Design History became a subject during the late twentieth century, so its dominant concerns are those of critical academic discourses on art, society, politics and economy from that period. It is no surprise then, that a self-aware redress of outmoded power structures – a position normalised by Feminism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism and Postcolonialism – unites our diverse dissertations, sometimes overtly and sometimes more covertly.

In the twenty-first century, this practice is increasingly interested in a network of concepts and the relationships that characterise that abstract network. To construct histories of design at this moment requires the layering of different axes, and demands that considerations of dispersed materiality and of the super real be added to established themes like industrialisation, urbanisation, technological proliferation and trans-nationalism.

But our projects all return to object-based study. Despite being encouraged by the progressing discipline to think less materially, there remain physical entities at the core of our writings that reveal an ongoing love for material existence, as befits the retrospective nature of our enquiry. Shared interests within this year's array of projects include the fetishisation of an industrialised æsthetic, the shifting relationship between women and work, the popular communication of scientific concerns and cultural critique in London at the close of the twentieth century. Throughout our representations is a shared concern to use a current lens to consider moments from the past, whilst remaining sensitive to our subjects' original contexts.

The Renaissance specialism within the History of Design programme is a discipline loosely categorised according to a chronological framework. The term 'Renaissance' might be equally well substituted by the book-end dates of 1400 and 1700 in which our interests lie, rather than an acceptance of a traditional understanding of the Vasarian concept of a re-birth of classical ideals.

The course predominantly focuses on the material culture of Europe, although draws upon the global networks of trade that were established between countries and cultures throughout the time period. Within our broad chronological outlines, the areas that we have studied in detail include the design of objects used for medical practice; rosaries and their place as instruments of memory; banqueting and festival culture and stucco work in English country houses.

Our approach is a re-visitation of the traditional subject area of 'Renaissance' by revising concepts of the worth of 'ordinary' objects through an analysis of the processes of conception, production and consumption. Dialogues have developed in our work between ideas such as materiality and artisanal practice, religion and iconography, and the senses and spirituality, enabled by a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching and to research.

By pushing the geographical boundaries of Design History, the RCA/V&A MA course in Asian Design History has catalysed new ways of thinking about the material culture of Asia. This year's dissertations have focussed on aspects of design from China and the Middle East, in ways which further enlighten the study of these cultures.

In her dissertation titled, 'Domestic Space: The Social Construction of the Home in Early Qing Dynasty China, c.1640-1800' Kirstin Beattie illuminates the meanings and nuances of gendered space within the early Qing Dynasty Home in China.

Looking to contemporary China, Shirley Surya's dissertation titled 'Mediating an Architecture of Autonomy, Authorship and Auteurism in China since 1995' evaluates the debates surrounding the construction and agency of a contemporary Chinese Architecture.

In contrast, Suzanna Cullen's dissertation titled 'Carving Cairo: Representations, Identity, Woodwork and the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection' focuses on a collection of wooden objects from medieval Cairo and the ways in which the crafts they represent have framed both local and global identities.

As well as writing MA dissertations, all three students participated in the 'Asian Design History' symposium held at the National Institute of Design, in Ahmedabad, in India. The symposium provided a space for dialogue with historians, designers and students working within the Indian design industry. All three students are united in redefining the boundaries, both geographically and theoretically, of how design can be used within historical study.

Embarking on a PhD is a bit like setting off on the world's longest rollercoaster, the twists and turns of which you are unaware and the end of which is long desired, and yet almost cruelly abrupt when it comes. Achieving the balance between depth and breadth, between immersing yourself in another time and place and yet being able to stand outside and contemplate your work with critical clarity – these are just some of the challenges we faced along the way. Days and months spent in archives and libraries, years pondering the smallest of details and largest of ideas were at times a luxury, at others a burden.

In our three projects, a focus on a particular nation – Brazil, Italy and Sweden – grew in recognition of the global nature of the history of design. Time frames expanded and contracted as unearthed material yielded even more untold stories and new critical approaches. While dealing with distant and often disparate subjects, it became clear that our ideas and interests come out of and feed into the immediate present.

Doing research begins from personal interests, yet speaking about ideas is a public act, and our chance to put a marker in the field. Completing a PhD is not the end but the start.