DECOLONIZING SYSTEMIC DESIGN: INDIGENOUS EPISTEMOLOGIES & THE LIMITS OF CAPITALIST TRANSITION STRATEGIES Design Briefs for Wild-Eyed Wicked Problem Solvers
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Decolonizing Systemic Design: Indigenous Epistemologies and the Limits of Capitalist Transition Strategies: Design Briefs for Wild Wicked Problem Solvers is an open, collaborative research project designed to challenge the dominant paradigms of systemic transition by integrating Indigenous knowledge systems, decolonial theory, and intersectional justice frameworks into the practice of designing solutions for wicked problems. These wicked problems—climate change, social inequality, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion—are too complex to be addressed through linear, technocratic, or capitalist frameworks alone. Despite the proliferation of transition frameworks, many of the mainstream approaches remain rooted in colonial histories, capitalist logics, and technocratic assumptions that limit their capacity to address the deeper cultural, relational, and ethical dimensions of systemic issues. This project critiques those mainstream frameworks—including Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), Circular Economy (CE), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—highlighting their blind spots and how they often reproduce the power dynamics and inequities they seek to solve. In response to these limitations, this project proposes a series of prototypical design frameworks that center Indigenous epistemologies, pluralistic knowledge systems, and decolonial ethics. These frameworks are designed to be open-ended and adaptable, serving as living design briefs for thinkers, designers, policymakers, and wild wicked problem solvers across cultures. Each brief offers an alternative, context-sensitive approach to addressing systemic challenges, while promoting relationality, reciprocity, and regenerative systems thinking. This work is not a finished product but a starting point for deeper inquiry, iteration, and co-creation. We invite you to engage with these design briefs as prototypes that can be tested, evolved, and adapted within diverse contexts. The goal is to foster a global community of decolonial practitioners dedicated to addressing wicked problems in ways that are ethical, just, and rooted in cultural and ecological respect.
Author: Armstrong, Aram Saroyan
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6893341943
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