Bloomsbury
(Designing) Beyond the Modern: Moments, Dialectics, Potentialities explores the decline of the modern project and the possibilities for transcending its limitations. Starting from design but reaching beyond it, the book envisions a politically charged, transdisciplinary form of critical praxis that responds to the emergencies of the present. It examines how designing—and other emerging practices—can act critically and affirmatively from the in-between spaces where modern and non-modern worldviews meet. Rather than prescribing solutions, the book offers situated and nuanced inquiries into the possibilities, tensions, and challenges of moving beyond the confines of modernity. Building on earlier investigations into the politics of designing, it invites readers across disciplines and practices to engage in regenerative, relational, and transformative forms of action, capable of imagining and enacting new ways of living together on a damaged planet.
Eduardo Staszowski is a researcher, theorist, and educator whose research examines how design can navigate and provoke transformation in response to social, political, economic, and environmental challenges. He teaches at Parsons School of Design, The New School, where he directs the Parsons DESIS Lab and co-directs the MFA in Transdisciplinary Design. Staszowski co-edits the book series Designing in Dark Times, Radical Thinkers in Design, and Beyond the Modern.
Virginia Tassinari is an Italian design theorist and educator whose work investigates the intersections of design philosophy, political ecology, and social innovation. She focuses on how design can foster relational, and commons-based practices that move beyond modern epistemologies. Tassinari teaches at TU Delft and a co-editor of the book series Designing in Dark Times and Beyond the Modern.
