Design and Displacement, the 2018 Design History Society Annual Conference, will take place at Parsons Parsons School of Design September 6th-8th, 2018. The conference examines displacement and attendant issues from a design perspective. In addition to the current displacement of people and populations, sessions will consider the theme more broadly and historically, including connections among the displacement of objects and styles, changing technologies, and broad geographies and histories related to landscapes and urban development.

The keynote speakers reflect a variety of methodological approaches and are drawn from a range of academic disciplines. The keynote speakers are: Paul Chaat Smith, Comanche author, essayist and curator; Lowery Stokes Sims, Curator Emerita, the Museum of Art and Design, New York; Tony Fry, designer, theorist, educator and author; and Mabel O. Wilson, architect and architectural historian.

In addition to the conference sessions, delegates are invited to an evening reception at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, as well as a choice of several conference visits including: Flushing Meadows Park, the site of the 1939 and 1964 New York World’s Fair; a curator-led tour of Cooper Hewitt; or a trip to the Paul Rudolph House. The conference gala dinner will be held aboard the “Spirit of New York”, a dinner boat that will sail past some of New York City’s most significant architectural landmarks. For more information please visit the conference website: http://www.designdisplacement.com/ or contact conference convener,  Sarah A. Lichtman at lichtmas@newschool.edu.