Experts Brief Congress on Humanities and National Security
Panelists explain the role of cultural understanding in creating informed, effective policy
On May 19, 2011, NEH Chairman Jim Leach and four distinguished scholars spoke at a congressional forum titled “Briefing on the Humanities in the 21st Century: Addressing National Security & Other Global Challenges Through Cultural Understanding.”
The event, held in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, addressed numerous issues, including
- Can we have national security without cultural understanding?
- How can the humanities and social sciences help address complex global challenges?
- What are U.S. faculty and other experts doing to advance national and global policy priorities?
- How does federal support for research and related activities help cultivate and employ U.S. expertise in the humanities?
In addition to Chairman Leach, the speakers were: David Skorton, President of Cornell University; Jamsheed Choksy, professor of central Eurasian studies, history and India studies at Indiana University in Bloomington; Jacob Shapiro, assistant professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University; and Debra Hess Norris, professor and chair of the Department of Art Conservation and associate dean for Graduate Education, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Delaware.
The briefing was sponsored by the National Humanities Alliance and the Association of American Universities, in cooperation with the Congressional Humanities Caucus, co-chaired by Representatives David Price (D-NC) and Tom Petri (R-WI).
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