• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Research Publications
    • Arts, Humanities and Education
    • School of Arts
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Research Publications
    • Arts, Humanities and Education
    • School of Arts
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of UDORACommunitiesTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsThis CollectionTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    About and further information

    AboutOpen Access WebpagesOpen Access PolicyTake Down Policy University Privacy NoticeUniversity NewsTools for ResearchersLibraryUDo

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    A holistic approach to the decolonisation of modules in sustainable interior design

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    DEFSA 2017 Proceedings 15-12-2 ...
    Size:
    6.778Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    Open Access Proceedings
    Download
    Authors
    Di Monte-Milner, Giovanna cc
    Affiliation
    University of Johannesburg
    Issue Date
    2017-09
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    This paper stems from the need to develop and deliver a new module in sustainable interior design (BASD6B2) at a 2nd year level within a new Degree programme at the University of Johannesburg, in 2017. This module’s development however relies on a reflection on another sustainable interior design module (BASD6B1) in the curriculum, offered at a 1st year level. The paper also secondly arises from the national call for the transformation and decolonisation of education programmes in South African tertiary institutions. This new BASD6B2 module thus needs to demonstrate a deeper connection with African roots, rather than make use of over-emphasised Eurocentric ideals. Like the global Ubuntu education approach, decolonisation requires an advancement of indigenous knowledge, expertise, teaching and learning. Thirdly, there is also a need for interior design education, worldwide, to align itself with changing notions of sustainability, which requires educators to embrace a new, emerging ecological paradigm. In this paradigm, regenerative thinking seeks to push sustainable design from merely sustaining the health of a system, towards more holistic, systems thinking, reconnecting us to place and the rituals of place (Reed 2007, p. 677). A reflection on both the sustainable interior design modules’ designs reveals several gaps. Firstly, there is no specific requirement that the emerging ecological paradigm, and the notion of regenerative thinking, be taught within the module. Secondly, one of the module outcomes requires that students be taught about sustainability through the use of a rating tool, the Green Star SA (GSSA) Interiors Rating Tool, which, while valuable, is too mechanistic and does not support holistic thinking. Thirdly, another gap is that the Green Building Council of South Africa’s (GBCSA) Green Star SA – Interiors v1 Technical Manual includes little to no reference of African studies, methods and skills in the technical manual. This issue is revealed in my ongoing PhD study, which uses a constructivist grounded theory approach. Fourthly, the tool is based on an Australian tool which is, in turn, based on an American tool, and it thus deploys western constructs. The aim of this paper is thus to develop a teaching strategy that can complement the design of both modules, with a focus however on the new module BASD6B2, in order to teach students about sustainability more holistically, while celebrating and advancing African building methods and skills. The main findings reveal that the sustainable interior design modules (based on the given outcomes) do not support a holistic and decolonised approach to teaching and learning. A holistic teaching strategy is thus necessary to promote an African identity. The paper concludes that this pro-active teaching strategy can augment the sustainable interior design modules. Firstly both modules can include a holistic introductory lesson. A second tactic in the strategy could be to include diverse curriculum content and regenerative design concepts into the BASD6B2 module. This strategy generally aims to advance students’ mindsets about sustainable design, while encouraging them to be co-creators of local knowledge, while designing sustainably, for an African identity.
    Citation
    Di Monte-Milner, G. (2017). 'A holistic approach to the decolonisation of modules in sustainable interior design'. Design educators reflecting on the call for the decolonisation of education. 14th National Design Education Conference. Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa, 27-29 September. Pretoria: DEFSA, pp. 48-59.
    Publisher
    Design Education Forum of Southern Africa
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10545/624213
    Additional Links
    http://www.defsa.org.za/sites/default/files/downloads/DEFSA%202017%20Proceedings%2015-12-2017_0.pdf
    https://www.defsa.org.za/2017-defsa-conference
    Type
    Meetings and Proceedings
    Language
    en
    ISBN
    9.78062E+12
    Collections
    D-MARC
    School of Arts

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2021)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.