The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom: Essential Lessons for Collective Action Erik Nordman, Ph.D.
Suggested Weekly Course Schedule The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom makes a great book for a course specifically on collaborative governance of commons, as a seminar, or as a supplemental text in environmental studies or science classes. The textbook Sustaining the Commons (2nd edition) makes an excellent companion to The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom. Vlad Tarko’s book, Elinor Ostrom: An Intellectual Biography is another good introduction to Ostrom’s work, especially for graduate students. I also selected an article to accompany each week’s reading. These might be appropriate for advanced undergraduates or graduate students. Feel free to mix and match the supplemental readings, or choose other ones that interest your students. The Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University has resources for those wishing to teach about Lin and Vincent Ostrom’s work on collaborative management and democratic institutions. The Workshop also maintains the Digital Library of the Commons which includes peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, technical reports, and other documents related to the governance of common pool resources. Teaching the Workshop: https://ostromworkshop.indiana.edu/library/teaching-resources/index.html Digital Library of the Commons: https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/ Week
Agenda Topic(s)
Introduction 1
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Pre-class Readings from The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom Ch. 1 What’s So Tragic About the Commons?
Groundwater management
Ch. 2 Los Angeles Groundwater
Fishing Game theory
Ch. 3 Maine’s Lobster Gangs Optional Movie: Lobster War
Supplemental readings
Sustaining the Commons Ch. 1 Why Study the Commons? The tragedy of the commons (G. Hardin) The Logic of Collective Action, Ch. 1 (M. Olson) Sustaining the Commons Ch. 5 Water Governance Sustainable groundwater management in California: A grand experiment in environmental governance (Lubell et al.) Sustaining the Commons Ch. 4 Social Dilemmas The evolution of conservation rules and norms in the Maine lobster industry (Acheson & Gardner) To protect ocean environments, 'good enough' might be the best long-term option (Nava & Quitana)
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