Rachel Joy Harkness
Design for
Action and autonomy, Care and cultivation, Environment, The pluriverse
Year
2018-20192019-20202020-20212021-2022

Rachel works at the intersection of art, architecture and design, anthropology and the environmental humanities. She is from Scotland, and in terms of her own education, studied Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, Anthropology and Cultural Ethnology at Aberdeen, and then received her doctorate, researching eco-design, also from the University of Aberdeen. After being part of a number of research projects on environmental, sensory and art-architectural topics, she joined ECA in 2016 as a Lecturer.
She is now a member of the teaching team for the Design for Change MA, and runs the core course on the Programme called ‘dLab3: Design for Environmental Change’ which is a hybrid theory and studio course. She also runs an elective theory course on ‘Environmental Design: Ecologies, Materials, Futures’ and is a PT for some of the Design for Change cohort.
Her work springs from interests in the relationship between theory and practice, in materials, and in the political ecology of design. Working in Design at ECA is, she feels, a privilege, and a great opportunity to combine interests in action/activism, the aesthetic and the anthropological. When she is not working, Rachel can often be found being taken for a walk by her Border Collie dog or enjoying modern art exhibitions.
Rachel’s University profile is here https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-rachel-joy-harkness.
Insight
What is your favourite part of the D4C programme?
Whilst the obvious answer might be the course I teach, as here I get to explore topics I’m passionate about with the students, I think that what is becoming my favourite part is seeing how each year the current cohort develops: relationships build, friendships form, and wonderful – often surprising – work is created out of that process. The year of the MA programme then feels like just the start of something exciting!
Who are you inspired by?
People who fight for change and justice against the odds. The works of many great artists and writers also inspire me.
One book or reading recommendation?
The work of writer Ursula Le Guin. The alternative worlds of her science fiction and fantasy got me hooked; her non-fiction, which I came to later, is also full of wisdom.