This course will explore the tensions between creativity and control, and structure and agency, in organizations engaged in the development of innovative ideas. What is innovation? How does it emerge and diffuse? How might organizations support or hinder the development of novel ideas? What role does technology play in the pursuit of innovation? We will apply a critical lens to the organization of innovation, recognizing that innovation-although a popular buzzword in the business world-implies a variety of outcomes that may solve previously intractable problems on the one hand, but may have unintended social consequences on the other. The goals of the course are to provide students with a broad overview of the existing literature on the sociology of innovation at both the macro- and micro-level and to support students in future careers in management, engineering, academia, or any field that involves the organization of groups of individuals toward creative ends. Runs from the week of Jul 05 to Aug 12, 2016.

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