Alison J. Clarke is Professor of Design History and Theory, at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and Director of the Victor J. Papanek Foundation in Vienna, Austria, whose most recent international symposium focused on the theme of ‘Emerging and Alternative Economies of Design’ (2013). Receiving a Masters with Distinction in Design History from the Royal College of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Clarke went on to gain a doctorate in social anthropology with Professor Daniel Miller at University College London.

She specializes in histories and ethnographic research concerning the politics and social relations of design and material culture, and is author of Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America (Smithsonian Press) and Design Anthropology: Object Culture in the 21st Century (Springer). Alison has presented in major BBC television series’ as a design expert including Home *(BBC 2) and *The Genius of Design *(BBC 2). She lectures internationally, and is co-founder and managing editor of the journal *Home Cultures: Architecture, Design and Domestic Space and publishes widely in both anthropological and design historical academic spheres. She is presently completing a monograph for MIT Press on Victor Papanek and 1970s design activism titled Victor Papanek: Designer for the Real World?