From The Humboldt Ideal to Silicon Allee: Three Centuries of the Diffusion of Innovations

Catalog description

Over the course of the nineteenth century, nearly ten thousand Americans traveled to study in German universities and, upon their return to the US, helped to innovate the American research universities. In America educational models stemming from German innovation in early childhood education (Kindergarten) to vocational training (Dual System) continue to garner interest. At the same time Silicon Valley provides inspiration for a budding tech hub in Berlin known as Silicon Allee. In each of these cases, cultural translators and entrepreneurs hybridized ideas and institutions from both sides of the Atlantic. The premise of the course is that the German-American exchange shaped many features of the modern period. As Stanford in Berlin marks its 50th anniversary, students will convene together with guests from academia, technology, and industry to reflect on this long history and its meaning for the future.