Worldbuilding: Critical and Creative Practices
Program Overview
Program Overview
The university program offers a range of courses and research opportunities in various fields, including Design·AI Education, Design·AI Research, Design·AI Innovation, and Design·AI Enterprise.
Academic Programs
- Undergraduate programs
- Graduate programs
- Continuing education (SUTD Academy)
- 42 Singapore
Research Areas
- Design and Artificial Intelligence (DAI)
- Engineering Product Development (EPD)
- Engineering Systems and Design (ESD)
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)
- Information Systems Technology and Design (ISTD)
- Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT)
Course Details
02.180DH Worldbuilding: Critical and Creative Practices
The course investigates worldbuilding as a critical lens and creative practice for understanding and making interventions into our rapidly transforming techno-cultural world. Worldbuilding is the construction of imagined worlds, with their own histories, environments, social systems, and logic.
Learning Objectives
- Articulate the ethical, social and speculative implications of worldbuilding practices
- Analyse how constructed worlds across different media, platforms, and technologies embed social, cultural, or ideological systems
- Evaluate a range of creative techniques, processes, and AI tools appropriate to one's individual practice
- Experiment with narrative, spatial, and AI-influenced worldbuilding techniques
- Produce an artistic project that applies research, knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course
Measurable Outcomes
- Articulate and explain thoughts and arguments through class participation
- Analyse creative techniques, methods, and processes
- Identify relationships and conceptual connections by maintaining a commonplace book
- Evaluate a case study which articulates insights, critical reflections, and learning
- Demonstrate conceptual development and execution of a worldbuilding project
Assessment
| Assessment Items | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Class participation (individual) | 10% |
| Presentation (group) | 20% |
| Commonplace book (individual) | 20% |
| Mid-term paper (individual) | 25% |
| Final project (individual) | 25% |
Weekly Schedule
- Week 1: Introduction to Worldbuilding
- Week 2: Narrative and Storytelling
- Week 3: Art & Design Approaches
- Week 4: Socio-political Dynamics of Worldbuilding
- Week 5: Fieldtrip
- Week 6: Atlases, Maps, and Guides
- Week 7: Recess Week
- Week 8: Mid-term Project Presentation
- Week 9: The Reality Effect: Work and Play
- Week 10: Ethics and Society
- Week 11: Emerging Technologies and Cultural Production
- Week 12: Consultations for Final Project
- Week 13: Final Project Presentation
Instructor
Debbie Ding
Program Structure
The program is divided into several pillars, clusters, and programs, including:
- ASD: Architecture and Sustainable Design
- DAI: Design and Artificial Intelligence
- EPD: Engineering Product Development
- ESD: Engineering Systems and Design
- HASS: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
- ISTD: Information Systems Technology and Design
- SMT: Science, Mathematics and Technology
Campus Life
The university offers a range of campus facilities, including:
- Academic facilities
- Housing
- Sports and recreation centre
- F&B and services
- Library
About the University
The university is committed to design, artificial intelligence, and innovation, with a focus on sustainability, diversity, and inclusion. The university has a range of research centers, institutes, and programs, and offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs.