Requested by members of the U.S. Congress, The Heart of the Matter (summary) (full report) was produced by the American Academy of Arts & Science’s blue-ribbon “Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences,” which included a large group of leaders in higher education, government, business, the arts, and other sectors of society. Presented to Congress in June 2013, the report’s intent is “to advance a dialogue on the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the future of our nation.”
The following is an outline of the report (including the report’s concrete proposals) accompanied by an outline of interesting issues for discussion about the report created by Alan Liu for workshop seminars on humanities advocacy. (An annotated, highlighted version of the report contains bookmarks that jump to these outline points. Please request the login for the annotated report from Alan Liu: ayliu@english.ucsb.edu)
Outline of The Heart of the Matter
(An annotated, highlighted version of the report contains bookmarks that jump to these outline points. Please request the login for the annotated report from Alan Liu: ayliu@english.ucsb.edu)
- Frontmatter
- (Title Page) The Heart of the Matter
- (p 2) “Who will lead American into a bright future?”
- (p 5) Members of the Commission on theHumanities and Social Sciences
- (p 6) Acknowledgements
- (p 9) Executive Summary
- Goal 1- Educate (literacy, civics, onlilne)
- Goal 2 – Competitive / Innovative
- Goal 3 – World Leadership
- Mission of the humanities — summary
- (p 15) Introduction
- The “troubling pattern”
- (Ch. 1, p 21) K-12 Education
- literacy
- civics
- teachers
- (Ch. 2, p 29) 2- and 4-Year Colleges
- Liberal Arts
- Education & the Digital Age
- (Ch. 3, p 37 ) Research
- Need for support
- Connect with public
- Public-private partnerships
- Alt-Ac careers
- Grand Challenges
- (Ch. 4, p 47) Cultural Institutions & Lifelong Learning
- Cultural institutions & Amer. life
- Fund the NEH
- Culture Corps
- Online resources for public
- (Ch. 5, p 55) International Security & Competitiveness
- Global imperative
- Intercultural skills
- Promote language learning
- Deepen knowledge of other cultures
- (p 61) Conclusion
- Appendices
- (p. 63) Appendix I: Letters of Request from Congress
- (p. 67) Appendix II: Biographies of Commission Members
- (p 78) Appendix III: Commission Subcommittees
- (p 80) Appendix IV: Commission Forums
- (p 85) Appendix V: Further Info & Resources
Concrete Proposals in The Heart of the Matter
(An annotated, highlighted version of the report contains bookmarks that jump to these outline points. Please request the login for the annotated report from Alan Liu: ayliu@english.ucsb.edu)
- (Ch 1) K-12 Education
- Common Core standards
- Reconnect K-12 and higher educators
- Revise teacher certification
- Loan forgiveness program
- Master Teacher Corps
- Online depositories of teaching materials
- (Ch 2) 2- and 4-Year Colleges
- New flexible, interdisciplinary curricula
- MOOC s?
- (Ch 3) Research
- Public-Private partnerships for research
- Alt-Ac
- Public Fellows program
- (Ch 4) Cultural Institutions & Lifelong Learning
- Increase fundkng fr NEH, State Humaniteis Councils
- Culture Corps program
- Online resources for public
- Copyright / fair use reform
- (Ch 5) International Security & Competitiveness
- America Competes act reauthorization, with international studies
- K-12 language learning programs
- Blended learnkng tech for language learning and cultural exchanges
- Study abroad programs
- Increase funds for Fulbright Program and Title VI international and language programs
Outline of Interesting Issues in The Heart of the Matter
(As interpreted by Alan Liu)
(An annotated, highlighted version of the report contains bookmarks that jump to these outline points. Please request the login for the annotated report from Alan Liu: ayliu@english.ucsb.edu)
- Humanities “and” social sciences
- (cover / title)
- (Intro, p. 9)
- Where are the Arts?
- Relative priority of citizenship, workforce productivity, and security
- (Acknow, p 6)
- (Acknow, p 8)
- (Exec Sum, p 9)
- (Comm. members: balance of commission members among institutions)
- Humanities as “keeper” of history/memory
- (Exec Sum, p 9)
- The Relation of the Humanities to U.S.-style “Liberal Arts”
- (Exec Sum, p 10)
- (Intro, p. 18)
- (Intro, p 19 )
- (Ch 1, p. 22)
- (Ch 2, pp 31-32 )
- Information technology
- (Ch 2, p 35)
- Role of Research
- (Ch 3, p 39) “specialized academic study”
- Humanities and War
- (Ch 3, p 39)
- Public communications
- (Ch 3, pp. 39-40)
- Humanities and “Alt-Ac”(Alternative Academic Careers)
- (Ch 3, p 43)
- Humanities outside academe
- (Ch 4, p. 49)
- Global humanities
- (Ch 5, p 57)
- (Ch 5, p 59)