SGER: Collaborative Research: The Machinery of Representation--Voting Technologies and the 2000 Presidential Election

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal for a Small Grant for Exploratory Research outlines a collaborative project for in-depth scholarly research on the issues raised for science and technology studies (S&TS), as well as for related political and legal analysis, by the extraordinary year 2000 US presidential election. The project will seek to identify the most salient epistemological and sociotechnical dimensions of these issues and will develop a special archival collection to support ongoing interdisciplinary research on the 36-day post-election developments. The proposal has three key elements: (1) an initial planning workshop to be held in Cambridge, MA, at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government; (2) a systematic effort to gather materials, many ephemeral, to be housed in a special collection in the Cornell University library system; and (3) a follow-up workshop to discuss and refine a group of papers emanating from the first two phases of the project. The collaboration between the Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University will facilitate the involvement of a broad range of scholars in creating the collection and contribute to productive interactions between science and technology studies and more traditional perspectives on government and public policy.