Feminist Philosophical Toys
Work in progress developing a set of interactive paper toys to teach feminist philosophy and critical design approaches, collaboration led by Nassim Parvin (Director of the Design & Social Justice Studio, Georgia Institute of Technology) and Rebecca Rouse (Director of StoryTech Studio, University of Skövde, Sweden).
Building on the history of the Victorian ‘philosophical toy’ Feminist Philosophical Toys presents a re-imagined set of paper machines as feminist materials for designers to think with. Grounded in an understanding of the rhetorical power of materialities, as inspired by thinkers new and old from Heinrich Blasche, Friedrich Fröbel, and Maria Montessori to Donna Haraway and Karen Barad, this project provides a grounded approach to feminist design and critique through the use of cut-and-fold paper objects, provided via downloadable templates.
Whereas traditional philosophical toys were luxury-object apparatuses such as the zoetrope and stereoscope, brought into the Victorian home to teach principles of human perception and disseminate the practices and principles of the scientific method, Feminist Philosophical Toys are flexible and accessible paper-based objects that push back against scientific positivism as it manifests in design, refutes the book as the primary material of the Philosophy discipline at large, and opens up feminist perspectives and methods at the intersection of philosophy, pedagogy, and design practice. As such, feminist philosophical toys are at once a reflection and extension of a feminist epistemological and ethical position: that of situated knowledges and reflexive practice grounded in relational and restorative justice.
The toys are presented in a series, designed for encounter in order from 1 to 7, and intended to be used as an integrated set within design education.
Whereas traditional philosophical toys were luxury-object apparatuses such as the zoetrope and stereoscope, brought into the Victorian home to teach principles of human perception and disseminate the practices and principles of the scientific method, Feminist Philosophical Toys are flexible and accessible paper-based objects that push back against scientific positivism as it manifests in design, refutes the book as the primary material of the Philosophy discipline at large, and opens up feminist perspectives and methods at the intersection of philosophy, pedagogy, and design practice. As such, feminist philosophical toys are at once a reflection and extension of a feminist epistemological and ethical position: that of situated knowledges and reflexive practice grounded in relational and restorative justice.
The toys are presented in a series, designed for encounter in order from 1 to 7, and intended to be used as an integrated set within design education.
Toy #1: Book Making
The series begins with making a handmade booklet with a sewn binding. Participants are introduced to the basics of bookmaking, which also provides them with a surface for keeping notes, sketches, or other materials used in developing the subsequent toys in the series. A basic set of materials are needed: interior pages, cover paper, needle and thread. The simplicity of this first activity is an invitation into making. At the same time, it is a participants with experience may choose to produce more complex versions if they wish. The toy brings to the fore issues of knowledge production and showcases the rhetorical power of form and material mattering: once ideas are in a book, they are ‘present’ in a way that has a particular valence. This is an invitation for a collective conversation about knowledge making in different cultures and communities, and in academia too.
Related scholarship on feminist approaches to the book is discussed including: Johanna Drucker’s The Century of Artists’ Books (2004); Jessica Helfand’s Scrapbooks: An American History (2008); Elizabeth Groeneveld’s Making Feminist Media (2016); Maryam Fanni, Matilda Flodmark, and Sara Kaaman’s Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography (2020); and Max Liborion’s Exchanging (2020).
Related scholarship on feminist approaches to the book is discussed including: Johanna Drucker’s The Century of Artists’ Books (2004); Jessica Helfand’s Scrapbooks: An American History (2008); Elizabeth Groeneveld’s Making Feminist Media (2016); Maryam Fanni, Matilda Flodmark, and Sara Kaaman’s Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography (2020); and Max Liborion’s Exchanging (2020).
Template in progress
Toy #2: Oracle Cards
Oracle cards are a critical and satirical play on the proliferation of design cards commonly used in design education and industry. This toy is offered to aid the designer who lacks foresight, who can benefit from the use of divination cards similar to Tarot or other oracle decks in casting their imagination into the future. The cards help conceptualise potential failures, both disastrous and pedestrian, of their own designs.This toy works to materialize feminist theories that may be considered commonsense yet are ignored and underplayed in dominant discourses and practices of technology development. Examples include the need to consider the long-term impacts of technology as discussed by Jasanoff (2016), and how seemingly innocent concepts such as” unintended consequences” work to forego responsibility Parvin and Pollock (2020).
