How queer theory can inform design thinking pedagogy

Abstract

We consider how to incorporate queer rhetorics into design curricula to amplify the potential of design thinking for addressing considerations of social justice. We theorize queered pedagogical approaches to design thinking in technical communication. Engaging praxis through queer rhetorical theory and design thinking, we consider how queer theory can inform our pedagogies and how we scaffold our students in thinking about design. To illustrate the promise of queer rhetorics for enriching design thinking pedagogy, we present extended examples, including assignments and correlating class activities, to illustrate how to enact recommendations for using working closets, queer time, and queer space. We illustrate that this concept is relevant to a range of approaches to design thinking.