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| Title |
Elective course: Critical Desgin
|
| Semester |
E2025
|
| Master programme in |
Digital Transformation / Computer Science
|
| Type of activity |
Course |
| Mandatory or elective |
Elective |
| Teaching language |
English
|
| Study regulation |
Read about the Master Programme and find the Study Regulations at ruc.dk |
| REGISTRATION AND STUDY ADMINISTRATIVE | |
| Registration |
You register for activities through stads selvbetjening during the announced registration period, which you can see on the Study administration homepage. When registering for courses, please be aware of the potential conflicts and overlaps between course and exam time and dates. The planning of course activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programmes, which should not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programmes, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose. |
| Number of participants |
|
| ECTS |
5
|
| Responsible for the activity |
Maja Fagerberg Ranten (mranten@ruc.dk)
|
| Head of study |
Nina Boulus-Rødje (ninabr@ruc.dk)
|
| Teachers |
|
| Study administration |
IMT Registration & Exams (imt-exams@ruc.dk)
|
| Exam code(s) |
U60592
|
| ACADEMIC CONTENT | |
| Overall objective |
The purpose of elective courses is to give the student opportunitities to specialize within a specific subject area, where the student acquires knowledge, skills and competences in order to translate theories, methods and solutions ideas into their own practice. |
| Detailed description of content |
The elective course aims to allow the students to build a repertoire of critical design theory and to understand the complexity of the interaction between technology, body, society and politics concerning IT systems, software- and digital design development. Critical Design is an established subfield within Human Computer Interaction, which aims to challenge our basic assumptions about the design technologies we develop. In recent years, the field has been developed in dialogue with posthuman theorizing, gender/queer theory and decolonial theory. In the course, we review, among other things, the theory of Critical & Speculative Design, Somatic Design, Design Activism, More-than-Human Design and 4th Wave Human Computer Interaction, as well as concepts such as Post/de-colonial, Intersectional & Discursive Design. We ask critical questions about design and technology development and examine and challenge the complexity of the interaction between the technology we develop and how digital technology is entangled with ethics, politics, society and our own biases. The course integrates theory and practice and consists of lessons based on read articles, critical reflection and practical work with different design cases in groups. After completing the course, the student is expected to be able to: - Describe, discuss and critically reflect on the latest theories and methods within Critical Design - Select and integrate relevant theories in relation to a relevant design case - Independently define and motivate and chosen problem within the field of Critical Design - Identify and apply Critical Design concepts to design and technology development |
| Course material and reading list |
A selection of literature addressing the various topics in the course will be available before the start of the course. Please consult Moodle for the final literature list. |
| Overall plan and expected work effort |
The course's 5 ECTS correspond to a total of 135 hours workload with: - 40 hours of lectures and exercises, - 70 hours of preparation over a 10-week course period, and - 25 hours for the exam and preparation before the course period. |
| Format |
The teaching will consist of a combination of exercises and lectures. For each lecture there will be exercises in which the student gets concrete experience with the concepts that have been introduced. |
| Evaluation and feedback |
Evaluation form to be filled out (anonymously) plus open discussion on the last course day. Feedback will be collected continuously during the semester. |
| Programme |
|
| ASSESSMENT | |
| Overall learning outcomes |
After completing this course, students will be able to:
|
| Prerequisites |
|
| Form of examination |
Group portfolio exam
Permitted group size: 2-6 students. Examples of written products are exercise responses, talking points for presentations, written feedback, reflections, written assignments. The preparation of the products may be subject to time limits. Assignments written by a group must be individualised. The portfolio is written completely or partially during the course. The character limit of the portfolio is: For 2 students: maximum36,000 characters, including spaces. For 3 students: maximum42,000 characters, including spaces. For 4 students: maximum48,000 characters, including spaces. For 5 students: maximum52,800 characters, including spaces. For 6 students: maximum55,200 characters, including spaces. The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude appendices. The entire portfolio must be handed in at the same time. Assessment: 7-point grading scale Moderation: Internal co-assessor |
| Form of Re-examination |
Individual portfolio exam
The character limit of the portfolio is maximum36,000 characters, including spaces. Examples of written products are exercise responses, talking points for presentations, written feedback, reflections, written assignments. The preparation of the products may be subject to time limits. The character limits include the cover, table of contents, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude appendices. The portfolio is written after the course has ended. The entire portfolio must be handed in at the same time. Assessment: 7-point grading scale Moderation: Internal co-assessor |
| Type of examination in special cases |
The same form as ordinary exam |
| Examination and assessment criteria (implemented) |
The written portfolio exam will be assessed based on the extent to which the student is able to fulfil the following criteria And whether the written exam meets all the formal requirements. Use of Generative AI tools (GAI) in exams In this course, generative AI tools (GAI) are allowed in the work on the exam if the use is declared. You must clearly indicate how you have used generative artificial intelligence (GAI). This can, for example, be included as part of a methodology section or as a brief statement at the end of your exam paper. This means that you must describe how you have used GAI, for example, for preparatory work on the assignment, to ask questions, search and process information, creative tasks such as generating images or illustrations, idea generation, coding, receive feedback and critique on your text, perform proofreading, or improve language and readability. It is important that you actively consider your choice of tools in this way, as it is part of the entire creation process of the assignment and thus part of your scientific method and academic communication. The use of any specific text that is GAI-generated requires citation, just like the use of any other sources from which direct quotes are taken. In the library's guide, you can see more about how to cite AI and how you can declare your use of GAI. Regular spell check and other language suggestions, as known from Word or other word processing programs, as well as programs for writing minutes and transcription, are allowed in all written exams and do not need to be declared. The use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) must always take place within the framework of Roskilde University's ‘Guidelines for using generative artificial intelligence in written exams’. Read the guidelines here. |
| Exam code(s) | |
| Last changed | 09/09/2025 |
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