Template in progress
Toy #3: Experience Frames
Experience frames works to explore the concept of positionality both in knowledge-making practices and broader experiences of oppression (Harding 1990, Crenshaw 1990, Takacs 2003). The toy takes inspiration from 19th century movable books, such as die-cut accordion books by Lothar Meggendorfer. The form of the toy aims to surface and challenge reductive readings of intersectionality as an additive and stable notion of identity and instead highlight the simultaneity and variety of experiences of oppression within everyday encounters. In doing so, we invite participants to critically engage the history of this concept and explore both the pains and joys of inhabiting the margins.
Download this PDF handout with template, prompts, and resources to give this toy a try yourself!
| toy_4_experience_frames_prompt.pdf |
Toy #4: Circular Conversation
Circular conversations is focused on feminist scholarship that emphasizes the circularity of struggle, structures that maintain the status quo, and possibilities for breaking free from oppressive cycles. Inspiration is drawn from medieval volvelles as well as more contemporary 20th century "circle charts." This toy aims to advance material engagement with theories such as work on feminism and complaint (Ahmed 2021), the liberatory potentials of performative practice (Boal 2006), and scholarship on the cyclic natures of both socialization and liberation (Harro 2018).
Download this PDF handout with template, prompts, and resources to give this toy a try yourself!
| toy_3_circular_conversation_prompt.pdf |
Toy #5: Conflicts and Coalitions Accordion
This toy takes its starting point in feminist scholarship on incommensurability, agonism, and the value of opposition and conflict as found in the works of Chantal Mouffe (2013), bell hooks (2010), and Susan R. Jones (2008). Differences and conflicts are surfaced and shared while at the same time possibilities for action are explored (in spite of, because of, or by resolution of conflict and difference). This toy takes the form of an accordion fold book, constructed from a single sheet of paper, in which each of the four sections of the book is positioned at right angles with another.In doing so, the toy highlights seeks to help identify and surface differences while at the same time underlie the need for coalition building, collaboration, and collective action Each participant is invited to first create their own single accordion, then work with others to cut up and reconfigure sections in new ways.
Template in progress
Toy #6: Fortune Teller
Fortune teller draws on the classic children's origami structure known as a fortune teller or salt cellar (Murray and Rigney 1928). Thistoy utilizes scale to change the nature of the interaction with the material form, scaling the fortune teller up to a larger size such that it can only be operated in collaboration with two or more people, and cannot be used alone. The collaborative nature of the oversized form is also used to develop the content for the fortune "flaps," which display co-authored and/or co-illustrated representations of speculative futures. Participants develop this toy in conversation with work on feminism and futurism (e.g., Grosz 2000), feminist specualtive design (e.g., Martins 2014), and feminist theories of fiction and storytelling (e.g., LeGuin 2019).
Template in progress
Toy #7: Curation and Collection Folio
The final toy is a paper folio with pockets for bringing the 6 toys together into an assemblage. The framing and arrangement of the structures that hold and therefore also produce knowledge are discussed, in relation to Karen Barad’s work on agential cuts(2007). Feminist scholarship from informatics is included, such as Bonnie Mak and Julia Pollock’s research on the history and power relations of the card catalogue (2020), and perspectives on feminist curation in the art world (Richter et. al 2016). This toy is discussed not as an ending or culmination, but rather a beginning, and participants are encouraged to bring their work in relation with each others’ in new ways that may also be shared with a wider public, such as through publication of zines as discussed by Groeneveld (2006). The opportunity to carry this work further is envisioned as a possibility for making kin (Haraway 2016), or as a way to collectively develop a killjoy survival kit (Ahmed 2016).
Template in progress
References
Arao, Brian, and Kristi Clemens. 2013. "From safe spaces to brave spaces." The art of effective facilitation: Reflections from social justice educators. 135-150.
Ahmed, Sara. 2016. Living a Feminist Life. Durham NC: Duke University Press.
Ahmed, Sara. 2021. Complaint! Durham NC: Duke University Press.
Barad, Karen 2007. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Duke University Press.
Boal, Augusto. Trans. Adrian Jackson. 2006. The Aesthetics of the Oppressed. London and New York: Routledge.
Carastathis, Anna. 2013. “Basements and intersections.” Hypatia, 28(4), 698-715.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 1990. “Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color.” Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241–79.
