In his keynote address, Academy President Jonathan Fanton emphasized the need for colleges and universities to do more to spread awareness about the positive impact of language and area studies.

In the face of unprecedented hostility toward institutions dedicated to knowledge and the pursuit of truth, the Academy’s Board of Directors issued a statement reaffirming a commitment to the practice of democratic self-governance and the belief that a great nation invests in the arts and sciences while protecting the freedom that enables them to flourish.

The Commission on Reimagining Our Economy is working on a photojournal with the work of four photographers capturing what it looks like to try to get by in the United States today for Americans earning around the national median income ($70,784 for a household in 2021).

Instituted incautiously, the public humanities can threaten faculty speech and encourage cash-chasing. Feisal G. Mohamed discusses how getting it right will require structural change on the American campus — and some institutional investment in humanities departments.

William Julius Wilson discusses racial discrimination, bias, and black employment problems in the American economy.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has named Kwame Anthony Appiah - author, philosopher, and public intellectual - the recipient of the Academy's award for outstanding contributions to humanistic scholarship.

Washington Post chief correspondent and Academy member Dan Balz highlights ways ordinary citizens can address problems with the U.S. political system in an op-ed that includes recommendations from Our Common Purpose, including independent redistricting commissions, expanding the House, implementing ranked choice voting, and more.

The new issue of Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, explores the loss of trust in experts and institutions: what are the causes and consequences of the loss of confidence and can they be reversed?

Academy member and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie urges institutions to expand their language offerings and enhance global awareness, citing Academy report on "America's Languages."

In my previous message, I discussed how – despite the challenges of the pandemic – our community of members has remained active and engaged in the life of the Academy. During the past year, our virtual events reached more audiences in more places than ever before. Our project work continued unabated, including the release of Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century and the development of new major projects on climate change and inequality. And despite great uncertainty, our members came together to produce a record-breaking fundraising year.

The world is witnessing the emergence of new nuclear states that have acquired or are pursuing nuclear capabilities. These new nuclear actors pose significant threats to global security as they challenge the existing nuclear order and nonproliferation regime.

Members Elected in 2021, by Class & Section

The Winter 2014 issue of Dædalus suggests humanists help us better understand ourselves and the world around us. Through analysis and personal reflection, the contributors to the issue demonstrate how the humanities improve our humanity.

The coronavirus pandemic is nothing less than an “existential crisis” that will reshape American society, says Danielle Allen, cochair of Academy Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. What needs to happen for America’s civic life to be reborn?

Timothy J. Colton and George Breslauer gave a presentation on “Russia Beyond Putin,” the subject of the upcoming Spring 2017 issue of Dædalus.

Language immersion is needed to help address global challenges, yet U.S. citizens are falling behind. Nicholas B. Dirks, member of the Academy's Commission on Language Learning, offers his commentary.

The Academy conducted a day of special briefings for Congressional staff in January 2023 on issues related to nuclear arms control. The day including a large briefing -- "The Doomsday Clock and Today’s Nuclear Landscape” -- as well as individual office visits. The conversations were part of the Academy's “Promoting Dialogue on Arms Control and Disarmament” project.

Danielle Allen, cochair of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, makes the case for enlarging the U.S. House of Representatives. The first recommendation of Our Common Purpose calls for enlarging the House of Representatives.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe, but Ukraine is only the most visible example of contemporary conflicts subjecting populations to systematic violence and depriving them of life-saving humanitarian assistance. In Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the eroding purchase of international humanitarian law, combined with intensifying geopolitical competition and the rapidly changing character of modern warfare, have put enormous strain on humanitarian actors. An issue of Daedalus explores the conflicts and the implications.