american academy of arts & sciences spring 2010 Bulletin vol. lxiii, no. 3 Page 7 A New Literary History of America Werner Sollors and Greil Marcus David Brady and Pamela S. Karlan Page 15 Challenges to Business and Society in the Twenty-First Century: The Way Forward Rajat K. Gupta and Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. Daniel Yankelovich Page 22 A Conversation on Evolving U.S. Policy toward Russia Robert Legvold and Thomas Graham inside: The Humanities: The Case for Data, Page 1 Book of Members, Page 6 From the Archives, Page 36 Calendar of Events Save the Date: Induction Weekend Friday, Sunday, Contents October 8, 2010 October 10, 2010 Evening Reception and Program– Sunday Symposium–Cambridge Cambridge Academy Projects For information and reservations, contact The Humanities: The Case for Data 1 Saturday, the Events Of½ce (phone: 617-576-5032; October 9, 2010 email: [email protected]). Book of Members 6 2010 Induction Ceremony–Cambridge Academy Meetings A New Literary History of America Werner Sollors and Greil Marcus 7 Challenges to Business and Society in the Twenty-First Century: The Way Forward Rajat K. Gupta and Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. 15 A Conversation on Evolving U.S. Policy toward Russia Robert Legvold and Thomas Graham 22 Noteworthy 32 From the Archives 36 Fellows and Friends Again Contribute More than $1.5 million to the Annual Fund In the recently completed ½scal year, the Academy’s Annual Fund surpassed last year’s total and the $1.5 million mark for the fourth consecutive year–nearly 1,200 donors helped to accomplish this goal. Development Committee Chair Alan Dachs noted that “every Annual Fund gift was important in achieving these results. Academy research projects and studies are having more influence and impact than ever before on informed national policy. This important work and other Academy programs and activities across the country rely on resources provided by a successful Annual Fund.” The Academy is indebted to the Fellows, friends, foundations, and staff members for supporting its work. We are particularly grateful to a growing number of leader- ship donors. A complete list of contributors to the 2009–2010 Annual Fund will appear in the Academy’s Annual Report, which will be published in the fall. The members of the Development and Public Relations Committee in fy 2010 were Louis W. Cabot, Robert A. Alberty, and Alan M. Dachs, cochairs; David Alexander, Jesse H. Choper, Michael E. Gellert, Charles M. Haar, Stephen Stamas, Donald M. Stewart, and Nicholas T. Zervas. Academy Projects The Humanities: The Case for Data In her 2008 plenary address to the annual access, poorly disseminated, unwittingly the model of the sei, the American Academy meeting of the Association of American Col- ignored, and routinely underutilized.”2 of Arts and Sciences initiated the Humanities leges and Universities, philosopher and legal Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org), Scientists have long recognized the value of scholar Martha Nussbaum spoke eloquently a demonstration project to enrich public having statistical data to measure the scope of how a liberal arts education conveys hu- understanding of the humanities by increas- and vitality of education, research, and work- manistic “abilities of citizenship” such as ing our empirical knowledge of the human- force development in their ½elds. Such data critical thinking, cultural literacy, and nar- ities in action, both within schools and support evidence-based policy discussions rative imagination. She emphasized that colleges as well as in other social contexts. in professional and governmental forums. these abilities promote human development Supported by generous grants from the Since 1982, the National Science Board has in the broadest terms and encourage respon- William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and been required by law to publish Science and sible engagement in a pluralistic democracy the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Engineering Indicators (sei), a biennial report and in the global economy.1 Nussbaum’s Indicators are the culmination of several providing a range of quantitative informa- case for the liberal arts, and for the human- years of planning and collaboration with tion about U.S. science, engineering, and ities in particular, merits serious considera- many of the country’s leading humanities tion, especially at a time when the concept organizations, including the National En- of a knowledge-based society is widely em- For the ½rst time, we have dowment for the Humanities and the Amer- braced and policy-makers focus on econom- ican Council of Learned Societies. The ic competitiveness and Americans’ scienti½c in one place baseline statis- project was codirected by Academy Fellows and technical competencies. tics about many areas of Steven Marcus, the George Delacorte Pro- fessor in the Humanities Emeritus at Co- How do we determine whether our colleges concern to the humanities lumbia University; Patricia Meyer Spacks, and universities are adequately cultivating the Edgar F. Shannon Professor of English “abilities of citizenship” in our students? community. Emerita at the University of Virginia; and How do we assess the teaching of complex Norman M. Bradburn, the Tiffany and literacy skills and critical thinking? What technology in domestic and global contexts. Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Pro- do we know about student attainment in With the sei data available as an authori- fessor Emeritus at the University of Chicago foreign languages and cultural understand- tative point of reference, stakeholders can and senior fellow at the National Opinion ing as graduates set out to pursue careers in engage in well-informed discussions and Research Center (norc). a rapidly changing global economy? What make consequential decisions about invest- do we know about the humanities workforce ments in science and technology, including The Indicators provide a prototype for col- within and beyond educational institutions? stem education and basic research in col- lecting data necessary to answer questions The search for answers to questions such as leges and universities. about the state of the humanities and how these would bene½t from reliable, compre- they are faring. For the ½rst time, we have Nothing similar exists for the humanities hensive, and ongoing quantitative informa- in one place baseline statistics about many even though the 1985 reauthorization of the tion about the state of the humanities in our areas of concern to the humanities com- National Endowment for the Humanities country. As Francis Oakley, Edward Dorr munity, including k–12 education in the called for a “national information and data Professor of History and President Emeri- humanities, undergraduate and graduate collection system on humanities scholars, tus of Williams College, has suggested, “For education in the humanities, the humani- educational and cultural groups, and audi- the humanities, perhaps surprisingly, such ties workforce, research and funding for the ences.”3 Such data are critical. Following data [have been] either altogether lacking, humanities, and the humanities in Ameri- or were inconsistently assembled, hard to can life beyond the academy. The project 2 Francis Oakley, “The Humanities Indicators Proj- also enables the coherent tracking of a vari- ect,” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ety of trends in the humanities. Narrative 1 Martha Nussbaum, “Education for Pro½t, Education 62 (2) (Winter 2009): 27. for Freedom,” Liberal Education 95 (3) (Summer 2009): 3 National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S. Code, summaries of salient trends and relevant 6–13. Title 20, sec. 956, 1985. contexts support more than seventy indica- Bulletin of the American Academy, Spring 2010 1 Academy Projects tors and two hundred graphs. The oversight students get older is also evident, suggesting Overall, the humanities of Norman Bradburn and norc ensures that students do not continue to develop that the Indicators conform to the highest the competencies introduced in primary have lost signi½cant market standards of accuracy and usefulness. school. share to vocational degrees, Since publicly launching its online database More than half of the students graduat- in January 2009, the Academy has frequently ing from our high schools in 2006 failed primarily business. updated the ½ndings. More than one million to demonstrate basic knowledge of his- visits to the Indicators website suggest tory, and over a third of the students become primary and secondary teachers in lacked basic knowledge of civics. widespread interest in this portfolio of humanities subjects. Humanities competency is concentrated statistics. We hope to sustain and expand Data on postsecondary education con½rm in a relatively small number of students. the project as new data, methodologies, and a decline in bachelor’s and doctoral degree Only a modest percentage of the nation’s disciplinary questions emerge. Past efforts completions in humanities programs over to collect humanities data have been epi- young people are leaving high school with at least pro½ciency–versus only the most the last forty years, following peak levels in sodic, with the dissemination of ½ndings basic skills–in history (13 percent) or the late 1960s and early 1970s. A modest re- limited to occasional publications. For data civics (27 percent). [Indicators i–3 and covery starting in the early 1990s continued to be valuable to the widest constituency, i–4; see Figures 1 and 2] through at least 2004. In the three largest their collection and use must be ongoing, k disciplines–English, history, and foreign and we look to governmental agencies and Indicators on –12 teacher quali½cations tell us that the humanities face the same is- languages–data indicate slight declines in the scholarly community to help sustain us sues of teacher preparedness as math and absolute numbers of doctoral degrees in the in this effort. science. The lack of well-prepared teachers ½rst half of the past decade. As measured is especially severe in some core humanities against the increasing number of students The Indicators allow us to subjects.