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.
Jacob Bower-Bir is an Assistant Professor at the American University in Cairo. He first met Elinor Ostrom as a student where she was his mentor for five years and chair of his committee. Bower-Bir recalls how fortunate he was to work with Elinor Ostrom before and after the Nobel prize. He also discusses the Ostrom Workshop, the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop and questions both the Ostroms were pursing answers to. The interview closes with Bower-Bir reflecting on the ways Elinor and Vincent Ostrom influenced him.
Eduardo Brondizio is a professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. He met Elinor Ostrom while developing a proposal for a Center of excellence on the study of population, institutions, and environmental change (CIPEC). He discusses the way the Ostroms built teams by creating a space where common language was upheld above discipline specific language and the overarching idea of research around problems, not disciplines. He goes on to describe how he began working at the Ostrom Workshop and what he does there now. Personal and last memories of Elinor Ostrom are also shared.
Bryan Bruns is an Independent Consultant Sociologist. Bruns was exposed to the work of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom through mutual colleagues, conferences, and their writing. In 2009 Bruns became a Visiting Scholar at the Ostrom Workshop. He discusses what it was like to be a part of the Ostrom Workshop and the way Elinor Ostrom taught. Later he discusses his own work, Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop, and the Nobel Prize.