Drucker, Johanna. 2004. The Century of Artists’ Books, Second Edition. Granary Books.
Fanni, Maryam, Matilda Flodmark, and Sara Kaaman, Eds. 2020. Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. Occasional Papers.
Gunning, Tom. 2012. Hand and Eye: Excavating a New technology of the Image in the Victorian Era. Victorian Studies, 54 no.(3), 495-516.
Groeneveld, Elizabeth 2016. Making feminist media: Third-wave magazines on the cusp of the digital age. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press.
Grosz, Elizabeth.. 2000. "Histories of a Feminist Future." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 25(4), 1017-1021.
Haraway, Donna J. 2016. Staying with the Trouble. Duke University Press.
Harding, Sandra. 1990. "Rethinking standpoint epistemology: What is" strong objectivity?"." The Centennial Review 36, no. 3: 437-470.
Harro, Bobbie. 2018. “The Cycle of Liberation.” In: Adams, Maurianne, et. al, Eds. Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, Fourth edition. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 627-634.
Helfand, Jessica. 2008. Scrapbooks: An American History. Yale University Press.
Hickey-Moody, Anna., Helen Palmer, & Esther Sayers. 2016. Diffractive Pedagogies: Dancing Across New Materialist Imaginaries. Gender and Education, vol. 28, issue 2, March 2016, pp. 213-229.
hooks, bell. 2010. Teaching for Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. Routledge.
Iurascu, Ilinca. 2021. Papierdenken: Blasche, Fröbel, and the Lessons of Nineteenth-Century Paper Modeling. Goethe Yearbook, 28, no. 1, 209-224.
Jasanoff, Sheila. 2016. The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future. WW. Norton and Company.
Jones, Susan R. 2008. “Student Resistance to Cross-Cultural Engagement: Annoying Distraction or Site for Transformative Learning?” Shaun R. Harper, Ed. Creating Inclusive Campus Environments For Cross-Cultural Learning and Student Engagement. NAPSA: National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. 67-85.
LeGuin, Ursula K. 2019. The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. Ignota Books.
Liboiron, Max. 2022. Exchanging. In: Transmissions: Critical Tactics for Making and Communicating Research, edited by Kat Jungnickel. 89-107. MIT Press.
Mak, Bonnie, and Julia Pollack 2020 “Cataloguing.” In Transmissions: Critical Tactics for Making and Communicating Research, edited by Kat Jungnickel. 228-238.. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Martins, Luiza Prado de O. 2014. Privilege and Oppression: Towards a Feminist Speculative Design, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redström, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umeå, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2014/researchpapers/75
May, Vivian M. 2014. “‘Speaking into the Void’? Intersectionality Critiques and Epistemic Backlash.” Hypatia 29 no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 94–112. doi:10.1111/hypa.12060.
Montessori, Maria, and Barbara Carter. 1936. The Secret of Childhood. Calcutta: Orient Longmans.
Mouffe, Chantal. 2013. Agonistics: Thinking the World Politically. Verso Books.
Murray, William D., Frances Joseph Rigney. 1928. Fun With Paper Folding. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.
Parvin, Nassim and Anne, Pollock. 2020. Unintended by Design: On the Political Uses of “Unintended Consequences.” Engaging Science, Technology and Society (6) 320-327.
Richter, Dorothee, Elke Krasny, and Lara Perry, Eds.. 2016. Curating in Feminist Thought. OnCurating, Issue 29, May. https://www.on-curating.org/issue-29.html#.YXZjGNlBx6B
Takacs, David. 2003. “How Does Your Positionality Bias Your Epistemology?” Thought & Action, Summer 2003: 27 - 38.
Ahmed, Sara. 2016. Living a Feminist Life. Durham NC: Duke University Press.
Ahmed, Sara. 2021. Complaint! Durham NC: Duke University Press.
Barad, Karen 2007. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Duke University Press.
Boal, Augusto. Trans. Adrian Jackson. 2006. The Aesthetics of the Oppressed. London and New York: Routledge.
Carastathis, Anna. 2013. “Basements and intersections.” Hypatia, 28(4), 698-715.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 1990. “Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color.” Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241–79.
Drucker, Johanna. 2004. The Century of Artists’ Books, Second Edition. Granary Books.
Fanni, Maryam, Matilda Flodmark, and Sara Kaaman, Eds. 2020. Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. Occasional Papers.
