection.

Contributors are Amelia Amon, Wendy E. Brawer, Cheryl Buckley, Sue Cavanagh, Alethea Cheng, Roberta M. Feldman, Etain Fitzpatrick, Alice T. Friedman, Dolores Hayden, Ghislaine Hermanuz, Barbara Knecht, Ellen Lupton, Maggie Mahboubian, Francine Monaco, Nancy Perkins, Victoria Rosner, Joan Rothschild, Susana Torre, Lynne Walker, and Leslie Kanes Weismann. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813526663
• ISBN-13: 978-0813526669
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,911,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Dream of the Perfect Child, published in 2005, is my sixth book. It follows my research and teaching in the field now known as gender and technology which I helped to establish with the publication of Machina Ex Dea in 1983 (see Bibliography).

At UMass Lowell for over twenty years, I taught politics, women's studies, and technology studies, returning home to New York in the 90s. I'm living happily without a car, busily writing, and enjoying the pleasures and vistas of the city of my birth. In 1995, I organized a highly successful conference at the CUNY Graduate Center on feminist perspectives on design technology which brought together architects and practitioners across the spectrum of design. Design and Feminism: Re-Visioning Spaces, Places, and Everyday Things, published in 1999, resulted from the conference.

I have a B.A. in English from Cornell University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from NYU. I had an earlier career before academe in print media at The New York Herald Tribune and Scholastic Magazines, experience that saved me from the horrors of academic prose. My books are readable!

There's lots more about me at my website which includes an excerpt from my latest book, The Dream of the Perfect Child.