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.
Anonymous begins the interview by explaining their connection to Elinor Ostrom as a student in the political science department. This leads to discussion of Ostrom as a teacher, working with her on the Health Commons Research Project, and experiences with her at the Ostrom Workshop. They speak of the Occupy Movement as an important part of their academic career and the connection to Ostrom's work. Anonymous goes on to discuss how they would tell the Ostroms' story which includes discussion of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Then Anonymous is asked to discuss lingering research questions, those questions deal with power and the colonial experience within the commons. The interview closes discussing the Ostrom Workshop and Elinor Ostrom's work on language.
Xavier Basurto is an Associate Professor of Sustainability Science within the division of Marine Science Conservation at Duke University. Basurto met Elinor Ostrom through Edella Schlager, a professor at University of Arizona. After finished his PhD he applied for a postdoc position at the Ostrom Workshop, which he was accepted to. Basurto later talks about Elinor Ostrom's influence and his participation in the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) Conferences.