The purpose of the Public Sphere Project is to help create and support equitable and effective public spheres all over the world.
Featured Projects
Liberating Voices
A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution
People have the right to the information and communication systems they need, to better face the future as engaged and empowered citizens.
The Liberating Voices pattern language is intended to help develop the social imagination that we need for this struggle.
Civic Intelligence
Working together to solve problems for the common good
Civic intelligence is a key element of the Public Sphere Project. We are currently developing online resources that will help people participate in a collaborative learning process and build this theory from the ground up! Please help the community by filling out the Civic Intelligence Cases Study or the "Short form" (you'll have to login or open a Drupal account)
Recent Activity
Integration and Transformation
The migration to a Drupal platform is continuing. The patterns in the Liberating Voices book and the "pool patterns" are now available within Drupal. Authenticated users can also add comments and annotations to patterns.
Although it will take awhile, we plan to ultimately bring all of the pieces together under an integrated conceptual and graphical roof. Let us know if you'd like to help! Drupal familiarity is a big plus.
has been updated.
The slides that Doug Schuler presented at the International School for Digital Transformation in Porto, Portugal earlier this summer are now available.
We've just completed the 6th Liberating Voices workshop and a writeup is coming soon! We can hopefully use the information we gain from these workshops to make it easier for others to convene workshops — and to develop online "workshops" as well. The first drafts of some of the pattern cards are available. Let us know if you're interested in convening a workshop.
In other news, Doug Schuler was interviewed by Gavin Dahl of Digital Crossroads for a couple of college radio stations on the Liberating Voices book / project and related topics last week. Here is a link to the audio.
We are opening up opportunities for participation as quickly as we can. Thanks to the work of Eric Veal and others all pattern authors have accounts with Drupal. Logging in to this system will allow them to access their patterns and add comments to any patterns.
Latest News
Pattern Annotation
Doug Schuler, February 27, 2010
The pattern annotation system and the comment system are both ready for use. Although it's not quite the way we want it to be you can add an annotation (consisting of a title and a url), thus building a libary of useful links. You can also add comments (if you are logged on to your Drupal account), thus providing a way to ask questions or to make suggestions about how best to employ the pattern.
Liberating Voices Review Center
Doug Schuler, March 1, 2010
Ken Gillgren is developing an interview / review for Liberating Voices (mostly the patterns therein) and is asking for input. You too can contribute! Ken will edit what he gets and submit it to the Journal of Community Informatics.
Distributed Deliberative Technologies
Doug Schuler, March 1, 2010
We've entered our proposal for "Distributed Deliberative Technologies" in the new National Science Foundation site. Some of the proposals will be selected to help aid the government in some innovative citizen participatory programs. We proposed that we build on our existing deliberative system, e-Liberate, to develop a flexible and extensible, modular system that could incorporate contributed modules.
Pattern Language Network Analysis
Doug Schuler, January 6, 2009
Marc Smith used the NodeXL tool to generate some graphics based on the pattern links in the book. Although these are preliminary they're still worth a look. Marc and I are planning more work on this in the near future.
MIT Press publishes Liberating Voices!
Doug Schuler, December 9, 2008
After eight years of work, Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution, the MIT Press book containing 136 patterns is now available.
Please take a look at the endorsements below. We've attempted a lot with this book and we'd like to know how well we've succeeded. Please let us know what you think and join the conversation as well!
"If we keep following the well-trodden paths that have brought us
to where we are, we'll never get to where we want to go. Schuler
and his colleagues believe that we can get out of these ruts, and
better yet, they tell us how. This work goes beyond elections and
demonstrations, beyond cynicism and business as usual. It asks the
much deeper questions: what kind of a world do we want and what
must we do to get there? Schuler and his colleagues show us that
another world is possible and invite everybody to the project. I
say, 'Let's get going.'"
—Jerry Greenfield, co-founder, Ben & Jerry's
"In this wide-ranging analysis of the role of information in society,
Doug Schuler proposes a grand theory that weaves together disparate
information and communication activities into an organized, synergistic
fabric. He taps into the collective wisdom of citizens—both theorists
and advocates—to develop a pattern language that can be used as a
framework for rethinking how we build community and create a more
humane, equitable future."
—Nancy Kranich, Former President, American
Library Association, author of Libraries & Democracy
"It's a wonder no one has attempted this monumental project before!
Doug Schuler and his collaborators have produced a visionary manual
rich in insights and directly useful in any attempt to connect
people and information technologies in the quest for real democracy.
This is a crucial book for our time."
—Langdon Winner, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute