Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment

Mafalda Gamboa; Ida Larsen-Ledet; Sanna Marttila; Erik Sandelin; Shaowen Bardzell; Lone Koefoed Hansen; Anna Seravalli; Pelle Ehn

doi:10.1145/3789493.3797320

Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment

Mafalda Gamboa
, Ida Larsen-Ledet
, Sanna Marttila
, Erik Sandelin
, Shaowen Bardzell
, Lone Koefoed Hansen
, Anna Seravalli
, Pelle Ehn

School of Applied Psychology

Chalmers University of Technology
University of Gothenburg
Malmö University
IT University of Copenhagen
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Aarhus University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedings › Conference proceeding › peer-review

Abstract

This Situated Action proposes the building of a correspondence archive, initiated by Pelle Ehn, and now expanded towards the PDC community. In this proposal, we turn from the archive's current focus on peace, dialogue, and coexistence towards a generational turn that considers the need for expressing and making space for dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. In a world in disarray, we turn to unpacking our own participation in systems of oppression and rethinking the role of participatory design in those same mechanisms. This action encompasses the making and starting of an archive in honour of the conversations that need to happen between us to build the dialogue and coexistence we dream of in our utopias.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places
Editors	Davide Fassi, Anna Meroni, Laura Galluzzo, Daniela Selloni, Daniela de Sainz, Nicholas Baroncelli Torretta, Elisa Bertolotti, Marta Corubolo, Annalinda De Rosa, Per-Anders Hillgren, Ravi Mahamuni, Bibiana Oliveira Serpa, Francesca Piredda, Virginia Tassinari, Joon Sang Baek, Teresa Franqueira
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages	97-100
Number of pages	4
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400724701
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3789493.3797320
Publication status	Published - 15 Jun 2026
Event	19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places, PDC 2026 - Milan, Italy Duration: 15 Jun 2026 → 19 Jun 2026

Publication series

Name	PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places

Conference

Conference	19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places, PDC 2026
Country/Territory	Italy
City	Milan
Period	15/06/26 → 19/06/26

Keywords

Co-design
Correspondence
Letters
[AppliedPsychology]

Access to Document

10.1145/3789493.3797320

3789493.3797320Final published version, 421 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Gamboa, M., Larsen-Ledet, I., Marttila, S., Sandelin, E., Bardzell, S., Koefoed Hansen, L., Seravalli, A., & Ehn, P. (2026). Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. In D. Fassi, A. Meroni, L. Galluzzo, D. Selloni, D. de Sainz, N. B. Torretta, E. Bertolotti, M. Corubolo, A. De Rosa, P.-A. Hillgren, R. Mahamuni, B. O. Serpa, F. Piredda, V. Tassinari, J. S. Baek, & T. Franqueira (Eds.), PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places (pp. 97-100). (PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places). Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1145/3789493.3797320

Gamboa, Mafalda ; Larsen-Ledet, Ida ; Marttila, Sanna et al. / Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places. editor / Davide Fassi ; Anna Meroni ; Laura Galluzzo ; Daniela Selloni ; Daniela de Sainz ; Nicholas Baroncelli Torretta ; Elisa Bertolotti ; Marta Corubolo ; Annalinda De Rosa ; Per-Anders Hillgren ; Ravi Mahamuni ; Bibiana Oliveira Serpa ; Francesca Piredda ; Virginia Tassinari ; Joon Sang Baek ; Teresa Franqueira. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2026. pp. 97-100 (PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places).

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doi = "10.1145/3789493.3797320",

language = "English",

series = "PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery, Inc",

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editor = "Davide Fassi and Anna Meroni and Laura Galluzzo and Daniela Selloni and \{de Sainz\}, Daniela and Torretta, \{Nicholas Baroncelli\} and Elisa Bertolotti and Marta Corubolo and \{De Rosa\}, Annalinda and Per-Anders Hillgren and Ravi Mahamuni and Serpa, \{Bibiana Oliveira\} and Francesca Piredda and Virginia Tassinari and Baek, \{Joon Sang\} and Teresa Franqueira",

