Political Economy of Design (Masters)

This subject is not offered in 2012.

Entry into the Melbourne School of Design or approval from the subject coordinator.

702446 (ABPL40014) Political Economy of Design

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.
The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website : http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject seeks to position and discuss architecture in relation to the world of production, economic interests and community benefits, at a local and global scale. The discussion has a strong comparative bent, and is coloured by the notion of innovation - what it means from a social, technical and cultural point of view, and how it enters and affects different building markets. Attention is directed at understanding the distinction between innovation on one side and invention and technological change on the other. In this context, architecture's connection with planning and building disciplines is examined and criticised in the attempt to formulate a strategic framework for its use as an environmental policy instrument. The research component seeks to apply the elements of this framework to specific situations chosen by the students in collaboration with the subject coordinator and in relation to their individual curriculum.

None specified

• Class participation (10%);
• Gathering of research-specific data (30%);
• Essay to the equivalent of not more than 3500 words (60%).

None specified

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Generic skills obtained:

• Ability to peruse large project archives;
• Ability to undertake ideal-type analysis;
• Understanding of the type of industrial data required in socio-technical studies;
• Ability to identify and use building industry's databases;
• Ability to derive theoretical positions from empirical work;
• Ability to prepare and conduct technical interviews with industry representatives;
• Ability to combine data from primary and secondary sources for the development of a scholarly argument;
• Ability to translate these data into a cohesive piece of original research.