NWO Gravitation grant to OIKOS for Anchoring Innovation
08 May 2017
The ancient Greeks and Romans were great innovators. New ideas abounded, not just in science and technology, but also in literature and arts, politics, the economy and many other domains of life. How did those innovations come about and how did they turn into actual innovation? This is the research question of the Gravitation proposal by a team of Dutch classicists collaborating in the national research school in Classical Studies, OIKOS.
The hypothesis of this research agenda is that tradition and innovation are not simply juxtaposed or even opposed. In successful innovations, people perceive a meaningful coherence between the new and the familiar. For this phenomenon OIKOS uses the concept of ‘anchoring’. Developing this concept in an investigation of Greco-Roman antiquity results in a new and better understanding of innovation processes of all times.
The Gravitation proposal was developed by a large team of Dutch classicists, led by Prof. Ineke Sluiter (Leiden University, main applicant) and Prof. André Lardinois (Radboud University). Radboud University submitted the proposal to NWO. The University of Groningen is represented by ancient historian Prof. Onno van Nijf, who together with Prof. Ruurd Nauta (Latin) and Dr. Jan Willem Drijvers initiated a pilot project called ‘After the Crisis’.
In this research project Dr Jacqueline Klooster (Greek/Latin) and Dr Inger Kuin (ancient history) investigate the responses of individuals and communities to war, violence, and disruption in the ancient Roman Empire. The project focuses on the (civil) wars of the first century BCE and their repercussions at Rome and in the Roman East.
Prof. Van Nijf: ‘In this project classicists and ancient historians actively collaborated with fellow members of CRASIS, but also with modern historians and colleagues of international relations. It clearly shows how an interdisciplinary approach within the field of classical studies can be successful.’
For this ten-year research agenda, the team of 12 applicants has been awarded a Gravitation grant of 18.8 million Euros. This is a unique achievement for the Humanities.
More information
Website ‘After the Crisis’: www.afterthecrisis.nl
OIKOS website: http://www.ru.nl/english/news-agenda/news/vm/hlcs/2017/gravitation-grants-2017-anchoring-innovation/
| Last modified: | 31 January 2024 09.20 a.m. |
More news
-
23 April 2024
Studying depopulation also means studying the history of those who stay
Assistant professor Yuliya Hilevych from the Faculty of Arts researches regional depopulation in the Netherlands, Finland, and Ukraine by placing the phenomenon in a social-historical perspective.
-
22 April 2024
Trump or no trump, that is the question
UG researchers Ritumbra Manuvie, Pieter de Wilde, and Lisa Gaufman look ahead to the elections in India, Europe, and the United States, respectively. This week: Lisa Gaufman.
-
15 April 2024
‘The European elections will be as boring as always’
UG researchers Ritumbra Manuvie, Pieter de Wilde, and Lisa Gaufman look ahead to the elections in India, Europe, and the United States, respectively. This week: Pieter de Wilde. He predicts that the European elections will be as boring as always.