In a new Context, we are all Apprentices: How Dialogue Between the Three States of Craft Education is a Catalyst for Adaptation

Kerlaff, Paul

Abstract

This essay argues that dialogue between the three states of craft education is a key mechanism for adaptation. Adaptation here is taken as the act or process of adjustment to changing circumstances (Merriam-Webster 2022), with a particular focus on communal knowledge of making. The three identified phases of medieval craft education – apprentice, journeyman, and master – are not only relevant to current debate around workmanship (Pye 1968; Adamson 2009; Crawford 2011; Sennett 2008,2012; Ingold 2013; Korn 2013), but also resonant in modern design education. Through reflection on key texts and case studies, this essay proposes the three phases can be seen as states which are fluid, co-existent and in dialogue with one another. Dialogue between these states is a key mechanism for adaptation, for which convivial (Illich 1973) and dialogic (Sennett 2012) environments are a pre-requisite. In better understanding this mechanism, we can engage it to create resilient, adaptive communities of practice and learning.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (Published)
• Conference Name: Cumulus Detroit 2022: Design for Adaptation
• Start Date: Nov 2, 2022
• End Date: Nov 4, 2022
• Acceptance Date: Sep 1, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Nov 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 30, 2023
• Pages: 438-449
• Series Title: Cumulus Conference Proceedings Series
• Series Number: 9
• Series ISSN: 2490-046X
• Book Title: Design for Adaptation: Cumulus Conference Proceedings Detroit 2022
• Keywords: craft, community, adaptation, dialogue, apprentice, conviviality
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2948521
• Publisher URL: https://cumulusassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CumulusDetroit2023_Proceedings.pdf
• Related Public URLs: https://cumulusassociation.org/events/cumulus-conferences/cumulus-detroit-2022-design-for-adaptation/