Reimagining Innovation: Sustainability, Democracy, and Human Dignity

Catalog description

From the vantage point of Silicon Valley, it has long seemed that innovation would solve all our problems. Yet our societal crises, from climate change to increasing inequality to mental well-being, are deepening. This course problematizes how we have conceptualized and practiced innovation, with the objectives of reimagining what alternative approaches are possible - and desirable - and exploring how we can put them into practice. In particular, we examine what it looks like to innovate for a more sustainable and democratic future, in which human dignity is prioritized. We begin by historicizing innovation itself, interrogating how economic goals and technological solutions have become central to social betterment. For example, today, why do we default to geoengineering, rather than collectively seeking social and political means toward sustainability? We unpack assumptions about technoscience, human agency, natural resources, and the "good society" that are embedded in common views of innovation, and study less visible dimensions, such as maintenance and repair, care work, commodity life cycles, and the limits of expertise and standardization. Students will read from classics in social sciences to recent works in STS, engage with current issues through journalistic and cultural materials, and rethink innovation through their final research projects.