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.
Dr. Paul Dragos Aligica is a professor in the Economics Department in Politics and Economics at Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Dragos Aligica first met Elinor and Vincent Ostrom at the Workshop but was familiar with their work before arriving there. He discusses the way academic institutions work and the way the Ostroms didn't conform to those rules. Later he discusses collaborating with the Ostroms through the Ostrom Workshop. Dragos Aligica also recalls Elinor Ostrom as a teacher and her humor. He goes on to discuss how the Ostroms intellectual lineage will be looked at in the future. The interview concludes with talk about the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) Conference and a more in-depth talk about the Ostrom Workshop.
Charlotte Hess was the Director of the Library and Information at the Ostrom Workshop from 1989 to 2008. Hess begins by recounting the way the library started and the way it developed, including what it was like to create the library catalog for the Workshop. Hess also talks about connecting the Ostroms' work and the International Association of Common Property. Later, she discusses editing Vincent Ostrom's book The Meaning of Democracy and the Vulnerability of Democracies: A Response to Tocqueville's Challenge (1997) and Vincent Ostrom himself.
Kristine Lykens is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Systems at the University of North Texas. As an undergraduate student at Indiana University she was a student of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. She discusses her experiences as a student, working with the Ostroms on several projects, and as a teaching intern for the Vincent Ostrom. She also discusses her personal life, her reconnection with Elinor, and her aspirations for her future research that was inspired by her studies under the Ostroms. Kristine Lykens finished her interview discussing the origins of the Ostrom Workshop as well as the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW).
Place:
St. Louis, Missouri, West Africa -- Ghana, and West Africa -- Nigeria