The School of Art and Design History and Theory is proud to present the 2015 issues of our annual graduate journals–BIAS, Plot(s), and Objective.

This year marked the launching of Objective, the journal spearheaded by the History of Design and Curatorial Studies MA Program, which is offered jointly between Parsons and Cooper Hewitt. In the inaugural issue, the editors sought to understand and interpret objects, defined as the “physical presence of human ideas,” based on their historical and societal milieu, as well as look at how objects can illuminate the contexts that produced them. The journal pays special attention to understanding the act of curating and what it means to display objects in a way that makes their meanings “beneficial, legible and interesting to others.” This first issue of Objective explores a wide range of topics, from the way Tiffany & Co. coffee cups serve as emblems of the Gilded Age to the relationship between chairs and their users in cinema, and includes book reviews of design studies texts and an interview with Gregory Herringshaw, Assistant Curator in Charge of the Wallcoverings Department at Cooper Hewitt.

2015 also saw the third of Fashion Studies’s BIAS: Journal of Dress Practice issues. Entitled “Fashion + Surveillance,” the issue is themed around surveillance and how the acts of watching and being watched relate to fashion. Topics include the exploration of high school dress codes in relation to Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power and the concept of age appropriateness. A number of photo essays that explore the theme are also printed in the journal.

Design Studies released “Push Harder,” the second edition of Plot(s) Journal of Design Studies. The journal explores the impact design has on daily lives and how design practices both influence and are influenced by historical, political, and social conditions. Such investigations highlight design studies as a “field in dynamic flux.” The journal looks at topics such as data collection and technology in urban places, and both historical and current spaces for performance.

–Ana Miljak