From the oxygen-rich atmosphere produced in the earth’s early history by cyanobacteria to the carbon-rich atmosphere produced by industrial civilization, our planet has been thoroughly designed by bio-technical processes. But much of this design has taken place haphazardly, thoughtlessly. In this course, we will learn to look at reality in what the architect Alejandro Aravena calls “a proposal key” and mobilize the written word as a tool for formulating, critiquing, and revising design ideas at varying levels of scale. Given the thorough entanglement of technological, economic, and political structures in our contemporary world system, this course will use the lens of design to think constructively about global problems encompassing diverse realms of knowledge. We will strive to develop both the humility to seek out design solutions in the vast archive of human and natural history and the boldness to propose something radically new.Topics covered include: indigenous landscape design, rewilding, geoengineering, algorithmic governance, logistics infrastructures, smart cities, and more. In other words, we will accept the challenge posed by the concept of “interdisciplinarity” and explore the full latitude it might lend to intellectual life.