Please distribute to others who may be interested... You are hereby invited to a seminar in our twelfth interdisciplinary series on Evolution, Complexity and Cognition <http://ecco.vub.ac.be/?q=node/108> (ECCO 2015-2016)
Time: Friday October 23 , 14h-16h Place: *D.3.06 , VUB* *The seminar will also be streamed live on our Youtube-channel <https://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalBrainInstitute/featured>* ------------------------------ Social Innovation discourse and the politics of the Global Brain Bonno Pel <http://igeat.ulb.ac.be/fr/equipe/details/person/bonno-pel/> and Tom Bauler <http://igeat.ulb.ac.be/fr/equipe/details/person/tom-bauler/> ( IGEAT, ULB) Abstract: Social innovation is gaining currency as an answer to contemporary societal challenges. The concept has raised high expectations of social transformation and individual empowerment, but has also met with skepticisms and contestations. As a particularly malleable concept it is vulnerable to succumbing under its divergent translations, and to fade away as a passing ‘hype’. Considering that there are social actors undertaking socially innovative activities that merit recognition, however, attempts are made to maintain SI as a meaningful concept and to stabilize it as a scientific category. We agree that there are good reasons for such affirmation of socially innovative knowings and doings. Still, we argue that the attempts at stabilizing the social innovation discourse are at risk of underestimating the framing dynamics involved. Invoking insights from innovation sociology and STS, we underline that innovation research inevitably involves challenges of interpretation and performativity. As illustrated through empirical examples from our research on the Social Solidarity Economy, social innovation practices are highly political and particularly complex. They evoke accordingly pressing observation dilemmas for innovation sociologists. Moreover, it should be considered how new ‘socially innovative’ knowings and doings are typically shaped in communication webs that themselves are evolving. This why the framing aporia in SI research can also be appreciated as an exemplar case for the politics of the Global Brain. Biography: Bonno Pel works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Institut de Gestion de l'Environnement et d'Aménagement du Territoire (IGEAT), Centre d'Etudes du Développement Durable). He has a background in environmental planning, public administration and political philosophy. After a dissertation on system innovation and transitions processes in the Dutch traffic management field (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (NL)), he continues to work on issues of sustainability transitions and social transformations. http://www.transitsocialinnovation.eu/ http://igeat.ulb.ac.be/fr/equipe/details/person/bonno-pel/ http://igeat.ulb.ac.be/fr/equipe/details/person/tom-bauler/ ------------------------------ Upcoming Seminars *Oct 30* Shima Beigi *Smart Cities* *Nov. 6 * Jean-François Noubel *Nov. 13 * Clément Vidal *The Big Future* *Nov. 20* Martin Monperrus *Nov. 27 * Sayfan G. Borghini Stigmergy in the Design of Social Environments *Dec. 4 * Ben Goertzel *Dec. 11 * Mark Burdick *Dec. 18 * Jos Jacobs See also the ECCO/GBI calendar <https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=azMyN252aWluM2JoMnU3MXY5OGt2ZzliOGdAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ> . You can add this calendar to your calendar application through here <https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/k327nviin3bh2u71v98kvg9b8g%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics> More info about the ECCO seminar program: http://ecco.vub.ac.be/?q=node/108 -- Evo Evo Busseniers - Seminar Coordinator ECCO Group (VUB) <http://ecco.vub.ac.be/?q=node/1> Email: [email protected] Website: http://vub.academia.edu/EvoBusseniers <http://be.linkedin.com/in/weaver9/>
