For nearly 400 years, Marblehead had been governed by town meeting. But this time some citizens wondered if a heated housing debate across profound demographic divides would break this centuries-old system—or if Marblehead would show that the American experiment with democracy can still work.

Grants will support the Academy’s Humanities Indicators (www.HumanitiesIndicators.org), the first comprehensive collection of statistical data about the humanities in the United States.

As shared via social media, a delegation to Boston from Belgium celebrated the election of Belgian scientist and physician Peter Carmeliet to the Academy in 2021. A professor at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Dr. Carmeliet specializes in angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels.

As a member of the Academy, you received the official announcement about the 261 individuals elected in 2022. Here are a few reactions on Twitter to the big news.

A recent Academy event about artificial intelligence and the law explored how AI tools like ChatGPT and Bing Chat might impact the accessibility, reliability, and regulation of legal and other professional services. The event was part of the work of the Academy’s Making Justice Accessible project.

The Academy’s record of distinction in Science, Engineering, and Technology dates to its founding mission “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Rather than generate new scientific research, the role of the Academy has been uniquely interdisciplinary, bridging the social sciences and arts with the physical sciences to support a national understanding, belief, and trust in science and discovery. Perhaps no better example of this can be found than in the mid-1800s when the Academy hosted hotly contested debates about a new scientific theory – the theory of evolution.

Online

Online

At the 860th Meeting of the Academy held June 14, 1893 in the Physiological Lecture Room of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, physician and Member Harold C. Ernst, using diagrams, lantern slides, and live samples, explained the methods of investigation...

New Data Available on College and University Humanities Departments

Renowned immunologist and former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, MD, is receiving the Award for Excellence in Public Policy and Public Affairs from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his work on behalf of the common good.

Arms trafficking has a long and influential history. At an Academy event held in Berkeley, California, historian Brian DeLay described how U.S. arms trafficking intervened at critical moments to destabilize Mexican governance. The program included commentary from historians Priya Satia and Daniel Sargent, as well as from political scientist Ron Hassner. The presentations explored how the history of arms trading may help to better understand the history of state-making and the power relations between the United States and the rest of the world.

Robert Ballard tells the story of his passionate career in ocean exploration and discusses the educational initiatives he has created to engage a new generation of scientists.

Geoffrey R. Stone moderated a conversation with journalist Judith Miller, Judge Richard A. Posner, and author Gabriel Schoenfeld about the balance between freedom of the press and national security. Each panelist offered his or her perspective on bridging legal and ethical issues.

For many Chinese dissidents, the blueprint drawn by the US’s founding fathers—despite current democratic backsliding—remains a beacon and reference point for changes they want to see in their home country.

In the 250th year of the Declaration of Independence, institutions and communities across America are re-examining who the founding narrative included and who it left out. In Tallahassee, preserving Black history often falls to local residents who refuse to let the record be lost or misremembered.

While much of the conversation about the outcomes of college graduates focuses on their earnings, a new report from the American Academy’s Humanities Indicators offers a more expansive view of bachelor’s degree recipients’ experiences in the workforce and beyond.

May R. Berenbaum presented at the fall Stated Meeting of the Midwest Center of the American Academy. The talk was a condensed and popularized version of her paper titled "Animal-Plant Warfare: Molecular Basis for Cytochrome P450-Mediated Natural Adaptation."