Philip S. Khoury's Induction Remarks

Cambridge, MA, October 5, 2002 - I have been asked to speak on behalf of the humanities and social sciences. As a historian, I am part of both, though I must admit that I am also somewhat out of fashion in each. For instance, I belong neither to the wing of the humanities associated with cultural studies nor to the wing of the social sciences that applies mathematical and other methods of measurement to the study of socio-economic and political behavior. But as an academic administrator responsible for the humanities and social sciences at my university, I have greatly benefited from the opportunity to read and debate with colleagues belonging to these two very different approaches to learning, approaches that in some sense constitute the methodological book ends of the humanities and social sciences.

I think that one of the most difficult challenges facing the humanities and social sciences in this trying period in our country's history is how to raise the level of awareness of cultures other than our own, and especially of so-called "non-western cultures," which I shall refer to as "distant cultures." As an area studies specialist, I have thought about this challenge for many years but never with more urgency than in the past year.

For all that the forces of globalization have done to make our world visibly interdependent and for all the information and knowledge sharing that the technologies underpinning globalization have produced, it is quite remarkable how parochial we Americans still seem to be, in our understanding of distant societies and, by extension, in our interactions with some of them. There are reasons for this parochialism: the vast size of the United States and its historic self-containment; our comparatively recent involvement with much of the rest of the world outside of Europe; and our tendency to judge other societies in terms of how they resonate with our two most cherished values of individual freedom and democracy (even though we have tended to suspend their promotion abroad when they conflict with our strategic and material interests).

In the wake of the monstrous tragedy of September 11th, Americans, in spite of shock, anger and puzzlement, have begun to express an unprecedented, in my experience, desire for information and analysis about the complex and diverse cultures and societies of the Middle East and the wider Islamic world, and even beyond. Unfortunately, what the public has mainly had to rely on are simplistic theories and frameworks of interpretation that view the world in terms of opposites, of backwardness against progress, of clashing civilizations, of the forces of evil against the forces of good. Meanwhile, those who have other knowledge and who have long rejected simplistic theories and frameworks for more richly nuanced portraits of distant cultures are seemingly incapable of rendering them intelligible to the public. Why? In part because our specialized, rather insular training has hindered the development of sufficient numbers of synthesizers and generalizers among us, and in part because those who have such capacities have not managed to gain regular access to our country's major channels of communication.

The challenge then is to bring greater understanding of distant cultures and societies to an American public whose curiosity is growing. Our interpretations must be critical and unapologetic, but they must not presume that cultures other than our own are inferior or are bent on undermining our values and traditions, September 11th not withstanding. In this way, we will contribute to making us more responsible citizens and to raising the quality of debate within our government and policymaking circles. And in this way we will be able to send to the sidelines both the cultural chauvinists and the romantic apologists who are lowering the quality of public discourse in this country.

I would note that at the very time that Americans are trying to increase their awareness of distant cultures, they, we are trying even harder to locate and reassert our own core values. And we are doing so not only in reaction to the "attack against America" but also in reaction to an attack from within America by some whose enormous personal greed has shaken our confidence and trust.

Anyone of us whose business it is to study societies other than our own, knows that it is impossible to do so without revisiting our own values and traditions. I would suggest that in these unsettling times there is an unusual opportunity to connect our desire and need to better understand distant cultures with our desire and need to examine and assert our own fundamental values.

Let me conclude by circling back to the humanities and social sciences. Many of us gathered here today know that the value of a liberal arts education has been diminished in the past quarter century. The humanities and related social sciences are less influential in our educational system and in our wider society than they once were. There are complex factors behind this loss of status and importance. We humanists and social scientists bear some of the responsibility for not making our learning more accessible to the public and for not battling effectively the spread of narrowly oriented technical training within our institutions of higher education. My hope is that by accepting responsibility to increase awareness of and engagement with more distant cultures and societies, and by linking this effort to a re-examination of our own history and increasingly rich and diverse culture, we can strengthen the position of the humanities and the social sciences, and liberal education generally.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which I feel privileged to be a member, is already taking the lead in making the case for the humanities through its "Initiative for the Humanities and Culture." Perhaps the Academy would also consider taking up the challenge of how to effectively transmit learning to the American public about distant cultures and, by extension, how to develop connections between this learning and the ongoing re-examination of our own social and cultural underpinnings and historical development. And while we are at it, shouldn't we consider how to more effectively transmit learning about American society, and American traditions and values, in a critical and unapologetic manner to those very same distant societies that we need to know much more about? They are no less in need of knowing us than we are of knowing them. By so doing, we might at long last produce a genuine dialogue of cultures.

Now that's at least a double challenge!

For more information about this year's new class or about the Induction Ceremony and other Academy events, please call Phyllis Bendell at (617) 576-5047 or email pbendell@amacad.org.

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