Youth and Participatory Politics
The MacArthur Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP) is an interdisciplinary network of scholars working together to understand the ways youth participation in online networks is shaping and reshaping youth civic and political engagement in the public sphere.
The YPP Network will examine:
1) The ways new media may foster a new paradigm for participation in the public sphere.
2) How frequently and how equitably youth engage in networked public participation.
3) The relationship between online participatory practices and political participation.
4) Ways to promote more frequent, more equitable, and higher quality political engagement via participation with new media.
Who We Are
YPP is comprised of scholars from universities and research institutions throughout the country and is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as part of their Digital Media and Learning initiative.
Network Members
The YPP’s seven scholars bring collective insight from the domains of political theory, citizen media, ethics, participatory culture, social movements, education and interest-based learning:
- Danielle Allen, political theorist who has published broadly on democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought, Institute for Advanced Study;
- Cathy J. Cohen, expert in American politics, African-American politics, women and politics, lesbian and gay politics, and social movements, University of Chicago;
- Howard Gardner, one of the world’s leading experts and writers on intelligence, creativity, leadership, and ethics, Harvard University;
- Mizuko “Mimi” Ito, cultural anthropologist with deep expertise in the implications of how youth are engaging with technology and digital media, University of California, Irvine;
- Henry Jenkins, expert on new media and participatory culture, University of Southern California;
- Joseph Kahne, YPP Chair, expert on how school and new media practices influence youth civic and political development, Mills College;
- Elisabeth "Lissa" Soep, Research Director and Senior Producer at Youth Radio, a national youth-driven production company in Oakland, CA;
- Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of an international force of citizen bloggers called Global Voices, leading scholar on the Internet and democratic engagement, Berkman Center for the Internet and Society, Harvard University, and MIT Media Lab.
Associated Researchers
Katie Davis, Project Specialist on several research projects led by Dr. Howard Gardner at Project Zero, including the GoodPlay Project, the Developing Minds and Digital Media Project, and the Trust and Trustworthiness Project.
Chris Evans, Senior Program Associate, Civic Engagement Research Group, Mills College.
Erhardt Graeff, Researcher at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Carrie James, Research Director and a Principal Investigator at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Laura Mccune
Ellen Middaugh, Associate Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG).
Sandra Mistretti, Program Administrator for the Youth and Participatory Politics Research Network.
Jon Rogowski, a graduate student in political science at the University of Chicago studying American politics and political methodology.
Margaret Rundle, a researcher at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education working on several projects including the Trust and Trustworthiness Project, the GoodPlay Project, and the Developing Minds and Digital Media Project.
Sangita Shresthova, a Czech/Nepali international development specialist, filmmaker, media scholar, and dancer with extensive interdisciplinary qualitative research experience.