The Art and Science of Group Decisionmaking: Introductory Session
This session is part of the Introduction to Political Technology course at Newspeak House, open to faculty and fellowship candidates only.
One major goal of this module is to help you to effectively navigate the Governance Module i.e. life at Newspeak.
This introductory session will drop you right into the thick of things by engaging you in a hands-on, simulated group decision activity.
I will also provide an overview of the topics and resources that can be made available to you in the rest of the module. This module is a buffet: you may choose to consume some, all, or none of the content.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THIS INTRODUCTORY SESSION BUT WOULD STILL LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MODULE, please email [email protected] to arrange a make-up session.
Module Overview
This module explores how groups make choices, resolve disagreements, and generate new ideas. We will examine decisionmaking not just as the sum of individual opinions, but as a collective process shaped by personal preferences, social networks, and procedural design.
In this module, you will have the opportunity to learn practical methods for understanding, evaluating, and designing decisionmaking in teams, organizations, and societies.
Content for this module falls broadly into two categories:
(1) Classic decision theory, which includes negotiation and conflict management
(2) Collective intelligence, which focuses on a broad set of group behaviors including creativity, crowd wisdom, and market beheavior.
See full module guide here: tiny.cc/newspeakdecisions2025