Northumbria Research Link Citation: Gooding, Joanne (2012) Design history in Britain from the 1970s to 2012: context, formation, and development. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University. This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/14688/ Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder. The full policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.html DESIGN HISTORY IN BRITAIN FROM THE 1970s to 2012: CONTEXT, FORMATION, AND DEVELOPMENT J. V. GOODING PhD 2012 DESIGN HISTORY IN BRITAIN FROM THE 1970s to 2012: CONTEXT, FORMATION, AND DEVELOPMENT Joanne Victoria Gooding M.A. (RCA) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2012 Abstract This thesis discusses the development of design history in Britain from the 1970s to 2012, arguing that it is a clear example of a network of relationships, intersections of ideas, approaches and intellectual influences that are representative of the complexity of current academic practice. This study engages with discourses and debates concerning attempts to define academic recognition in a subject area that resists drawing boundaries and is by its very nature multidisciplinary. The period with which this study is concerned is characterised by considerable change in society, the approach to education and academic endeavour, and the consumption of histories. All of these changes have significance for the formation and development of design history, in addition to its contribution to academic practice and its impact beyond narrow scholarly circles. This thesis acknowledges that the overlapping and interweaving of threads of knowledge, methodology, approaches and paradigms is a feature of contemporary academic practice, and applies the concept of communities of practice to discussion of the multiple types of scholarship that have constituted design history. In doing this no claim is made for design history as a distinct academic discipline but rather it is discussed as a much broader academic network. Additionally, the thesis offers an evaluation of the role of this network, including the Design History Society as a distinct community of practice, in the context of developments in education, academic changes, museums and publishing. This leads to a consideration of the various arenas in which the products of design history are consumed thus demonstrating the importance and impact of the network outside academia. Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the original impetus and studentship funding from Northumbria University and the Design History Society. I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Cheryl Buckley whose encouragement and support from the initial to the final stages enabled me to make this contribution to the historiography of design history. Ysanne Holt also offered invaluable assistance and guidance throughout the process. Any research project involves interactions across a wide network and many individuals have contributed influence and assistance, both practically and intellectually. These include those who inspired my interest in writing histories; from Frank Hedley my school history teacher; Ludmilla Jordanova for initial assistance on an A’ level project and subsequently as tutor on my degree at the University of East Anglia; to tutors and staff on the V&A/RCA History of Design MA, including John Styles, Helen Clifford, Jeremy Aynsley, David Crowley and Katrina Royall. Also members of the Design History Society during my time as a member of the Executive Committee; especially Barbara Burman, Grace Lees- Maffei, Nicola Hebditch, Kirsten Hardie, Ruth Facey, Lesley Whitworth and Juliette Kristensen. I would also like to thank many of the members of the wider design history network who have often reminded me of the importance of design histories. I am indebted to Linda Sandino and Liz Bruchet the co-ordinators of the Design History Society and Association of Art Historians oral history projects and all interviewers and interviewees. Additionally, any project such as this involves the help and assistance of librarians and archive staff at various institutions who all deserve my thanks, they include; Elizabeth James from the National Art Library at the V&A, and staff from, the Royal College of Art, Northumbria and Teesside Universities, the Design Council Archive, the National Archive, the Museum of Brands and Packaging and the Design Museum. I would also like to acknowledge those who donated to the DHS archive papers and provided documents for use in this project, including Malcolm Gee, Jonathan Woodham, Christopher Bailey, Charlotte Benton, and Bridget Wilkins. Finally, friends and family have offered emotional, practical and financial help. These include fellow historians Claire Longworth, Claire Jones and Carla Cesare. Thanks also to my parents and parents-in-law, particularly Len Gooding for proof-reading my text. Lastly, but most importantly, it is an honour for me to thank Scott Gooding for all his support through these challenging and exciting years. Dedication For Scott and Jasper. Declaration I declare that the work contained in this thesis has not been submitted for any other award and that it is all my own work. The work was done in collaboration with the Design History Society. Name: Joanne Victoria Gooding Signature: Date: CONTENTS: Introduction 1 Aims, objectives and methodology 1 Networks, Communities of Practice and Interactions 6 Discussing Design as a subject 12 Writing Histories 16 Chapter Structure 26 Chapter 1 The 1960s and 70s – The context for and events influencing the emergence of a Design Historical Network 31 Context 32 Changes in Art School Education 38 Early conferences and publications 46 Academic Societies: Formalising ‘communities of practice’ into a Discipline 63 Key themes 70 Chapter 2 The 1960s and 70s - The Importance of Educational changes examined through discussion of Early design history in the Polytechnics and the Open University 73 Case study 1 - Early design history courses in the Polytechnics 74 Case study 2 - Open University Course A305- History of Architecture and Design 1890-1939 and its publications 85 Communities of Practice and the Domain of design history 94 Chapter 3 The 1980s - The Network Establishes Itself as a Discipline 99 Context 100 Developing the publication of scholarship in the domain of design history 107 Debating subject and methodology in the design history domain: intersections between ‘history of design’ and ‘design history’ 118 Establishing a relationship between the domain of design history and museums 131 Chapter 4 The 1980s - The Importance of Academic Organizations for the design history Network; evaluating the significance of the DHS and the Journal of Design History. 139 Case Study 1 – Evaluating the role of the Design History Society 140 Case study 2 – The Journal of Design History. 158 Oral histories and design histories 169 Chapter 5 The 1990s - Development and consolidation of the design history network as an academic discipline 175 The expansion of Higher Education and consideration of research quality 184 Design history and design studies – two communities within a network 200 The design history network, new museology, and reassessing the role of the museum 203 Increasing scope of publishing in the domain of design 214 Chapter 6 The 1990s - The expanding influence of the design history network: An examination of design history in the museums sector through the V&A/RCA History of Design MA course and the V&A British Galleries project 225 Case study 1: The establishment and development of the V&A/RCA History of Design course and associated research culture in the museum. 227 Case study 2 - The British Galleries 1500-1900 project 240 The V&A as a boundary object for varied communities of practice in the design history network. 247 Chapter 7 Into the 21st century: The evolution of design history and its impact 251 Broad changes in the direction of scholarship across the design history network 258 Higher education and its regulation 266 Funding for research within the domain of design history 270 The expansion of the design history network globally. 276 Reflecting on the current state of the design history network 283 Impact of the design history network outside the formal academic sector 291 Developments during this decade for the wider design history network 300 Chapter 8 The 21st century - The continuing influence and expansion of the design history network: examined through Research Council- funded projects and the publication of academic ‘readers’ in the domain. 303 Case study 1 – Research Council-funded projects that encompass scholarship from the design history network. 304 Case study