Design as Political Praxis: toward a cosmopolitical perspective

Abstract

This article examines the political dimension of design through the theoretical debates developed within the seventh Seminar of the Research Group Narrativas em Inovação, Design e Antropologia from the Federal University of Maranhão (NIDA/UFMA), entitled Political Design: Praxis, Intersectionalities, Design and Politics. Drawing on a narrative literature review, the study advances an understanding of design as a political practice that both shapes and is shaped by power relations, colonial legacies, and normative world-making processes. The Seminar was structured into seven meetings organized around three thematic axes—praxis, intersectionalities, and design and politics—and served as a collective space for critical reflection on the role of design in contemporary socio-political challenges. Through a triangulated analysis combining theoretical frameworks, the authors’ reflections, and participants’ perceptions, the paper argues for the politicization of design and for the relevance of cosmopolitical praxis as a means of composing situated, pluriversal worlds with human and more-than-human entities.