Research Interests

Democratic politics is grounded in the space(s) of everyday life; increasingly, these are digital. In my research, I seek to understand the political effects of digital technologies by investigating two complementary themes: (1) the effects of software design for building democratic digital environments, and (2) the effects of digital technologies on users' democratic practices.

(Software) architecture, design, & democratic politics

The built environment, both physical and digital, is the product of deliberate choices on the part of designers and builders who often fail to consider the political implications of their choices. In this area of my work, I focus on the ways that design choices have specific political effects for users of digital technologies.

Book

Designing for Democracy: How to Build Community in Digital Environments (Oxford University Press, 2022)

How should we "fix" digital technologies to support democracy instead of undermining it? In Designing for Democracy, I argue that accurately evaluating the democratic potential of digital spaces means studying how the built environment--a primary component of our "modern public square"--structures our activity, shapes our attitudes, and supports the kinds of relationships and behaviors democracy requires.

Peer-reviewed publications

Jennifer Forestal (2021) “Constructing Digital Democracies: Facebook, Arendt, and the Politics of Design” Political Studies 69(1): 26-44. (pre-publication version)

Jennifer Forestal (2017) "The Architecture of Political Spaces: Trolls, Digital Media, and Deweyan Democracy" American Political Science Review 111(1): 149-161.

Public writing

Jennifer Forestal (2017) “Trolling Democracy: anonymity doesn’t cause conflicts, bad site design does” Democratic Audit UK. May 4.

Works-in-progress

“Mute, Block, Unfollow: Technology, Democracy, and the Politics of Opting-Out”

This article draws from the work of Alexis de Tocqueville, as well as recent work on user retention strategies for digital media, to address the problem of ‘opting-out.’ It argues that the organizational structure of communities can cultivate a sense of obligation and attachment in members—or else can fail to do so, and uses the example of Incels to explain why some digital communities collapse or transform, why others do not, and how to prevent this ‘opting out’ in the future.

Digital technologies & democratic practices

The politics of digital technologies extend beyond the design process; these technologies also have an effect on the daily habits and practices of their users. In this area of my work, I further investigate the political consequences of digital technologies, particularly the ways in which these technologies work to facilitate democratic practices in their users--or fail to do so.

Peer-reviewed publications

Jennifer Forestal (2021) “Beyond Gatekeeping: Propaganda, Democracy, and the Organization of Digital Publics” Journal of Politics 83(1): 306-320. (pre-publication version)

Jennifer Forestal and Menaka Philips (2020) “The Masked Demos: Associational Anonymity and Democratic Practice” Contemporary Political Theory 19: 573-595.

Public writing

Jennifer Forestal (2017) "Fake News and Informed Democracy" (with Chris Tenove) The Scholars' Circle. September 9.

Jennifer Forestal and Menaka Philips (2016) "People blame Facebook for fake news and partisan bile. They're wrong." Washington Post: Monkey Cage. December 16.

Works-in-progress

“Democracy Dies in Darkness? Anonymity, Accountability, and Information as a Public Good” (with Menaka Philips) 

Through a comparative analysis of the Pentagon Papers and WikiLeaks, we begin building a revised understanding of information as a democratic good. Information is democratically valuable, we argue, when and where two processes of curation are triggered. The first is a process of selection (to determine what information should be shared), while the second is one of contextualization (to determine how best to share it). Taken together, these processes suggest that, beyond access alone, information must also be at least ‘minimally curated’ to be democratically useful.

“We are Legion: New Digital Social Movements and the Challenges of Democratic Organizing” (with Menaka Philips) 

In this paper, we argue that new digital social movements, like Black Lives Matter and Anonymous, reveal enduring challenges of democratic organizing. Through a comparative analysis of the NAACP and Anonymous, we argue that democratic social movements should be evaluated not just on their goals (i.e. movements for democracy), but also on their internal organizational structure (i.e. with open,and fluid membership structures and inclusive collective decision-making processes).

