Center for Design and Material Culture announces new name and celebrates new possibilities for creativity, learning and research

It’s the start of a new chapter for the School of Human Ecology’s Center for Design and Material Culture as it introduces a new name and celebrates the expanded learning opportunities made possible by a …

Reflecting on the Indigenous EcoWell Initiative’s achievements as it concludes

The end of the spring 2024 semester brought the conclusion of the Indigenous EcoWell Initiative after three years of impactful work. The purpose of the initiative was to connect Native/Indigenous faculty members from the School of …

Honoring the sacred places they were forced to leave behind (National Geographic; Mace)

Dakota Mace, photographer for the Center for Design and Material Culture and Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection and a Human Ecology alumna, provides words and photos sharing the stories of Diné (Navajo) people who were forced to go on “the Long Walk” in the 1860s — a 300-mile trek to exile — and of their descendants.

A year in pictures: Human Ecology in 2023

Story by Maddie Kranz x’24, a UW–Madison student studying Community & Nonprofit Leadership and Art History. So much to celebrate! Human Ecology kicked off 2023 with two of our majors landing on the list of …

From Cultural Appropriation to Cultural Appreciation at the Center for Design and Material Culture (Museum magazine; Carter, Dodge Francis, Jean, Jenkinson, Mace, Center for Design & Material Culture, Equity and Justice Network, Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, Indigenous EcoWell Initiative and Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery)

Human Ecology faculty, staff and a Ph.D. student describe the school’s efforts to use items from the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection to help visitors understand the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.

Art for your feet — made for no one but you (Wisconsin State Journal; Peck, Center for Design & Material Culture and Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery)

Laura Sims Peck, operations manager for the Center for Design & Material Culture, describes the impact of “Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear.” The exhibit, which featured 11 accomplished shoe and boot makers currently working in the U.S., was on display in spring 2023 in the Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery.