Founded in 1995, the IEDP is a non-partisan, grassroots teaching and learning collaborative for faculty interested in public writing, argumentation, political debate, the civic traditions of rhetoric, democratic discourse in the age of the Internet, and patterns of communication across cultures. Courses at any level can make good use of the project.

Each year classes are connected via email and web-based discussion forums so that students can:

For students, the project provides an opportunity to use electronic tools and rhetorical analysis to study the discourse of democracy and to participate interactively in public discussion with students around the country. In Fall 2000, over 700 students in 10 states in the U.S. used the IEDP multi-class network to deliberate on a wide number of social and political issues, including those raised by the U.S. Presidential campaign.

For faculty, the project offers a special email discussion list, a collaborative network of support, and resources for innovative approaches to teaching and research. Our institutions, types of courses, and classroom activities vary widely, but we share an interest in trying to work out answers to questions such as the following: What is the relationship between language and public life? What should be the role of writing and rhetoric in an electronic democracy? How can we shape public spaces on-line that will nourish civic culture? How can we best educate ourselves for active citizenship in the 21st century?

New faculty are invited to join the email discussion list at any time. International participants are welcome. We are interested in democratic literacies across the globe. For subscription instructions, send an email to

Judy Arzt, Saint Joseph College (Connecticut) jarzt@sjc.edu
Kelly Belanger, University of Wyoming KRBelang@uwyo.edu
Deborah Burns, Merrimack College (MA): dburns@merrimack.edu
Philip J. Burns, Worcester State College (MA): pburns@worcester.edu
Jeanne Ekdahl, California State University, Hayward jekdahl@csuhayward.edu
Brooke Hessler, Texas Christian University hessler@writetosucceed.org
Heidi McKee, University of Massachusetts, Amherst heidimckee@hotmail.com
Irene Papoulis, Trinity College (Connecticut) irene.papoulis@mail.trincoll.edu
Robert Peltier, Trinity College (Connecticut) rpeltier@mail.trincoll.edu
Michael Rossi, Merrimack College (Massachusetts) mrossi@merrimack.edu
Peter Sands, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: sands@uwm.edu
Linda K. Shamoon, University of Rhode Island: shamoon@uri.edu
Alison Warriner, California State University, Hayward: awarrine@csuhayward.edu
Winifred J. Wood, Wellesley College (MA): wwood@wellesley.edu
Carolyn J. Young, University of Wyoming CYoung@uwyo.edu