This project centers around interviews with professional and/or personal acquaintances of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. Every interview explores a unique relationship with the Ostroms and the continuing impact of the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University. Elinor (Lin) and Vincent Ostrom founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis in 1973.The Ostrom Workshop has been the catalyst for worldwide collaboration in the field of public policy and environmental issues. "Coming Together" is an interdisciplinary exploration of the legacy and impact of Elinor (Lin) and Vincent Ostrom. Major topics include; academia, "the commons", cross-disciplinary collaboration, Elinor Ostrom's Nobel Prize, the Ostrom Workshop, political science, political theory, and the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) conference. The project was created to assist in the dissertation research of Sara Catherine Clark, who was a doctoral candidate within the School of Education, pursing a Ph.D. in History, Philosophy, and Policy in Education, at Indiana University Bloomington. Sara Catherine Clark's dissertation was completed in 2019 and is cited as follows: Clark, S. C. (2019). Elinor ostrom: A biography of interdisciplinary life.
Daniel Cole is a professor of Law and Public and Environment Health at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. The interview begins with Cole explaining how he first met Elinor Ostrom at the Ostrom Workshop and became more familiar with her through a cooperative forestry group and conferences which eventually led to Cole joining the Workshop Advisory Council. He speaks of Elinor Ostrom as a teacher, personal and professional experiences with the Ostroms, and team building in the Ostrom Workshop. Cole tells of the personal conversations he had with Elinor Ostrom in the hospital and how humorous and warm she was. He discusses what he think Ostrom's favorite time of the week was, the Workshop colloquium. The discussion ends with Cole talking about the book he and Elinor Ostrom wrote titled "Property in Land and Other Resources".
Burnell Fischer is the Clinical Professor Emeritus in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Fischer discusses his time as the State Forester of Indiana. Fischer wanted more collaboration with a greater variety of stakeholders and he discusses how he made that work. While he was working at the State Forester of Indiana Elinor Ostrom contacted him to come down and speak to her and her graduate students. During this time a collaborative was formed between Indiana University, Purdue University, The Nature Conservancy, and Professor Dan Cole of IUPUI (now Indiana University Bloomington). Fischer then began working at Indiana University where he assisted Elinor Ostrom in teaching. His position moved from work at the Ostrom Workshop to his position as the undergraduate program director at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Fischer recalls his time at the Nobel ceremony and why he was there. The interview concludes discussing the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) and the Ostrom Workshops future.
Prakash Kashwan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Co-Director of the Economic and Social Rights Research Group at the Human Rights Institute, at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Kashwan first met the Ostroms when he came to Indiana University to work on his PhD. He recalls memories with Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. The interview moves on to discuss the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) conference and its future along with the Ostroms intellectual legacy. Kashwan ends by discussing Vincent Ostrom and Elinor Ostrom's teaching.