The Challenges of Interdisciplinary Participation and Anti-oppressive Principles

Abstract

Championed as an emancipatory, bottom-up approach, participatory design (PD) continues to be a popular method for collaborative and interdisciplinary designers. PD approaches not only emphasize, but require for their success, the engagement of key stakeholders throughout the design process, including end-users, interdisciplinary team members and subject matter experts. This literature review examines contemporary perspectives on PD, highlighting participation and challenges to PD approaches, before introducing the reader to the principles of Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP). Reframing challenges to PD approaches as issues of participation allows for the consideration of AOP principles to meet these challenges.