Why design history? A multi-national perspective on the state and purpose of the field

This article asks: what is the significance of design history within higher education? It reviews the practice and purpose of design history, in terms of its role in the education of historically aware and critically engaged designers, as an emerging independent discipline, and in terms of what the subject has to offer allied fields such as history, sociology, cultural studies, area studies and anthropology. It considers the development and current state of design history as it is taught in the UK and wider Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan, China and Korea. The argument that follows is grounded in recent design historical scholarship in order to provide both a contemporary perspective on current practice and suggestions about possible futures.