The Idea of Innovation (MRC- B3,V3a,V3b,V3d, MEd E) - Detailseite

In 16^th century Europe, a person accused of innovation could literally lose his head while today entrepreneurs are hailed as heroes.  How did the idea of innovation evolve and take center stage for the modern social imagination? Moreover, how did it spread into all spheres of society; such as economics and management, politics and policymaking, religion, technology and media? In the following course we will seek to answer these central questions from historical, philosophical/theological and sociological perspectives. Finally, we will critically evaluate the current implications of this powerful idea upon politics, economics and religion.

Provisional bibliography:

Bornstein, David: How to Change the World. Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Oxford University Press 2004.    D‘Angour, Armand:  The Greeks and the New. Novelty in Ancient Greek Imagination and Experience, Cambridge University Press 2011.    Fornet-Betancourt (Hrsg.): Kulturen zwischen Tradition und Innovation, Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation 2001.    Gillwald, Katrin: Konzepte sozialer Innovation (WZB paper: Querschnittsgruppe Arbeit und Ökologie), Berlin 2000. (http://stages-online.info/pdfs/soziale-innovationen.pdf)    Godin, Benoit:  Innovation Contested. The Idea of Innovation over the Centuries, Routledge 2015.    Godin, Benoit and Vinck, Dominique (eds.) (2017), Critical Studies of Innovation: Alternative Approaches to the Pro-Innovation Bias, Edward Elgar 2017.    Harhoff, Dietmar and Lakhtani, Karim R. (ed.): Revolutionizing Innovation. Users, Communities, and Open Innovation, MIT Cambridge 2016.    Schumpeter, Josef: Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, Duncker & Humblot 1912.

Requirements: I expect regular attendance, thorough preparation of texts for each session and active participation.