Pluriversal Worlding: Design, Narratives, and Metaphors for Societal Transformation

Renata M. Leitão

doi:10.25038/am.v0i29.551

Authors

Renata M. Leitão Department of Human Centered Design, Cornell University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i29.551

Keywords:

pluriversality; design; social change; societal transformation; decoloniality; alternative world-making; Indigenous worldviews; design for sustainability.

Abstract

This essay examines the concept of pluriversality, which refers to the human power to build worlds differently and envision different models for inhabiting the planet. The Pluriverse, ‘a world where many worlds fit’, is a decolonial vision created by the Zapatista movement that contrasts with the supposed universality of the Western Modern world. Our planet is still home to many ‘worlds’ that have resisted the cultural homogenization promoted by colonialism and imperialism. Pluriversality proposes a path for transformational world-building that begins with the belief that alternatives to capitalist modernity are possible. This essay investigates the relationship between the narratives and metaphors a society adopts and the kind of world we design. Pluriversality is focused on creating and nurturing new models of life and reweaving our reality, not on destroying the old. Recognizing and making visible and viable alternatives that enable healthier relationships with nature and each other, particularly the ones created by Indigenous and marginalized communities and peoples of color, is at the core of what pluriversality is about.

Author Biography

Renata M. Leitão, Department of Human Centered Design, Cornell University

Renata M. Leitão, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Centered Design at Cornell University. She is a graphic designer and social justice-focused design researcher with several years of experience in intercultural and collaborative projects with indigenous and marginalized communities. Dr. Leitão is co-chair of the Pluriversal Design Special Interest Group of the Design Research Society and co-founder of the Pivot Design Conferences.

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Pluriversal Worlding: Design, Narratives, and Metaphors for Societal Transformation

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Author Biography

Renata M. Leitão, Department of Human Centered Design, Cornell University

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