Social Change and Innovation revolves around innovative processes or experiences driving change (social, political, economic, cultural, technological, etc.) in contemporary societies. In this sense, the main aim of the course is to provide students with the theoretical, analytical and methodological tools necessary for the analysis and design of change and social innovation. In addition to approaching the main theories in these fields of knowledge, interesting experiences or case studies will be analyzed due to their creativity, magnitude or scope.



These are the specific goals of the course:

1. Understand, interpret and analyze change and social innovation, acquiring the necessary theoretical and analytical tools.

2. Relate the main theories of change and innovation with specific social dynamics and problems.

3. Develop an open, critical and receptive attitude towards the problems derived from social change.

4. Work on the ability to argue.



Change and Social Innovation is a subject offered by the Department of Sociology and Social Work. This is a compulsory subject in the 4th year of the Sociology degree. While technological, scientific, economic and social innovation can be considered factors of social change, it is clearly linked to these other fourth-year subjects: Sociology of Education (first semester, compulsory), Social Dimensions of the Economy (second semester, compulsory); Science, Technology and Knowledge Management (second semester, elective).

G001 - Plan and carry out sociological research applying the most appropriate techniques to the proposed goals.

G002 - Prepare and present a sociological research report.

G003 - Identify and define the basic components of the most relevant social problems.

G004 - Design, manage and evaluate public policy and social intervention projects, as well as their results.

G005 - Identify and analyze the basic processes and needs that occur in public and private organizational structures.

G006 - Prepare and develop management strategies in public and private organizations

G007 - Design and evaluate educational and training programs in public and private institutions with special interest in promoting a culture of peace and democratic values.

G008 - Synthetically analyze the information regarding social problems and needs, with special focus on gender, class and ethnic inequalities.

G009 - Develop a critical attitude towards data and social practices.

G010 - Use intellectual and ethical rigor in sociological arguments and analyzes with a view to their professional future.



TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCES

CT2 - Social commitment

CT4 - Ethics and Professional Responsibility

CT7 - Critical thinking.

CT8 - Group work.



SPECIFIC COMPETENCES

C4CC01 - Design, elaborate and present a research project to show the skills and knowledge acquired by the student throughout the degree.

C4CC02 - Analyze and assess the role of innovation in the socioeconomic and cultural progress of society.



LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Know the most relevant theoretical perspectives and currents of social change.

2. Identify the main areas of social innovation.

3. Characterize social change and innovation and apply their respective typologies.

4. Apply specific research and intervention techniques in the fields of change and innovation.

5. Evaluate social innovation experiences and projects.

6. Order and argue the main ideas of the subject; acquire argumentative skills.

7. Demonstrate at all times a receptive and open attitude to the problems associated with change and social innovation.

8. Critically assess the theories, techniques and experiences of change and social innovation.

1. Collapse of modernity: systemic approach.

2. Objects, inertia and innovations.

3. Design as a practice for change and innovation. Design thinking, ontological design, transitional designs and speculative designs.

The subject will propose different perspectives, tools and practicals to analyze and promote change and social innovation. To that end, readings and explanations will be combined with exercises of a practical and experimental nature. Throughout the semester, students will work on a group innovation project, in different phases and formats. Basically, the sequences to be developed by the students are the following:

1. Readings. They will have to read and work on six texts individually, which will be worked on, discussed and applied on the agreed day in the classroom.

2. Innovation project. Each group will be assigned to carry out an innovation project with an entity and must work with the experience of that entity and present their results at least three times:

2.1. Diagnosis phase, they will carry out a small investigation of the entity and, with the proposed tools, they will present their social innovation work in the classroom.

2.2. Design phase, together with the assigned entity, they will design an intervention process with the students of the subject.

2.3. Deployment phase, based on the experience of the project and the subject, they will reflect on change and social innovation in groups of three.

3. Classroom dynamics and participation.

• Final Assessment System
• Tools and qualification percentages:
  • Realization of Practical Work (exercises, cases or problems) (%): 40
  • Team projects (problem solving, project design)) (%): 40
  • Exhibition of works, readings ... (%): 20

Continuous assessment is designed so that students can continuously develop the activities proposed in the classroom. For this, the students have 60 teaching hours and around another 90 hours of non-teaching work, both in groups (especially in innovation projects) and individually (especially readings).



Final assessment:

Students may submit a written waiver of continuous assessment to the faculty responsible for the subject November 11. In that case, the assessment will be based on the written test. To that end, students may use the bibliography of this program.





In this course priority will be given to continuous assessment. In accordance to Article 8.3 of the Student Assessment Regulations, any student must submit a written waiver of continuous assessment to the lecturer responsible for the subject within nine weeks from the start of the course.



