New Volume of Essays from the American Academy Examines the Teaching of Evidence-Based Decision Making

For 240 years, the nation has looked to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to offer wisdom and insight into the most profound issues of the time. In 1780, that was the formation of a free republic. In the 1850s, it was understanding the changing natural environment through the theory of evolution. In 1960, it was the creation and exploration of a field called arms control – in fact, the Academy coined that term. Today, it includes such questions as how we can sustain the dream of American democracy in the face of widening divides; and how as citizens of our planet we can respond to environmental change and its implications for migration, conflict, public health, and natural resources in order to provide for a more promising global future.

The Spring 2006 issue of Dædalus maps the development and evolution of seven humanities disciplines in the 21st century. The seven disciplines traced in this issue are: American Literature, Comparative Literature, History, Art History, African American Studies, Law and the Humanities, and Philosophy.

This online data set – the first of its kind – attracted extensive attention in the news media and in the blogosphere and the website received more than 250,000 hits originating from 38 countries. The prototype includes 74 indicators and more than 200 tables and charts.

“Protecting the Internet as a Public Commons” surveys potential safeguards and improvements for the Internet, and weighs whether introducing them might prove counterproductive.

Danielle Allen shares how her family’s history of civic engagement inspires her belief in America’s constitutional democracy.

National Commission seeks recommendations on role of humanities and social sciences in local communities in preparation for report to Congress

Lack of health care, food and shelter typically kill more civilians than bombs and bullets.

American Institutions, Society & the Public Good

The Academy, in conjunction with a consortium of national humanities organizations, will create a prototype set of indicators – statistical data about the people who work in the humanities and about the work they do – to provide a comprehensive picture of the state of the humanities in the United States, from primary to higher education to public humanities activities.

Citing a forthcoming Academy report, Neal Lane testifies in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and says America’s future as a global leader depends on a robust and expanding science and technology research and development agenda by the federal government.

Roberto Rey Agudo explores what a recent survey by the American Academy’s Humanities Indicators initiative tells us about the value and meaningfulness of language learning in college.

Dædalus is the journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and it's published by MIT Press. The Academy made the journal open access in 2021 as part of a commitment to making ideas and information freely available. During the first year of open access, Dædalus experienced an increase in online readership, downloaded articles, and citations.

The British Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences hosts a series of events with the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Citing Academy report, Harry Brighouse shares instructional practices that undergraduates say they have rarely encountered and think should be more widely shared.

A new report from the Academy issues recommendations for closing the civil justice gap. Developed with an interdisciplinary approach involving legal professionals, scholars, and community leaders offers an array of approaches for delivering and increasing civil justice in America.