A Seat at the Table of Social Change through Service Design. Issue 1 (October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: BLOMBERG, JEANETTE; DARRAH, CHUCK
• Is Part Of: Conference proceedings. Issue 1(2015)
• Page Start: 290
• Page End: 305
• Publication Date: 2015-10
• Subjects: Ethnology -- Congresses; 306.3
• DOI: 10.1111/1559-8918.2015.01056
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1559-890X

Abstract

Abstract : Services and access to them are related to core societal concerns such as sustainability and the role of families and communities in people's lives, themes of enduring concern to the discipline of anthropology. Our aim in this paper is to begin to outline arguments for why anthropology and the EPIC community more broadly should have a prominent seat at the table of understanding and engaging social change emanating from innovations in the service economy. The discourse on services advises that we are in the middle of a major transformation akin to the move from agriculture to manufacturing, where modern economies are becoming service economies and people's relations to material possessions are being reconfigured through services. We suggest that if a major shift is underway in how people get on in the world then it is incumbent upon the EPIC community to consider the opportunities and limitations for shaping this transformation.