BIOGRAPHY

Jean Miller is the project manager for Public Diplomacy and Virtual Worlds at the Center for Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Her interest in Public Diplomacy all started with her spending her senior year of high school in Braunschweig, Germany as an exchange student with the American Field Service. She finished her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service with an emphasis on Regional and Comparative Studies of Europe and Asia. After graduation, she worked in Capital Markets for Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. Her interest in games blossomed when she worked in International Operations for LucasArts Entertainment. In 2004, Jean returned to academia in a joint masters program in Global Communication between the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

ABSTRACT

Games & Civic Literacy

Although volunteering is on the rise for US youth, civic participation is at an all- time low. Can games help? Over the past year, each of our discussants has hosted a broad call for games that build civic literacy. At USC the focus was on public diplomacy, while Games for Change focused on deliberate social change. After reviewing the submissions, what was learned? We'll consider identity construction, studying abroad online, worldview framing a la George Lakoff, an experiential doorknocking simulator -- all in an interactive discussion with audience members.