Donna Cohn

Donna Cohn, associate professor of applied design, holds a B.S. from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, and a master's in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has worked with the Boston Center for Independent Living as a designer and builder of devices for people with physical disabilities. Her design process emphasized collaboration with the end user and the use of low-cost tools and materials. This way of working continues to inform her current design practice and teaching.

A member of the Hampshire faculty since 2002, her courses emphasize consideration of practical problems that directly impact communities, paired with hands-on iterative design. Her professional work, personal life, and teaching are deeply intertwined. She builds curriculum around design challenges on the Hampshire College campus as well as local community groups. She works with Hampshire Youth Connect, planning and effecting programming to introduce underserved youth to the college experience.

In 2013, she received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and field test prototypes of a low-cost pearl millet thresher for use in sub-Saharan Africa. This project evolved out of discussions with a former student then working in Namibia. Cohn brought the project to the 2008 International Design for Development Summit (IDDS) held at M.I.T. and has continued design work over numerous semesters of her Appropriate Technology classes. Documentation of the thresher can be viewed at www.sites.hampshire.edu/pearlmilletthresher.

Her other interests include rearranging and putting things into and onto soil, ecologically sustainable technologies, dogs, cats, and other animals.

Recent and Upcoming Courses

Look Ma No Hands: A Design Class Focused on Assistive Technology
We will learn about some of the practical and ordinary problems faced by individuals who do not have full use of their hands or arms, then design, fabricate and test assistive devices. We will examine societal attitudes about disability, learn about the fight for access and inclusion. Projects may be for children or adults with temporary injuries/conditions or ongoing physical disabilities. Students in this class will develop problem solving, visual communication skills, and a wide range of fabrication skills. There will be opportunities to work with the full range of materials and tools available in the Center for Design shop, such as metals, plastics, and basic electronics. The curriculum will include weekly design assignments, project documentation, guest speakers, readings, film viewings and discussions. Students will identify and develop an independent assistive technology project for a particular person or community. (keywords: design, disability, drawing, modeling, justice)
Environments and Change: Addressing Climate Change in a Changing Social, Political, and Environmental World
Full Title: Environments and Change: Addressing Climate Change in a Changing Social, Political, and Environmental World Main Question: What are the ongoing and growing concerns associated with climate change and how can we take meaningful, positive action to address them? Course Description: The challenge of creating a just and sustainable future in the face of climate change is arguably the greatest challenge yet to face humankind. Why haven't we as individuals or governments or societies begun to act as if our very lives and cultures are threatened by climate change? Countries across the world were able to enact rapid and massive behavioral change when faced with COVID19, but have failed to do so when faced with climate change. What are the implications of environmental and climate change in relationship to privilege, accessibility, and race? How does one live a sustainable life in an ever-changing world? Join us to brainstorm potential solutions to current local and global environmental and related social problems. This seminar will be co-taught by an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff and will include guest lectures from experts across a breadth of areas related to climate change, environmental justice, and sustainability. The course will be divided into modules focused on specific problems and potential solutions, such as why humans are so resistant to changing our habits, and how massive societal change can be motivated; how we can learn to communicate around hard topics and differing beliefs; how ecopoetics and ecocriticism can engage not only climate justice but racial justice as well; how applied design can help us create accessible tools; and how other animals are responding to climate change and biodiversity loss. Modes of working will include brainstorming, hands-on design and fabrication work (#making), reading, researching, communication, dialogue, and restorative practices. Approaches: #sustainabledesign #environmentaljustice #creativewriting #biodiversityconservation
Field Study Semester
Mechanical Motion for Artists and Designers
We will learn how to build stuff that moves! Using wire, sheetmetal, paper, wood, and a range of other media, we will examine and build mechanisms. We will contemplate the basic ingredients of mechanical forces and motion such as bearings, cams, cranks, gear ratios and more. All levels of experience are welcome, but students should be comfortable using hand tools and able to devote at least 8 hours a week outside of scheduled class time working on projects.
Appropriate Technology in the World
This course will look at the issues involved with design and fabrication in situations where there are limited resources. Students will engage in the hands-on study and design of technologies considered appropriate for less developed and small-scale local economies. Topics will include water quality, human powered cargo transportation, energy production, food storage and preparation, and wheelchair technologies. We will consider factors that make for successful adoption and widespread use of appropriate technologies.