Innovation is a central theme in science and society. We tend to delegate innovation to the technical and natural sciences and to medicine, in that we emphasize the R&D side of innovation. But first of all, innovation can obviously affect all societal domains. Classicists, who collectively study ancient societies as a whole, are in an excellent position to observe this. And secondly, research has shown that the ‘human factor' is crucial in converting inventions and new ideas into successful and actualized innovation. New possibilities need to be realized and embedded in societal practices. New ideas need to ‘land' in the intended target-group. They must fit the thoughts, knowledge, beliefs, convictions and understanding of human actors. Human beings have certain ways of conceptualizing their world, and talking and communicating about it, and different groups will react differently to the same new information. Knowledge about such issues, which is crucial to successful innovation, can be provided by the Social Sciences and the Humanities.

The concept that we are developing is that of anchoring, intended as a new ‘tool for thinking' and a potential breakthrough for the Humanities. Anchoring is a label for the many different ways in which people connect the new to the old, the traditional, the already known. What is called or considered ‘old' or ‘new' is not always a matter of objective diagnosis: it is a judgment established through discourse and societal negotiation. In either case, whether something is decided to be ‘old' or ‘new', the phenomenon under discussion may be accepted or rejected, depending on the evaluation of the new and the old. This evaluation is again a matter of societal negotiation. Anchoring innovation is about the way in which people regard and cope with ‘newness', and about the question under what conditions new things become ‘anchored', and thus successfully implemented - or not!

Onderzoeksleider & uitvoerder

Als lid van de Board van AI, ben ik medeverantwoordelijk voor het hele programma en speciaal voor de projecten over politiek, economie, religie en filosofie.

Mijn eigen project over De rechtvaardigheid van loting (zie hierboven project 2) zal worden uitgevoerd in het kader van de Zwaartekrachtagenda in de sectie over politiek.

In de sectie over economie begeleid ik een postdoc project over de Introductie van muntgeld in archaisch Griekenland; dit project sluit ook aan bij mijn werk over de interactie tussen antiek Griekenland en het Oude Nabije Oosten (zie hierboven, project 1).

Op korte termijn (1 à 2 jaar) zullen een postdoc met een project over religie en een PhD met een project over politiek in het UU-team voor Anchoring Innovation aansluiten onder mijn begeleiding.

 

 

2e geldstroom - NWO Uit het Zwaartekracht budget worden voor de UU gefinancierd mijn eigen aandeel, twee postdoc projecten en één PhD project.

• www.ru.nl/oikos/anchoring-innovation

Uitvoerder

1e geldstroom

Volgens de gangbare wetenschappelijke standpunten konden burgervrouwen in klassiek Athene niet zelf beschikken over hun bezit en met name geen groter bedrag dan de waarde van één medimne gerst (ongeveer drie drachmen) uitgeven zonder toestemming van hun wettelijke voogd (kyrios). Deze gedachte is gebaseerd op een wetstekst geciteerd door de redenaar Isaeus (10.10). Er is echter veel bronnenmateriaal dat in een heel andere richting wijst. Archaeologische, epigrafische en literaire documentatie brengt vele vrouwen in beeld die zo te zien zonder problemen op eigen gezag honderden en zelfs duizenden drachmen aan derden betalen. Hoe zit dit in elkaar? Hoe verhoudt zich de wet waar Isaeus naar verwijst tot de gang van zaken in deze documentatie? Was de wet, die er archaïsch uiziet, in de klassieke tijd een dode letter?

Aan dit onderzoek werken mee: prof.dr. Josine Blok; dr. Helle Hochscheid; studenten van de RM Ancient Studies: Alma Kant; Alexandros Mourtzos.

Uitvoerder

1e geldstroom

• dr. Helle Hochscheid
• Alma Kant
• Alexandros Mourtzos.

Citizenship is a crucial concept in the history of ancient Greece and of classical Athens in particular. The project offers a new approach to citizenship in classical Athens, attributing a formative role to religion within the political domain leading to a clarification of female citizenship and a reassessment of the political role of resident immigrants (metics). The project aims at founding a new perception of the political and social structures of classical Athens and of ancient Greece, and at contributing to comparative historical and modern debates on citizenship.
In the present project Athenian citizenship is analyzed as a three-level structure, the connections between the levels showing varying degrees of stringency:
1. qualification of membership of the group 'citizens'; this depended on descent, exceptions being not infrequent but emphatically exceptions. Citizenship was confirmed and reinstated in religious activities.
2. activities required in order to put membership into practice. Athens created a vast number of religious activities in which only citizens participated, some in which only metics participated and some for both groups (some included slaves). The same pattern of exclusion, inclusion and mixed combinations applies to participation by men and women.
3. rights and duties following the status acquired by level 1) and 2), comprising of the right to fulfill certain functions. These included religious functions, notably priesthoods, for both men and women, and functions (many, but not all of them secular) in the military and political/administrative domain for men only. Some metics became involved in a number of these functions.

Onderzoeksleider & uitvoerder

2e geldstroom - NWO