Equity in Computing

Architectural production – from 3D modeling, to writing, to social media – relies upon computing: the use of computers. Computing is made possible by software and hardware, tools with unique histories and logics. These tools are not neutral but rather they are encoded with the biases of both their creators and end users. Understanding and making legible these biases, and how they influence the production of architecture, is crucial to deconstructing, designing, and deploying computing toward a more equitable future.

This was an undergraduate elective 3-credit seminar,  taught by Shelby Doyle, for the first time in Fall 2020 during COVID-19. The course was delivered online and during a shortened semester: 14 weeks of instruction and 1 week for final exams. It consisted of consist of readings, lectures, discussions, and case studies to introduce students to the social context of computing in architectural education and practice.

The development of this course benefited greatly from Elizabeth Patitsas’ Critical CS reading list: tinyurl.com/criticalCS and in the spirit of that project the course is open sourced:

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Syllabus

Week 01	What is Equity?
Week 02	Defining Equity in Architecture
Week 03	Storytelling + Critical Social Theory
Week 04	Politics of / as Pedagogy
Week 05	Representational Equity: Secret Life of Scale Figures
Week 06	Professionalization and / as Exclusion
Week 07	Digital Literacy and Architecture
Week 08	Epistemology and Decolonizing Architecture
Week 09	Pipeline Problems
Week 10	Redefining Equity
Week 11	ACADIA Conference
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15	Final Project