The Redistribution of the Sensible: Building an Interdisciplinary/ Interventionist Praxis

Zachary Kaiser, assistant professor of graphic design and experience architecture discusses how one participation in the world is determined by how one perceives it, and how one perceives it is what Jacques Rancière meant by “the distribution of the sensible.” Design serves precisely this function and shapes the way we perceive the world. As such, the distribution of the sensible reifies systems and structures of power in society, with designers often unknowingly complicit in this process. To propose alternative modes of being requires a redistribution of the sensible. This presentation will chronicle Professor Kaiser’s efforts at such a practice, examining the reciprocal dialog between his scholarly and artistic pursuits, which tie together various strands of research from a number of humanities-oriented disciplines in an attempt to redistribute the sensible towards a more just and equitable society.