Mode and Tempo in Technological Change

December 2nd, 2011

1pm - 4pm

Royce Hall 306 

reception to follow

In the past, the question of technological change has been approached from many different directions, in different disciplines and with diverse tools. But these days, the language of evolutionary theory is more and more often used to make sense of it. Archaeologists, economists, sociologists and biologists have all found new ways to ask sophisticated questions about the role of technology in human life and the way it changes  over long and short time scales. This symposium will present a conversation across several disciplines exploring current research on technological change and the uses of evolutionary theory. 

Cultural Evolution

Robert Boyd

Anthropology, UCLA

Economic and Organizational Change

Johann Peter Murmann

Australian School of Business of the University of New South Wales

Phylogenetics

Michael Alfaro

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA

Discussion

James Griesemer