Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates core curricular and learning takeaways helpful in comparing programs and approaches. It highlights project-specific learning objectives paired with a selection of teaching strategies that elucidate the skills required within a resulting public interest design practice. The book offers perspective on the tacit relationship between education, transformation, oppression, and justice. It also demonstrates the importance of metacognitive skill development along with the imperative for translating social and cultural meaning and for considering cultural immersion through the interpretation of political, economic, environmental, and social frameworks. The book deals with an introduction from an invited author who orients the theme within the landscape of public interest design pedagogy and connects the individual efforts of contributors in that section to a broader discourse.