On May 5–6, 1956, the Academy hosted a conference on “Science and the Modern World View–Toward a Common Understanding of the Sciences and the Humanities.” The conference, funded by the National Science Foundation, was held in honor of physicist Percy Williams Bridgman and mathematician and physicist Philipp G. Frank. At their request, the meeting was not a celebration of their individual work. Rather, it highlighted the discipline of the philosophy of science, which they both advanced. Specifically, the conference examined the history of a scientific worldview and its intersection with the humanities in the mid-twentieth century.

Academy’s Commission on the Arts issues Art is Work: Policies to Support Creative Workers, recognizing the importance of artists to the national economy

The last remaining bilateral nuclear arms treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation is set to expire in 2021. Then what happens? Discussions and essays explore the new nuclear territory.

From the invention of new life forms to the discovery of life beyond Earth, science is reshaping our understanding of the universe in the twenty-first century. In the Summer 2012 issue of Dædalus, leading scientists describe emerging advances in nanoscience, neuroscience, genetics, paleontology, microbiology, mathematics, planetary science, and plant biology.

Noteworthy

The American Academy’s quarterly journal, Dædalus, has released its Winter 2009 issue, Reflecting on the Humanities. The issue coincides with publication by the American Academy of the Humanities Indicators, the first comprehensive data set about the humanities in America.

American Academy of Arts & Sciences leads discussion on “Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream”

"Twenty years ago I set out with a Chinese friend and research partner, Gao Xiaoxian, to seek from elderly women in northwest Chinese villages their memories of socialist collectivization in the 1950s. We wanted to hear from them before advancing age and death silenced their stories."

On April 13, 2023, the Academy presented its Talcott Parsons Prize for distinguished and original contributions to the social sciences to Robert D. Putnam. First awarded in 1974, the Talcott Parsons Prize was established to honor the noted sociologist and former president of the Academy. Previous recipients of the prize include William David Labov (linguistics), Joan Wallach Scott (history), Daniel Kahneman (psychology), and William Julius Wilson (sociology).

PBS NewsHour reports on the Academy's bipartisan commission on the state of American democracy and its report detailing 31 recommendations for how to strengthen it. Judy Woodruff introduces the report and discusses it with Danielle Allen and Stephen Heintz.

Two days after the election of Donald Trump as the forty-fifth president of the United States, Charles Stewart III, Lawrence D. Bobo, and Jennifer L. Hochschild discussed “Populism and the Future of American Politics.”

The Global Security and International Affairs program fosters knowledge and promotes innovative and evidence-based policies to address crucial issues affecting the international community. It draws on the expertise of a broad range of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to design and lead projects engaging with the pressing strategic, development, and moral questions that underpin relations among people, communities, and states worldwide.

The UN Department of Political Affairs' Politically Speaking magazine interviewed project contributors.

Martha Nussbaum Will Receive Randel Award and Deliver Remarks at April Event

Essays explore the history and future of the laws of war, as well as the challenges we face when trying to uphold and strengthen them.

Creating a “new normal” of multiliteracy and multiculturalism is key to the future of the United States as a leader on the world stage.

Eric Liu, cochair of the Academy's Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, speaks about how to prepare citizens in a democracy.