Locating Design Exchanges in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Traditionally, design historical discourses in Latin America and the Caribbean have endorsed a heroic approach to histories of designers and institutions that, according to that narrative, pioneered the dissemination and establishment of modern design in the region. Recently new approaches have been making their way into academia, based on the recognition of design history as field of enquiry preoccupied with anonymous production, consumption studies, making processes, technologies, systems, and studies of material and visual culture produced outside the canons of traditional scholarship. Thus, this Special Issue makes a call for Locating Design Exchanges in Latin America and the Caribbean. In doing so we (co-editors and authors) aim to contribute not only to globalise the current design historical debate in the region but the design historical discourse in general, which to date has been shy in including this specific geographical area. Furthermore, the Introduction provides a historiographical review of academic material about the region focusing on a group of selected journals and articles published in English. As a whole, the Special Issue discusses sources, themes and methodologies and proposes further and potential areas of research.