Course on Social Cybernetics in Lincoln UK

The Social Science Centre, Lincoln is running a module on Social Cybernetics – an approach to effective self-organisation of management and other systems through networks and structures that promote autonomy among actors, leading to identity formation and the co-creation of social value.

The module will be facilitated by Professor Raul Espejo, a world-authority in the field and the current Director-General of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics. Raul was a member of a team in Chile in the 1970s that worked on the Project Cybersyn<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn>, and attempt to link socialist planning with technology enabled social communications and policy processes.

The module is free of charge.

The module will begin on Thursday 21st of January from 7-9 pm and then every two weeks until Wednesday the 16th of March. The venue for the module is the Involve Centre, 12 Mint Lane Lincoln LN1 1UD<https://goo.gl/maps/hbehu5g2TMU2>.

If you would like to attend the course please contact info@socialsciencecentre.org.uk<mailto:info@socialsciencecentre.org.uk>

 

Course outline

Key concepts to explore in the module include:

 

*   Purpose, feedback, homeostasis

*   Communications, value-coproduction, eigen behaviours

*   Complexity, variety, requisite variety, variety engineering

*   Structure, structural recursion

*   Organisation, relationships

*   Self-organisation

*   Self-regulation

*   Self-reference and identity

*   Social systems, organisational systems and institutions

*   Reflexivity

*   Power

*   Governance

*   Cybersyn

 

Readings

The module will be organised around three key readings written by Professor Espejo:

Espejo, Raul. 1994. What is Systemic Thinking? in System Dynamics Review, June 1994 pp199-212

Espejo, Raul. 2014. Cybernetics of Governance: The Cybersyn Project 1971-1973, in Social Systems and Design. Edited by G. S. Metcalf, pp 71-90, Springer: Tokyo, Heidelberg

Espejo, Raul. 2015. Good Cybernetics is a must in Policy Processes. Kybernetes, Vol 44, 6-7, pp 874 – 890

 

Other key references

Ashby, W. Ross. 1964. An Introduction to Cybernetics. London: Methuen & Co.

Bateson, Gregory. 1973. Steps to an Ecology of Mind. London: Paladin

Beer, Stafford. 1981. Brain of the Firm (2nd edition). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Beer, Stafford . 1979. Heart of Enterprise. London: John Wiley & Sons.