19. 'Talking story' about innovation and making change
Chris Barton, College of Global Futures, Arizona State University; Miki Tomita, Education Incubator;
Innovation is one of the more common stories we tell about how humans make change. We talk of innovation as a driver of economic, technological, cultural and social change, often as a kind of panacea - it is through innovation that we reach a better future! (Pfotenhauer & Jasanoff, 2017; Vinsel & Russell, 2020) But as Donna Haraway reminds us, 'it matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with' (Haraway, 2016, p. 12). What are the implications of using the story of innovation to tell the story of change in human societies? What baggage does the concept of innovation carry? How is innovation linked to colonialism, militarism, and capitalism, and how do those ideas carry over into the stories we tell about how to make change in our world?
And just as importantly, what other stories can we tell about innovation? This panel is an opportunity to tell new stories about how innovation happens and its role in making change. We are inspired by the Hawaiian practice of passing wisdom by 'talking story,' and the many stories of innovation told in Hawai`i and across the pacific: the traditions of wayfinding and voyaging (Low, 2013), agriculture, aquaculture and self-sufficiency (Paulo et al., 1996), and the practice of finding solutions based on local knowledges, landscapes, and histories (Howes & Osorio, 2010). We encourage others to share their own stories of innovation, in all forms and formats, to help us expand our understanding of what innovation is and could be.
Keywords: Disciplines and the Social Organization of Science and Technology, Method and Practice, Decolonial and Postcolonial STS, Innovation, Storytelling, Colonialism, Militarism, Capitalism, Otherwise, Change, Social Change, Talking Story, Native Hawaiian, Wayfinding, Navigation, Local Knowledge,
