Conference

Mainstreaming Issues of Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity in Interior Design Education

---

Abstract

As with virtually all other professions, the practice of interior design has experienced a seemingly overnight expansion of markets and intense competition for clients in all markets. Especially in the United States, the comfortable familiarity of a largely homogenous clientele has taken on a new face—many new faces. The evolution of interior design from a primarily Western European frame of reference to a truly global arena has occurred far more rapidly than most practitioners expected. The change has been even more abrupt in design education; most programs are only now beginning to react to the implications of globalization. Even institutions with long-standing study abroad programs often find they are more familiar with the material culture of their host countries than the nation and ethnic cultures from which they have emerged. This interactive session will present the initiatives underway to enhance the multicultural relevancy, visibility, and appeal of Iowa State University’s Interior Design Program. It will also outline measures taken and pending to expand the multicultural content of the program at the sophomore, upper division, and graduate levels. The session would be punctuated with examples of course content and student work related to racial, ethnicity, and other cultural issues.