"We've conquered dark": Shedding light on empowerment in critical making

Shannon Grimme, Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present a qualitative study based on interviews with makers engaging in a variety of critical making activities. As part of our attempt to understand what critical making is and can be, we are investigating what motivates makers, that is, seeking to understand the sorts of qualities that make making sufficiently attractive or valuable to warrant their participation. Whether making for themselves or to share with others, for fun or functionality, we found that empowerment, often defined in opposition to passive consumerism, was a recurrent theme in our interviews. We discuss the seemingly cyclical motivational and reward functions of maker empowerment in guiding and encouraging making activities, and consider the impact of a refined understanding of "critical making" as it can be leveraged and supported for future HCI research and design practice.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the NordiCHI 2014
Subtitle of host publicationThe 8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Fun, Fast, Foundational
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages431-440
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)1595930361, 9781450325424
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 26 2014
Event8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, NordiCHI 2014 - Helsinki, Finland
Duration: Oct 26 2014Oct 30 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings of the NordiCHI 2014: The 8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Fun, Fast, Foundational

Conference

Conference8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, NordiCHI 2014
Country/TerritoryFinland
CityHelsinki
Period10/26/1410/30/14

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Software

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