The Committee on Studies and Publications supports the Academy’s Council by regularly reviewing and advising on projects, considering topics for future studies, and evaluating publications, including Dædalus. Committee members from a broad range of disciplines and professions share their expertise on projects that explore critical issues, advance discussion on central questions, and offer solutions to both national and international challenges.

John Kaag describes his time as a Visiting Scholar at the Academy (2007-2008).

John L. Hennessy, Ann M. Arvin, Carla J. Shatz, and Peter S. Kim participated in a discussion at Stanford University about the role of university research in the innovation pipeline.

As the nation grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, venues closed, employment plummeted, and uncertainty affected every facet of the cultural field. Simultaneously, the renewed racial justice reckoning that swept the country last summer spurred an assessment of inequities in the arts. Leaders of arts organizations were confronted by difficult decisions and significant opportunities as they navigated these crises and attempted to support both the arts and artists.

On September 6, 2018, at Emory University, the American Academy hosted a Morton L. Mandel Public Lecture on “The Study of African American Women’s Writing: Pasts & Futures.” The program, which included a welcome from Dwight A. McBride, served as the 2069th Stated Meeting of the American Academy. Michelle M. Wright introduced the evening’s speakers – Frances Smith Foster, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and Pellom McDaniels III – and moderated the discussion.

A list of recent publications.

Since its founding, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has worked to promote a strong and virtuous nation. Our charter states that the “end and design” of the American Academy is to “cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Today, this effort involves projects designed to advance knowledge about the nation’s institutions and to develop innovative solutions to problems facing American society. Projects in this area interpret the term “institution” broadly, focusing on all of the constituent elements of government and civil society. These projects address how Americans interact with social structures, how these experiences prepare people to make a positive contribution to a diverse nation, and how these institutions might operate differently in the twenty-first century. The Academy shares this research through publications, conferences, and active outreach.

Recent Dædalus Issues

Militaries, like civilian industries, have a profound capacity to pollute the air, land, and water. What are the estimates of military impact on the environment? And what are some ways to reduce it? The Academy convened a range of experts to consider impacts and options.

Scott D. Sagan, Joseph H. Felter, and Paul H. Wise discussed “A Collective Moral Awakening: Ethical Choices in War and Peace,” which is, in part, the subject of the Winter 2017 issue of Dædalus.

By Jessica Taylor, Louis W. Cabot Fellow in Humanities Policy at the Academy, and Robert B. Townsend, Director of Humanities, Arts, and Culture Programs at the Academy and Codirector of the Humanities Indicators

Recent Dædalus Issues Explore Mental Health as well as Language & Social Justice in the United States

Over the past three years, the American Academy’s Commission on the Arts has developed a rich and diverse array of materials to elevate and promote arts education, the creative workforce, and the arts generally. Drawing on the expertise of artists, scholars, activists, and leaders of a variety of artistic institutions, the Commission developed two reports and a collection of artistic expressions.

Local Program Committees and Representatives bring members together to connect with the Academy and each other in the communities where they live.

Local Program Committees and Representatives bring members together to connect with the Academy and each other in the communities where they live.

The Summer 2019 issue of Daedalus, “Inequality as a Multidimensional Process,” guest edited by Michèle Lamont and Paul Pierson, draws on a wide range of expertise to better understand and examine how economic conditions are linked to other social, psychological, political, and cultural processes that can either counteract or reinforce durable inequalities.

“More people worldwide are being displaced from their homes for longer periods than ever before,” noted David Miliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee, at a gathering of Academy members and guests at the inaugural Jonathan F. Fanton Lecture in New York. Miliband, one of the foremost advocates for refugees and a leader in responses to global humanitarian and human rights crises, described the causes of today’s global refugee crisis and offered solutions, both simple and effective.

Local Program Committees and Representatives bring members together to connect with the Academy and each other in the communities where they live.

In a single year, 55 million Americans might face 260 million legal problems, such as fighting eviction threats from landlords, dealing with overwhelming medical bills from an unexpected illness that could lead to bankruptcy, or seeking assistance to escape abusive domestic situations. Yet only some Americans recognize that these problems are matters of civil justice. And even fewer have access to available, afford­able, and quality legal support needed to resolve these problems. This is the civil justice gap: the disparity between the legal needs of Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.

For the past two years, members of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship have engaged in research, round tables, and discussions about strengthening American democracy in the 21st century. Now, as the impact of COVID-19 surges through every aspect of American society, Commission members are applying their expertise in public policy and civic and political engagement to meet and understand critical challenges at the local and national levels.