What we Do

The Democracy Lab advances community-engaged research, teaching, and practice focused on broad political participation and social justice.

The lab supports research collaboration, an annual grant cycle and and outwardly facing programming. 

It offers a collaborative media practice lab, podcasting studio, and networked meeting room for participating faculty, grad and undergrad researchers in and beyond the department. 

The Lab builds on the interdisciplinary strengths of our department and reflects both the interests and expertise of faculty working and teaching across a wide range of areas, including (but not limited to) populism and politics, design and media production; journalism studies and comparative media systems; law and technology; geography, cartography, and governance; youth disenfranchisement and empowerment.

eXPERIMENT

Democracy Lab is a space that facilitates media-making experimentation in advanced undergraduate production courses as well as in media-oriented graduate research.

EXPLORE

Democracy Lab funds emerging research projects and the prototyping of ideas that explore dimensions of community-engaged, media-based, or teaching-focused research.

ENVISION

Democracy Lab creates opportunities for conversations, collaborations, and events that bring people together with the goal of imagining democratic possibilities.