2005 ANNUAL REPORT NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 3 CHAIRMAN’S LETTER The President The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President: It is my privilege to present to you the 2005 annual report NEH made available $1 million for emergency grants to of the National Endowment for the Humanities. libraries, museums, colleges, universities, and other cultural On September 29th, the NEH celebrated the 40th anni- and historical institutions in the region. These grants com- versary of its creation. In the legislation that established bined rigorous review with minimal bureaucracy, and within the Endowment, Congress declared that “Democracy weeks targeted dollars were flowing directly to those who demands wisdom and vision in its citizens.” For four were recovering precious books, documents, and artifacts. decades, the NEH has fostered this wisdom and vision As the NEH worked to promote and preserve America’s by helping our citizens explore what makes us human: cultural heritage, we also expanded our efforts to help citi- the legacy of our past, the ideas and principles that moti- zens understand the world beyond our shores. This year vate us, and the eternal questions that we still ponder. the NEH and the National Science Foundation awarded I was proud to see the NEH carry on this vital mission the first fellowships and grants in our new Documenting in 2005 through our core programs and through the ongo- Endangered Languages partnership—a multiyear effort to ing expansion of the We the People initiative. In its third preserve records of key languages around the globe before year, We the People continued to help strengthen the teach- they become extinct. In May the NEH also announced a ing, study, and understanding of American history and new agency-wide initiative, “Rediscovering Afghanistan.” culture. The initiative offered its second annual Bookshelf The initiative will promote research, education, and public grants to one thousand libraries across the country, featuring programs about Afghan history and culture, and encour- books that encourage young readers to ponder the mean- age American institutions to assist their Afghan peers in ing of “Freedom.” Fifteen Landmarks of American History efforts to preserve and document cultural resources. summer workshops allowed more than 1,700 K-12 teach- Through these and many other initiatives and grant ers to learn about significant American events at places programs, the NEH is bringing great ideas and the riches where history was made—including Abraham Lincoln’s of our past to millions of Americans—helping them home in Springfield, Illinois, and Alabama’s civil rights acquire the “wisdom and vision” demanded of a free landmarks. We also launched an additional Landmarks and self-governing people. program this year for community college faculty. In addition to inspiring discussion and reflection about our nation’s heritage, We the People is also ensuring that the “first draft” of our history is widely available. In 2005 BRUCE COLE the NEH awarded the first grants in our new National CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Digital Newspaper Program, a long-term effort with the Library of Congress to develop an Internet-based, search- able database of some 30 million pages of historic U.S. newspapers now in the public domain. When the program is completed, students, teachers, scholars, and history buffs will be able to go to their computer and get immedi- ate, unfiltered access to this amazing historical resource. The NEH and the state humanities councils also played an important role in helping the people of the Gulf Coast save and recover their vibrant cultural heritage after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Just days after the storms, the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 31 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3 Jefferson Lecture ............................................................................................................ 4 National Humanities Medals ........................................................................................... 5-8 Heroes of History Lecture ............................................................................................... 9 Education Programs ....................................................................................................... 10-16 Preservation and Access Programs .................................................................................. 17-26 Public Programs ............................................................................................................. 27-34 Research Programs ......................................................................................................... 35-46 Challenge Grants ............................................................................................................ 47-51 Federal/State Partnership ............................................................................................... 52-61 Miscellaneous Awards .................................................................................................... 62 Panelists......................................................................................................................... 63-79 National Council on the Humanities ............................................................................... 80 Senior Staff .................................................................................................................... 81 Budget Appropriation ..................................................................................................... 82 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES In order “to promote progress and scholarship in the humanities and the arts in the United States,” Congress enacted the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965. This act established the National Endowment for the Humanities as an independent grant- making agency of the federal government to support research, education, and public programs in the humanities. In fiscal year 2005, grants were made through the Federal/State Partnership, four divisions (Education Programs, Preservation and Access, Public Programs, and Research Programs) and the Office of Challenge Grants. The act that established the National Endowment for the Humanities says, “The term ‘humani- ties’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism, and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have human- istic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.” The National Endowment for the Humanities supports exemplary work to advance and dis- seminate knowledge in all the disciplines of the humanities. Endowment support is intended to complement and assist private and local efforts and to serve as a catalyst to increase nonfed- eral support for projects of high quality. To date, NEH matching grants have helped generate approximately $1.89 billion in gift funds. Each application to the Endowment is assessed by knowledgeable persons outside the agency who are asked for their judgments about the quality and significance of the proposed project. Seven hundred and ninety-three scholars, profes- sionals in the humanities, and other experts served on 175 panels throughout the year. INTRODUCTION 3 THE JEFFERSON LECTURE On May 12, 2005, classicist Donald Kagan delivered the also served as dean of Yale College, as acting director of thirty-fourth annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities athletics, and as “little short of a one-man university.” at the Washington Convention Center in the District of From 1988 to 1993, Kagan was a member on the National Columbia. In his lecture, “In Defense of History,” Kagan Humanities Council, and in 2002, President George W. argued that the ancient Greeks and their search for human Bush awarded him the National Humanities Medal. truth are at the foundation of the humanities and our In almost forty years, Kagan has published more culture. He said, “they are at the root of modern civiliza- than fifty books and articles on a multitude of subjects— tion, so like us in so many ways and so different in others; political theory, education, war, terrorism, baseball, and they offer a perspective removed from the prejudices of ancient history. However, it is his four-volume history of the time and place that threaten to distort our understand- Peloponnesian War for which he is best known. Published ing and yet are continually relevant and illuminating.” between 1969 and 1987, The Peloponnesian War became the Kagan contended that history, rather than poetry or definitive work on the subject. Kagan drew mostly from philosophy, is especially adept to further the goals of the Thucydides’ original history, but disagreed with him on humanities. Beginning with Herodotus and Thucydides, several points—most importantly, the inevitability of the he defined “the missions for the historian: to examine war. He writes, “The Peloponnesian War was not caused important