Undergraduate Research in Civic Intelligence


Fall 2013, Winter 2014 and Spring 2014 quarters

Taught by

social informatics, computer supported cooperative work, computer science, software engineering

This learning opportunity requires  considerable  initiative and motivation and students will work with considerable autonomy. The opportunity is designed to allow students of various knowledge and skill levels to work with students, faculty, and others inside and beyond Evergreen who are engaged in real-world research and action in actual and potential projects. The program will help students develop important skills in organizational and workshop design, collaboration, analysis and interpretation, written and oral communication, and critical thinking skills. We also expect to focus on the development of online services, information, and tools, including civic engagement games and online deliberation.

Civic intelligence attempts to understand how "smart" a society is in addressing the issues before it and to think about – and initiate – practices that improve this capacity. It is a cross-cutting area of inquiry that includes the sciences – social and otherwise – as well as the humanities. Visual art, music, and stories, are as critical to our enterprise as the ability to analyze and theorize about social and environmental issues.

Although there are many ways to engage in this research, all work will directly or indirectly support the work of the Civic Intelligence Research and Action Laboratory (CIRAL). These opportunities will generally fall under the heading of "home office" or "field" work. The home office work will generally focus on developing the capacities of the CIRAL lab, including engaging in research, media work, or tech development that will support the community partnerships. The field work component will consist of direct collaboration outside the classroom, often on an ongoing basis. Students working within this learning opportunity will generally work with one or two of the clusters of topics and activities developed by previous and current students. The first content clusters that were developed were (1) CIRAL vs. homelessness; (2) environment and energy; and (3) food. In addition to a general home office focus cluster on institutionalizing CIRAL, another focused on media and online support.

We are also hoping to support students who are interested in the development of online support for civic intelligence, particularly CIRAL. This includes the development of ongoing projects such as e-Liberate, a web-based tool that supports online meetings using Roberts Rules of Order, and Activist Mirror, a civic engagement game, as well as the requirements gathering and development of new capabilities for information interchange and collaboration.

Normally students taking this option will have worked with Doug Schuler previously or are otherwise familiar with CIRAL and the idea of civic intelligence. Students who are interested in type of work and have not met those informal requirements are encouraged to take the Social Innovation and Civic Intelligence program in 2013-14.

Please go to the Research Opportunities catalog view for additional information.

Fields of Study

Location and Schedule

Campus location

Olympia

Schedule

Offered during: Evening and Weekend

Advertised schedule: 4:30-6p Wed for team meetings; other work done at mutually arranged times

Books

Buy books for this program through The Greener Store.

Online Learning

Enhanced Online Learning

More information about online learning.

Registration Information

Credits: Variable Credit Options

Variable Credit Options

Availability and credit options vary per quarter

Class standing: Sophomore–Senior

Fall

Signature Required

Students should contact the faculty for more information.

Course Reference Number

So - Sr (2-16 credits): 10252

Go to my.evergreen.edu to register for this program.

Winter

Accepting New Students

Signature Required

Students should contact the faculty for more information.

Course Reference Number

So - Sr (2-16 credits): 20207

Go to my.evergreen.edu to register for this program.

Spring

Accepting New Students

Signature Required

Students should contact the faculty for more information.

Course Reference Number

So - Sr (2-16 credits): 30187

Go to my.evergreen.edu to register for this program.

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