- Monday, October 5, 2015
- 5:00 PM–7:00 PM
- Hoogenboom Center Room 280
We invite you to join us for the annual Mellema Lecture.
The lecture
Our speaker for the 2015 Mellema Lecture is Rev. Dr. Bruce D. Baker, assistant professor of business ethics at Seattle Pacific University.
Silicon Valley and the Spirit of Innovation
Theological refractions on the history of California’s culture of technological entrepreneurship
5:00 p.m. Lecture
5:45 p.m. Q&A
Hoogenboom Center Room 280
This lecture is free and open to the public.
Our topic
Silicon Valley, the world-renown birthplace of technology start-up companies, stands alone as the quintessential image of entrepreneurial spirit. Why did this agriculturally gifted valley give birth to so many world-class technology companies—Hewlett-Packard, Intel, AMD, Sun Microsystems, Apple, Cisco and Google, to name but a few—and how did it become the world’s most admired cultural landmark of entrepreneurial spirit?
In this lecture, Dr. Baker will trace the history of the Valley’s high-tech pioneers, and draw lessons from the founders of these world-leading companies. His method is to “exegete the culture” with an eye toward theological implications for business and society. This exploration shows how biblical motifs help explain the innovative ethos and spirit of entrepreneurship in the Silicon Valley. Through this biblical lens, we gain insight into the business climate which has produced such phenomenal entrepreneurial success. Dr. Baker’s research into the social, cultural, and moral conditions which have contributed to the ethos of Silicon Valley offers practical wisdom for the cultivation of productive and soul-enriching work in business in general.
Program sponsors
The Mellema Program in Western Studies and the Calvin Center for Innovation in Business
