Please join us…

The Drama of the Commons: What Makes Cooperation Work

Elinor Ostrom will receive the 2009 Jonathan M. Tisch Prize for Research on Civic Engagement and discuss citizenship, civil society, and the civic role of universities. I will interview her publicly and then open the discussion to the audience.

March 5, 2009

3:30pm – 5:00 pm

Crane Room, Paige Hall

Tufts University

Reception to follow, 5:00-7:00

Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Hall

No RSVP necessary

Elinor Ostrom is Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science at the University of Indiana. Her work concerns collective decisions and voluntary cooperation. In laboratory experiments, she studies when and how human beings cooperate. As a formal theorist, she has contributed essential insights to our understanding of collective action and collective choice. She has also collaborated with and advised nonprofit organizations in many countries as they address practical issues. These collaborations have enriched her formal theory and her scientific research. She has founded and directed institutes that combine theory, empirical research, practice, and the analysis of policy. The contexts of her research have ranged from traditional agricultural practices to policing in urban America to the Internet as a “commons.” As a teacher, a college administrator, and a leader of institutions, she has been a civic educator and has advocated for civic education. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and former president of both the American Political Science Association and the Midwest Political Science Association.