Civic Knowledge Infrastructure Lab
Studying and strengthening what makes democracy possible.
An interdisciplinary research lab directed by Kathleen Searles, housed in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina.
How do societies build and sustain the knowledge systems on which democracy depends?
Five verbs. One question.
The Civic Knowledge Infrastructure Lab studies the people, institutions, norms, and technologies that shape how knowledge is produced and communicated in democracies. We examine how these systems function, and what happens when they come under political, technological, or institutional pressure. Through basic and applied research, we develop and test interventions designed to support knowledge institutions and strengthen democracy.
- 01
Understand
the information institutions and knowledge infrastructure that undergird democracy.
- 02
Identify
the problems facing knowledge systems.
- 03
Design
interventions that support knowledge institutions.
- 04
Test
those interventions through basic and applied research.
- 05
Translate
findings for the public.
Three questions drive the work.
- 01
How do political, technological, and institutional pressures reshape what the public knows?
- 02
How do we know and understand democracy?
- 03
How do we strengthen the knowledge institutions that support democratic life?
Strengthening democracy in the heart of the American South.
Based at a public university in the South, CKI brings a perspective often missing from national conversations about knowledge and democracy. We center the communities and students around us—bringing their experiences into the questions we ask, the research we conduct, and the solutions we build.
From Georgia to Louisiana to South Carolina, Dr. Searles has done this work at Southern public universities since 2011.
We nurture scholars.
Students in this lab are colleagues in the making. Every project is an opportunity to learn, grow, and give back to the community.
- 2 to 3 per year
Graduate Fellows
A small cohort for intensive research: collaborative projects, mentorship, visibility, and funding when available. One-year awards, renewable.
- 4 to 8 PhD students
Graduate Affiliates
PhD students whose research aligns with the lab mission. Lab workshops, events, and collaboration on lab projects.
- Project-based
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Defined research tasks on specific projects, supervised by Graduate Fellows and the Director.
Affiliates apply with a one-page statement on fit. Fellows apply with a one-page project proposal.
Ask about joiningA record of building:
- Expert Voices Together (opens in a new tab)Co-founder
A rapid-response system for journalists and researchers facing harassment. Now housed at Right To Be.
- Women Also Know Stuff (opens in a new tab)Founding member · Executive emerita
Changing who is visible as an expert in the media.
- Researcher Support Consortium (opens in a new tab)Co-founder
Producing actionable materials for institutions, funders, and researchers experiencing occupational intimidation for their work.
Kathleen Searles, Ph.D.
Olin D. Johnston Chair of Political Science, University of South Carolina
Kathleen Searles studies the people and institutions that produce and communicate information in democratic societies. Her research asks how journalism, expertise, and public knowledge are shaped by political, technological, and institutional pressures, and what allows these systems to remain robust.
For example, she examines how journalists decide whose voices and expertise enter the news, how technology structures what information people encounter and attend to, and how harassment and other forms of occupational intimidation affect journalists, researchers, and experts. Across this work, she is particularly interested in inequalities in who gets to participate as a credible public voice and in the conditions that enable experts to communicate freely.
Her research draws on political science, communication, and psychology and uses experiments, surveys, content analysis, interviews, and behavioral measures to study these problems from information production through public reception. Ultimately, her work seeks not only to understand the vulnerabilities of democratic information systems, but also to identify institutions, practices, and interventions that can make them more resilient.
More coming.
The first featured project arrives soon.