This edited volume identifies and establishes the idea of the Callidocene, which the authors position as an epoch that both includes and extends beyond the current conception of the Anthropocene.
While the word ‘Anthropocene’ has become strongly associated with concerns over humanity’s impact on the planet, contributors turn instead to the Callidocene—intended to encompass human, machine, and system cleverness— to emphasize the hopeful and positive aspects of human influence on the world. Contributors posit that designers in particular have increasingly attempted to consider the impact of their work on society, culture, and the environment, and this book will contribute to this conversation through its analyses of a wide range of topics, including complexity in design, media toxicity, and community innovation in sustainability. Collectively, contributions to this volume highlight the potential of human cleverness to address - or even reverse- the damage we’ve inflicted on both ourselves and our planet. Scholars of sociology, environmental studies, cultural studies, media studies, and communication will find this book of particular interest.
Contributions by:
Andrea Hoff
Edited by:
Milena Radzikowska,
Stan Ruecker,
Guilherme Meyer,
Teresa M. Dobson
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781666962291
ISBN 10: 1666962295
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 16 October 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Being Affected by the Anthropocene Guilherme Englert Corrêa Meyer Part One: Complexity Chapter One Framing Anthropocene with Experimental Prototyping Guilherme Englert Corrêa Meyer Chapter Two The Three Approaches to Complexity in Design: Design as Configuration, Execution, and Attribution Cliff Shin and Juan Salamanca Chapter Three (Re)Designing Intersectional Feminist Futures: “Vital Structuring” as Critical Praxis Brianna I. Wiens Chapter Four Re-stitching Texts: A Geography of Fragmentation in Five Movements Teresa M. Dobson Part Two: Techne Chapter Five Graphic Design from the Perspective of Contemporary Technological Relationships Juan De La Rosa Chapter Six Design and Machine Learning: Tipping the balance toward the Callidocene Gerry Derksen Chapter Seven “We Still Don’t Understand We’re at War”: Media Toxicity and Social Media Disinformation Ecologies Shana MacDonald and Brianna I. Wiens Part Three: Action Chapter Eight A Project May Be More Than You Think It Is Ricardo Triska and Stan Ruecker Chapter Nine Are Surveys Necessary? Designing Virtual Environments for Participatory Research Colter Wehmeier Chapter Ten Ride the Bullet: An Introduction to Design Reading Milena Radzikowska and Stan Ruecker Chapter Eleven Designing Futures and Framing Worlds: Posthuman Worldbuilding in Speculative Comics Created by Youths Andrea Hoff and Teresa M. Dobson Conclusion Why the Callidocene? Stan Ruecker
Teresa M. Dobson is director of the Master of Educational Technology Program and professor of language and literacy education at the University of British Columbia. Guilherme Meyer is a designer, educator and researcher. Milena Radzikowska is an established researcher in humanities-based data visualization, feminist human-computer interaction (HCI), and interface design for decision support. Stan Ruecker is an international design research consultant.
