Modul 2021

The Future Now of Work was an eight-week inter-disciplinary journey and exploration into the universe of working. Five tutors, four guest speakers, and eight students from different undergraduate departments composed a team of learners and teachers. Hence, the idea of this module is an experiment in education and learning.

Collectively we did a translational journey through which students engaged in the process of translation and produced a process portfolio of experiments.

The idea of translation means that both designing as an approach and artifacts that result out of the theme of work and working as an activity can be conceived of as a process of translation. They can be apprehended as a method, context, text, structure, and form.

The idea of the experiment means that work, whether in a program of a new office or new ways of working can be explored through imagination. The "tool" of such imaginations is the human being.

This journey led students and tutors through six consecutive weeks.

In week one, devoted to setting the stage for weeks to come, design theorist Hans Kaspar Hugentobler (HSLU – Design Management) presented different arenas of work from which students had to choose one to explore and summarize in a written document. This activity was supported by some kind of window shopping provided by four guest speakers from Switzerland (David Krieger), the US (David Siegel and Margaret Alrutz), and Germany (Stephan Rein), spanning up a continuum from theory to speculations to workplace strategies and culture, and organizational prototyping. Every week a different tutor involved students into a specific universe through which they were invited to look at and address the theme of work through experimentation.

In week two, philosopher Peter A. Schmid (HSLU – Social Work), started with a philosophy class perspective and referring to Hanna Arendt and her differentiation between labor, work, and action, and its meaning for people.

In week 2, musician Hans-Peter Pfammatter (HSLU – Music) followed up with opening a window into experimental music and orchestration, and how to create music practically by using software tools.

In week 4, design manager Sibylle Schempf (HSLU – Design Management) introduced the notion of networks comprised of non-hierarchical interdependencies between human and technological actors reflected through ANT (actor-network) theory, a shift to recognizing the role and impact of technology in agile networks.

In week 5, architect Nadine Jerchau-Gay (HSLU – Architecture) brought students back to physical space and its relation to and support of human activities by bringing us into the worlds of movies, exhibitions, and speculations.

The idea of the last work was to create an experiment by integrating as many explorations from the four previous weeks into one called "form.". The task related to our companion text “The Politics of the Open Work” by Umberto Eco. The text addresses the relationship between work (of music) that is defined by a composer and the autonomy of the performer about how to play the work. In the experiments, students explored specific expressions of work and the autonomy that it opens up by a performer.

The challenge for the student participants was to sustain ambiguity and openness in some of the weeks while working with narrower tasks in others.

But have a look for yourself!

Students: Emanuel Bohnenblust, Cyril Forster, Vivien Helbling, Leslie Herzig, Lisa Kraan, Sven Schneider, Tymoteusz Tryzno, Lino Riboni.

Tutors: Hans Kaspar Hugentobler, Peter A. Schmid, Hans-Peter Pfammatter, Sibylle Schempf, Nadine Jerchau-Gay.

Guests: David Krieger, David Siegel, Margaret Alrutz, Stephan Rein.