Gunning, Tom. 2012. Hand and Eye: Excavating a New technology of the Image in the Victorian Era. Victorian Studies, 54 no.(3), 495-516.
Groeneveld, Elizabeth 2016. Making feminist media: Third-wave magazines on the cusp of the digital age. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press.
Grosz, Elizabeth.. 2000. "Histories of a Feminist Future." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 25(4), 1017-1021.
Haraway, Donna J. 2016. Staying with the Trouble. Duke University Press.
Harding, Sandra. 1990. "Rethinking standpoint epistemology: What is" strong objectivity?"." The Centennial Review 36, no. 3: 437-470.
Harro, Bobbie. 2018. “The Cycle of Liberation.” In: Adams, Maurianne, et. al, Eds. Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, Fourth edition. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 627-634.
Helfand, Jessica. 2008. Scrapbooks: An American History. Yale University Press.
Hickey-Moody, Anna., Helen Palmer, & Esther Sayers. 2016. Diffractive Pedagogies: Dancing Across New Materialist Imaginaries. Gender and Education, vol. 28, issue 2, March 2016, pp. 213-229.
hooks, bell. 2010. Teaching for Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. Routledge.
Iurascu, Ilinca. 2021. Papierdenken: Blasche, Fröbel, and the Lessons of Nineteenth-Century Paper Modeling. Goethe Yearbook, 28, no. 1, 209-224.
Jasanoff, Sheila. 2016. The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future. WW. Norton and Company.
Jones, Susan R. 2008. “Student Resistance to Cross-Cultural Engagement: Annoying Distraction or Site for Transformative Learning?” Shaun R. Harper, Ed. Creating Inclusive Campus Environments For Cross-Cultural Learning and Student Engagement. NAPSA: National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. 67-85.
LeGuin, Ursula K. 2019. The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. Ignota Books.
Liboiron, Max. 2022. Exchanging. In: Transmissions: Critical Tactics for Making and Communicating Research, edited by Kat Jungnickel. 89-107. MIT Press.
Mak, Bonnie, and Julia Pollack 2020 “Cataloguing.” In Transmissions: Critical Tactics for Making and Communicating Research, edited by Kat Jungnickel. 228-238.. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Martins, Luiza Prado de O. 2014. Privilege and Oppression: Towards a Feminist Speculative Design, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redström, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umeå, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2014/researchpapers/75
May, Vivian M. 2014. “‘Speaking into the Void’? Intersectionality Critiques and Epistemic Backlash.” Hypatia 29 no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 94–112. doi:10.1111/hypa.12060.
Montessori, Maria, and Barbara Carter. 1936. The Secret of Childhood. Calcutta: Orient Longmans.
Mouffe, Chantal. 2013. Agonistics: Thinking the World Politically. Verso Books.
Murray, William D., Frances Joseph Rigney. 1928. Fun With Paper Folding. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.
Parvin, Nassim and Anne, Pollock. 2020. Unintended by Design: On the Political Uses of “Unintended Consequences.” Engaging Science, Technology and Society (6) 320-327.
Richter, Dorothee, Elke Krasny, and Lara Perry, Eds.. 2016. Curating in Feminist Thought. OnCurating, Issue 29, May. https://www.on-curating.org/issue-29.html#.YXZjGNlBx6B
Takacs, David. 2003. “How Does Your Positionality Bias Your Epistemology?” Thought & Action, Summer 2003: 27 - 38.
Workshops, Presentations & Publications
March 2020 Presentation at Material Feminisms in the Making: of Messiness and Social Justice in the Practices of Art, Design, and Education
http://techfutures.lmc.gatech.edu/material-feminisms
April 2020 Workshop with masters and PhD students in Digital Media Studies course, taught by Prof. Nassim Parvin at Georgia Institute of Technology
October 2021 Making and Doing session at 4S
November 2021 Workshop with masters students in Thesis preparation course, taught by Dr. Rebecca Rouse at University of Skövde, Sweden
http://techfutures.lmc.gatech.edu/material-feminisms
April 2020 Workshop with masters and PhD students in Digital Media Studies course, taught by Prof. Nassim Parvin at Georgia Institute of Technology
October 2021 Making and Doing session at 4S
November 2021 Workshop with masters students in Thesis preparation course, taught by Dr. Rebecca Rouse at University of Skövde, Sweden