Studying Stanford: Governance, Culture, and Innovation

This is the first course of a two-quarter sequence that will be completed, in the second quarter, with the Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) course "Governance, Culture, and Innovation in Oxford" (to be taught in Oxford, UK, during the Summer of 2023). Entry into the course is contingent on acceptance or waitlist status for the summer BOSP course. The two courses will comprise a comparative study of governance, culture and innovation at and around these two universities. In this first course -- taught on the main Stanford campus -- we will focus on Stanford University: how it operates, the cultures that surround and have developed within it, and its relationships to innovation and Silicon Valley. After an introductory overview through lectures and readings, students will learn research methods that can be applied to this topic, including data collection and documentation, content analysis, and interviewing. The rest of the content, about questions like Stanford's relationship to Silicon Valley, will be provided by guests and the students' own data gathering. Student contributions will be published online, together with the ones from the follow-up study in Oxford, at the conclusion of both courses.Remote enrollment in this course is possible for students who are accepted into the Summer 2023 Oxford course AND who will be studying away through a Stanford program during Spring Quarter 2023. Please contact the instructors asap if you are in this situation.