HHIS-265: History of the User

In the aftermath of WWII, information theorists and ergonomics experts joined forces to test a new hypothesis: if complex technological systems (e.g. vehicle control panels, consumer electronics, interstate highways) could be designed to mesh with the needs and abilities of their human users, then it might be possible to facilitate proper use--and to prevent disasters--without any advance training or instruction. From these experiments was born the user, a creature ensconced in a world of tools and networks customized to his or her unique physiological and psychological preferences. Today, there is hardly a field of design practice that has not incorporated the paradigm of user experience design (UxD) as part of its core methodology--indeed, the memory of a time before the user has all but faded. To correct this pervasive amnesia, this course takes a critical, in-depth look at the history and theory of user-oriented design from the early 1900s to the present day. Through writing and creative projects, students will be asked to reflect on the status of the user in their own practices (whether in design or fine art), and to ask what kinds of behavior--personal as well as political--this term does and doesn't allow.