According to the regulations, students who do not attend class have the right to take a final exam that will account for 100% of the assessment. The final test includes questions referring to the syllabus as well as the practical part worked on in class (development of a case study). Students subject to final assessment will need to obtain a minimum score of 5 points out of 10.



OPTING OUT



In relation to Article 12.2 of the Student Assessment Regulations for Official Bachelor's degrees that regulates the waiver of the assessment session: In the case of continuous assessment, if the weight of the final test is greater than 40% of the subject grade, not taking the final test will suffice for the final grade of the subject not to be submitted. Otherwise, if the weight of the final test is equal to or less than 40% of the grade for the subject, students may waive the examination session within a period that, at least, will be up to one month before the end date of the teaching period of the corresponding subject. The waiver must be submitted in writing to the teaching staff responsible for the subject.



In the case of final assessment, failure to appear for the test on the official date will automatically lead to the student being graded as “not presented”.

Extraordinary assessment session: the students have the right to take a final test that will count 100% of the grade, maintaining the criteria of the ordinary session., other types of practical exercises may be requested in addition to the written test.

Text and documentation available in e.gela

Basic bibliography

Becker, Howard (2009). “El poder de la inercia”. Apuntes de investigación de CECYP, 15, 99-111.

Domínguez Rubio, Fernando y Fogué, Uriel (2017). “Desplegando las capacidades políticas del diseño”. Revista Diseña, 11, 96-109.

Escobar, Arturo. 2017. “Bases de diseño ontológico”. Autonomía y diseño: la realización de lo comunal. Buenos Aires: Tinta Limón. 201-241.

Latour, Bruno. (2019). Dónde aterrizar: cómo orientarse en política. Barcelona: Taurus.

Manzini, Ezio. (2016) Cuando todos diseñan. Una introducción al diseño para la innovación social. Madrid: Experimenta Editorial.

Winner, Langdon. (1999). «Do Artifacts Have Politics?». MacKenzie, D. et al, The social shaping of technology. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

In-depth bibliography

Alonso, Luis Enrique eta Fernández Rodríguez, Carlos Jesús (2011). “La innovación social y el nuevo discruso del management: limitaciones y alternativas”. ARBOR Ciencia, Pensam-iento y Cultura, 187(752), 1133-1145.
Becker, Howard (2009). “El poder de la inercia”. Apuntes de investigación de CECYP, 15, 99-111.
Callon, Michel. (1995). “Algunos Elementos para una Sociología de la Traducción: la Domesticación de las Vieiras y los Pescadores de la Bahía de Saint Brieuc”, en J. M. Iranzo et al. (comp.) Sociología de la Ciencia y la Tecnología, Madrid: CSIC. (259- 272)
Castro Martínez, Elena y Fernández de Lucio, Ignacio (2013). El significado de innovar. Madrid: CSIC-Catarata.
Corsín, Alberto (2018). Reclamar las infraestructuras. Madrid. MediaLab Prado. Eskuragarri hemen: https://zenodo.org/record/1197422/files/AlbertoCorsin_infraestructurasD.pdf?d ownload=1 [Azken kontsulta 16/10/2020]
Escobar, Arturo. 2017. Autonomía y diseño: la realización de lo comunal. Buenos Aires: Tinta Limón.
Fernández Esquinas, Manuel (2012). “Hacia un programa de investigación en sociología de la innovación”. ARBOR Ciencia, Pensamiento y Cultura, 188(753), 5-16.
Latour, Bruno (1995) “Dadme un laboratorio y moveré el mundo”, en J. M. Iranzo et al. (comp.) Sociología de la Ciencia y la Tecnología, Madrid: CSIC. (237-257)
Latour, Bruno (1998). “La tecnología es la sociedad hecha para que dure”. Miquel Domènech eta Francisco Javier Tirado, Sociología simétrica. Barcelona: Gedisa. (109–141).
Harari, Yuval N. (2016). Sapiens: de animales a dioses : breve historia de la humanidad. Barcelona: Debate.
Rowan, Jaron (2016). “Diseño y materialismo: Hacia materias salvajes.” Inmaterial. Diseño, Arte y Sociedad, 1(1), 3-15.
Sánchez-Criado, Tomás. (2016). “Pensar infraestructuralmente”. Inmaterial. Diseño, Arte y Sociedad, 1(1), 86-95.

Journals

1. American Journal of Sociology
2. American Sociological Review
3. Population and Development Review
4. Social Problems
5. Theory and Society
6. European Sociological Review
7. Sociological Perspectives
8. Comparative Studies in Society and History
9. Social Indicators Research
10.International Journal of Comparative Sociology
11. Journal of Historical Sociology
12. Archives Europeennes de Sociologie
13. Constributions to Indian Sociology
14. Chinese Sociology and Anthropology