STS 2254: Innovation in Context

This course presents historical and contemporary examples and models of innovation in a variety of cultural and geographical settings, inviting students to compare, question, and critique them. Topics include discussion of innovation as a process of social change, technology diffusion, an economic engine, an ecosystem, an ideology, and more. Students will use the knowledge and techniques that they develop throughout the course to conduct their own original research projects on innovation in local contexts.

Why take it?

Governments, policymakers, and business leaders increasingly pursue “innovation” as a metric for technological, economic, and creative progress. Understanding the concept’s diverse meanings and contexts imparts a valuable and marketable skill in today’s workforce. Additionally, this course focuses on a continual process of problem-framing and problem-solving in collaborative and contextualized ways. These skills will contribute to students’ success in their undergraduate curriculum and their future careers by providing them with experience as reflective practitioners.

STS 2254 is an introductory course for the Innovation Pathways minor and an elective in the Housing and Society and Technology, Humans, and Environment Pathways minors.

Requirements

There are no prerequisites for this course.

This course fulfills Pathways requirements in Critical Thinking in the Humanities, Ethical Reasoning, and Intercultural and Global Awareness.