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Gamboa, M, Larsen-Ledet, I, Marttila, S, Sandelin, E, Bardzell, S, Koefoed Hansen, L, Seravalli, A & Ehn, P 2026, Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. in D Fassi, A Meroni, L Galluzzo, D Selloni, D de Sainz, NB Torretta, E Bertolotti, M Corubolo, A De Rosa, P-A Hillgren, R Mahamuni, BO Serpa, F Piredda, V Tassinari, JS Baek & T Franqueira (eds), PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places. PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places, Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, pp. 97-100, 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places, PDC 2026, Milan, Italy, 15/06/26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3789493.3797320

Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. / Gamboa, Mafalda; Larsen-Ledet, Ida; Marttila, Sanna et al.
PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places. ed. / Davide Fassi; Anna Meroni; Laura Galluzzo; Daniela Selloni; Daniela de Sainz; Nicholas Baroncelli Torretta; Elisa Bertolotti; Marta Corubolo; Annalinda De Rosa; Per-Anders Hillgren; Ravi Mahamuni; Bibiana Oliveira Serpa; Francesca Piredda; Virginia Tassinari; Joon Sang Baek; Teresa Franqueira. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2026. p. 97-100 (PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedings › Conference proceeding › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment

AU - Gamboa, Mafalda

AU - Larsen-Ledet, Ida

AU - Marttila, Sanna

AU - Sandelin, Erik

AU - Bardzell, Shaowen

AU - Koefoed Hansen, Lone

AU - Seravalli, Anna

AU - Ehn, Pelle

PY - 2026/6/15

Y1 - 2026/6/15

N2 - This Situated Action proposes the building of a correspondence archive, initiated by Pelle Ehn, and now expanded towards the PDC community. In this proposal, we turn from the archive's current focus on peace, dialogue, and coexistence towards a generational turn that considers the need for expressing and making space for dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. In a world in disarray, we turn to unpacking our own participation in systems of oppression and rethinking the role of participatory design in those same mechanisms. This action encompasses the making and starting of an archive in honour of the conversations that need to happen between us to build the dialogue and coexistence we dream of in our utopias.

AB - This Situated Action proposes the building of a correspondence archive, initiated by Pelle Ehn, and now expanded towards the PDC community. In this proposal, we turn from the archive's current focus on peace, dialogue, and coexistence towards a generational turn that considers the need for expressing and making space for dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. In a world in disarray, we turn to unpacking our own participation in systems of oppression and rethinking the role of participatory design in those same mechanisms. This action encompasses the making and starting of an archive in honour of the conversations that need to happen between us to build the dialogue and coexistence we dream of in our utopias.

KW - Co-design

KW - Correspondence

KW - Letters

KW - [AppliedPsychology]

U2 - 10.1145/3789493.3797320

DO - 10.1145/3789493.3797320

M3 - Conference proceeding

AN - SCOPUS:105043430692

T3 - PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places

SP - 97

EP - 100

BT - PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places

A2 - Fassi, Davide

A2 - Meroni, Anna

A2 - Galluzzo, Laura

A2 - Selloni, Daniela

A2 - de Sainz, Daniela

A2 - Torretta, Nicholas Baroncelli

A2 - Bertolotti, Elisa

A2 - Corubolo, Marta

A2 - De Rosa, Annalinda

A2 - Hillgren, Per-Anders

A2 - Mahamuni, Ravi

A2 - Serpa, Bibiana Oliveira

A2 - Piredda, Francesca

A2 - Tassinari, Virginia

A2 - Baek, Joon Sang

A2 - Franqueira, Teresa

PB - Association for Computing Machinery, Inc

T2 - 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places, PDC 2026

Y2 - 15 June 2026 through 19 June 2026

ER -

Gamboa M, Larsen-Ledet I, Marttila S, Sandelin E, Bardzell S, Koefoed Hansen L et al. Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment. In Fassi D, Meroni A, Galluzzo L, Selloni D, de Sainz D, Torretta NB, Bertolotti E, Corubolo M, De Rosa A, Hillgren PA, Mahamuni R, Serpa BO, Piredda F, Tassinari V, Baek JS, Franqueira T, editors, PDC '26: Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. 2026. p. 97-100. (PDC 2026 - Proceedings of the 19th Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 3: Workshops, Situated Actions, and PDC Places). doi: 10.1145/3789493.3797320

Utopian epistles on dissent, disagreement, and disillusionment

Abstract

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