Gender, (intellectual) labor, & the history of political thought

From studies of asymmetrical citation patterns and questions of unbalanced service obligations, to #metoo and #thanksfortyping, the role of women in the academy continues to be a topic of conversation. And while there have been high-profile efforts to recover the work of women scholars, these discussions of the gendered dynamics of intellectual life would benefit from an examination of how gender norms have historically constituted our understanding of intellectual labor and our criteria for evaluating what counts as scholarship.

In this area of my work, I collaborate with Menaka Philips to bring attention to the lives and experiences of the ‘wives of the canon’—women who played the role of wife and intimate with some of political theory’s canonical figures. Through these investigations, we offer a critical look at how the borders of political theory—and the modern academy that relies on it—have been constructed and maintained in a way that perpetuates the myth of ‘great texts’ and the ‘great men’ who work in isolation to produce them.

Edited collection

Jennifer Forestal & Menaka Philips, eds. (2021) The Wives of Western Philosophy: Gender Politics in Intellectual Labor. Routledge.

The Wives of Western Philosophy examines the lives and experiences of the wives and women associated with nine distinct political thinkers—from Socrates to Marx—in order to explore the gendered patterns of intellectual labor that permeate the foundations of western political thought.

Organized chronologically and representative of three eras in the history of political thought (Ancient, Early Modern and Modern), nine critical biographical chapters explore the everyday acts of intellectual labor and partnership involving these ‘wives of the canon.’ Taking seriously their narratives as intimate partners reveals that wives have labored in remarkable ways throughout the history of political thought. In some cases, their labors mark the conceptual boundaries of political life; in others, they serve as uncredited resources for the production of political ideas. In all instances, however, these wives and intimates are pushed to the margins of the history of political thought.

The Wives of Western Philosophy brings these women to the center of scholarly interest. In so doing, it provides new insights into the intellectual biographies of some of the most famed men in political theory while also raising important questions about the gendered politics of intellectual labor which shapes our receptions of canonical texts and thinkers, and which sustain the academy even today.

Peer-reviewed publications

Jennifer Forestal & Menaka Philips. (2018) “Gender and the ‘Great Man’: Recovering Philosophy's ‘Wives of the Canon’” Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy 33(4): 587-592.

Public writing

Jennifer Forestal and Menaka Philips (2020) "Hamilton and the unsung labors of wives." Washington Post: Made by History. August 6.

Civic learning & assessment

Democracy, as John Dewey reminds us, is more than a set of institutions; it is a way of life. For Dewey, this holistic understanding of democracy necessarily meant an investment not only in political institutions, but also--and more importantly--in the educational ones.

Following Dewey, I take seriously my role as a teacher-scholar and apply the same rigorous standards of research and evaluation to my teaching as I use in my research. In this area of my work, I investigate the effects of different pedagogical approaches to political science and civic learning, more broadly.

Peer-reviewed publications

Jennifer Forestal & Jessie K. Finch (forthcoming) “Teaching the Town Hall: Incorporating Experiential Learning in a Large Introductory Lecture Course” Journal of Political Science Education (de-identified data available here)

Claire Abernathy & Jennifer Forestal (2021) “The Use of Debates in Political Science Courses” Journal of Political Science Education 17(3): 343-355.

Claire Abernathy & Jennifer Forestal (2020) “Civics Across Campus: Designing Effective Extracurricular Programming,” Journal of Political Science Education 16(1): 3-27.

Other publications

Jennifer Forestal (2016) "'Midwife to Democracy:' Civic Learning in Higher Education." William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, Stockton University. October.

Works-in-progress

"Effective Teaching for Civic Learning: Assessing Student Learning Outcomes Across Political Science Courses" (with Claire Abernathy)

This paper investigates how, exactly, the discipline of political science contributes to and enhances undergraduate general education by focusing on students' civic learning outcomes. Using pre- and post-course surveys, as well as rubric assignments, this paper assesses the impact of different teaching strategies in developing students' political knowledge, skills, and values.