This open textbook discusses the many successes and failures regarding governing the "commons." It introduces a framework that can be used to help readers analyze the various types of commons that are important to the collective well-being and illustrate how it can be used to provide a better understanding of how to better govern the collective shared resources. It consists of fifteen chapters, each with clear learning outcomes, activities for reader engagement and reflection, and appropriate lists of brief references. This is the 2016 edition, building on the 1990, 2005, and 2013 writings and materials of Elinor Ostrom.
Type of Material:
Open Access Textbook
Recommended Uses:
It may be used for online instruction and self-pace study.
Technical Requirements:
It is a PDF-formatted ebook for download. I accessed the free ebook via Firefox Browser 100 for the Mac. It was viewed via Preview 11 for the Mac.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
By learning from this material, students will be able:
To identify basic elements of the "governing the commons" debate, the controversy that has arisen around it, and possible resolutions
To discuss the many successes and failures regarding "governing the commons"
To analyze how institutional rules and norms guide political and policy decisions, particularly related to environmental concerns
To explain and apply a policy framework that analyzes various types of commons and how we can better govern our shared resources
To identify policy mechanisms that may increase the likelihood of desirable social and environmental outcomes
Target Student Population:
College Upper Division, Graduate School
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
This ebook consists of chapters focusing on theoretical perspectives, institutional analysis, case studies (on water governance, harvesting, and sustainable planning), social psychological aspects in decision-making and negotiating institutional expectations, and systems perspective. Each chapter lists learning objectives and reflective questions.
Generally, it provides clear, concise, and appropriate explanation of core concepts and theories, and framework for institutional analysis in managing the public commons. Most of the content is similar to those in current policy-oriented textbooks in environmental studies.
Concerns:
In relation to learning to better manage public commons, serious gaps exist in addressing issues of (1) environmental racism and sexism in the US context and (2) imperialism and the international agricultural crisis.
More sustained inquiries on various aspects of social, political, and environmental inequalities are needed. For instance, questions of native and indigenous struggles over land rights are not seriously examined (particularly since the authors are in Arizona). Moreover, while the "Think Globally, Act Locally?" chapter considers global climate change issues, it is too brief (with only six pages for the chapter out of 178 pages for the entire ebook) for a fuller exploration of environmental challenges faced by peasants, landless farmworkers, fisherfolks, and indigenous people of Third World countries, primarily resulting from the joint actions of multinational corporations, international financial institutions, and powerful First World governments.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Many students, especially in the USA, are unfamiliar with the "commons" and how we all have a responsibility to maintain the functioning of the commons. Many intro sociology students struggle with the idea of institutions and the authors do an excellent job explaining this concept.
The book clearly states the student learning outcomes, critical reflections, discussion questions, and references for each chapter. Photos and figures are incorporated throughout the material.
Concerns:
It would be helpful if instructor and other instructional materials are made available online.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The text is very well organized. It offers learning objectives for each chapter. The chapters are logically organized and reflective questions are provided.
Concerns:
As a PDF file, the layout of the ebook (in terms of fonts, font sizes, and so on) remains fixed, similar to the original paperbound version of the book. This may not be universally accessible. It would be more digitally accessible and interactive if the ebook was available as web pages or as an ePUB-formatted document, which would allow greater layout flexibility for students and readers.
Also, while its contents are under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, it limits the ability for instructors to transform or build upon this work.
Creative Commons:
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