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April/May 2009
Scholars Address Outlook for the Humanities in Symposium at GW
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter was
among a group of distinguished panelists who discussed
humanities in the 21st century at a symposium held at
GW in March. Along with Justice Souter, President of the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation Michael Randel, Chair of the Board of Regents at
the Smithsonian Institution Patty Stonesifer, and University
of Richmond President Edward L. Ayers participated in the
March 9 panel, titled “The Public Good: The Humanities in a
Civil Society,” held in GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium. The panel
was part of a three-day American Academy of Arts & Sciences
symposium organized by the National Humanities Alliance, an
advocacy coalition dedicated to the advancement of humanities
education, research, preservation and public programs. After welcoming remarks from President Steven Knapp,
Dr. Randel urged humanists to explore more innovative ways
to grow awareness and support of the field. “If we really care
about the humanities and believe in their importance in the lives
of individuals and in society, we will need to find the ways to be
part of a much larger effort that seeks to capture young minds,
from birth, and then nurture them steadily,” he said. Justice Souter discussed the importance of historical knowledge
when interpreting law. “We have to make it an article of faith that
schools should teach from history books and teachers should
take the lead in developing a sense of history in every mind they Dr. Knapp delivered the keynote address at the symposium
luncheon in GW’s Marvin Center Continental Ballroom March 10. In his remarks, Dr. Knapp stressed that the “perceptual gap”
between the high value the public places on humanities scholarship “What we must bring to the table is not an argument at all but a certain kind of exemplification, a bringing to life and not just a description of the way advanced and organized curiosity revitalizes the past and makes it available to students and the public alike,” said Dr. Knapp. “We have to put the legislators and policymakers directly in touch with the persons who themselves most powerfully exemplify the role of advanced and organized curiosity in making and keeping the nation’s heritage alive.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu |
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