Jefferson Lecture

The Jefferson Lecturer is selected each year by the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-member citizen advisory board of the NEH. The honoree delivers a lecture in Washington, D.C., generally in conjunction with the spring meeting of the council, and receives an honorarium of $10,000. The stated purpose of the honor is to recognize "an individual who has made significant scholarly contributions in the humanities and who has the ability to communicate the knowledge and wisdom of the humanities in a broadly appealing way."

The first Jefferson Lecturer, in 1972, was Lionel Trilling. He spoke on "Mind in the Modern World." Among other things, Trilling suggested that humanism had become the basis for social improvement, rather than science and the scientific method as has been predicted by Thomas Jefferson, the Lectures' namesake.Alvin Krebs and Robert McG. Thomas, [https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/12/nyregion/notes-on-people-jeffersonian-theory-gets-new-lease-on-life.html "Notes on People; Jeffersonian Theory Gets New Lease on Life,"] The New York Times, May 12, 1981. Ten years later, Gerald Holton, the first scientist invited to deliver the lecture, drew attention for responding to Trilling, proposing that Jefferson's vision of science as a force for social improvement was still viable, opining that there had been a "relocation of the center of gravity" of scientific inquiry toward solving society's important problems, and cautioning that science education had to be improved dramatically or only a small "technological elite" would be equipped to take part in self-government.[https://archive.today/20121211143912/http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article.aspx?ref=226614 "Holton, in Jefferson Lecture, Criticizes Science Education,"] Harvard Crimson, May 15, 1981.

The selection of the 2000 Jefferson Lecturer led to a spate of controversy. The initial selection was President Bill Clinton. William R. Ferris, chairman of the NEH, said that his intent was to establish a new tradition for every president to deliver a Jefferson Lecture during his or her presidency, and that this was consistent with the NEH's broader effort to increase public awareness of the humanities. However, some scholars and political opponents objected that the choice of Clinton represented an inappropriate and unprecedented politicization of the NEH. The heads of the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Humanities Alliance expressed concerns about introducing political considerations into the selection, while William J. Bennett, a conservative Republican and former chairman of the NEH under President Ronald Reagan, charged that the proposal was an example of how Clinton had "corrupted all of those around him."Irvin Molotsky, [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/21/us/choice-of-clinton-to-give-humanities-lecture-meets-resistance.html "Choice of Clinton to Give Humanities Lecture Meets Resistance," ] The New York Times, September 21, 1999. In the wake of the controversy, President Clinton declined the honor; a White House spokesperson said the President "didn't want the work of the National Endowment for the Humanities to be called into question."[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E3DC173FF931A1575AC0A96F958260 "National News Briefs; Clinton Declines Offer To Give Scholarly Talk,"] The New York Times, September 22, 1999.

Ultimately the 2000 honor went to historian James M. McPherson, whose lecture turned out to be very popular. Subsequently, the NEH revised the criteria for the award to place more emphasis on speaking skills and public appeal.Ron Southwick, [http://chronicle.com/free/v47/i06/06a03001.htm "NEH Wants Jefferson Lectures to Have More Public Appeal,"] Chronicle of Higher Education, October 6, 2000.

The next Jefferson Lecture, by playwright Arthur Miller, again led to attacks from conservativesBruce Craig, "Arthur Miller's Jefferson Lecture Stirs Controversy," in [http://www.oah.org/pubs/nl/2001may/ncc.html "Capital Commentary"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122153656/http://www.oah.org/pubs/nl/2001may/ncc.html |date=2008-11-22 }}, OAH Newsletter [published by Organization of American Historians], May 2001. such as Jay Nordlinger, who called it "a disgrace,"Jay Nordlinger, [http://www.nationalreview.com/impromptus/impromptus042202.asp "Back to Plessy, Easter with Fidel, Miller's new tale, &c."] National Review, April 22, 2002. and George Will, who did not like the political content of Miller's lecture and argued that Miller was not legitimately a "scholar."George Will, [http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will041001.asp "Enduring Arthur Miller: Oh, the Humanities!"] Jewish World Review, April 10, 2001.

Recent Jefferson Lecturers have included journalist/author Tom Wolfe;David Epstein, [http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/05/11/wolfe "A Speech in Full,"] Inside Higher Ed, May 11, 2006. Straussian conservative political philosopher Harvey Mansfield;Philip Kennicott, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050802282.html "A Strauss Primer, With Glossy Mansfield Finish,"] The Washington Post, May 9, 2007. and novelist John Updike, who, in a nod to the NEH's [http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/ Picturing America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123084231/https://picturingamerica.neh.gov/ |date=2016-11-23 }} arts initiative, devoted his 2008 lecture to the subject of American art.Jennifer Howard, [http://chronicle.com/news/article/4541/in-jefferson-lecture-updike-says-american-art-is-known-by-its-insecurity "In Jefferson Lecture, Updike Says American Art Is Known by Its Insecurity,"] Chronicle of Higher Education, May 23, 2008.Jay Tolson,[https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/05/23/john-updike-on-american-art.html "John Updike on American Art,"] U.S. News & World Report, May 23, 2008. In his 2009 lecture, bioethicist and self-described "humanist" Leon Kass expressed his view that science has become separated from its humanistic origins, and the humanities have lost their connection to metaphysical and theological concerns.Serena Golden, [http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/22/kass "Tough Love for the Humanities"], Inside Higher Ed, May 22, 2009 (retrieved May 22, 2009).

In 2013 the NEH went in a different direction, selecting film director Martin Scorsese. He was the first filmmaker chosen for the honor, and he spoke on "the evolution of his films, the art of storytelling, and the inspiration he draws from the humanities".Dave Itzkoff, [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/hes-talking-to-you-scorsese-to-give-jefferson-lecture-for-national-endowment-for-the-humanities/ "He's Talking to You: Scorsese to Give Jefferson Lecture for National Endowment for the Humanities"], The New York Times, February 19, 2013. In 2014 the Jefferson Lecturer was author Walter Isaacson,Chris Waddington, [http://www.nola.com/celebrities/index.ssf/2014/01/best-selling_biographer_walter.html "Best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson will deliver prestigious Jefferson Lecture in 2014"], Times-Picayune, January 28, 2014. and the 2015 honoree was playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith.Jennifer Schuessler, [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/anna-deavere-smith-to-deliver-jefferson-lecture/?_r=0 "Anna Deavere Smith to Deliver Jefferson Lecture"], The New York Times, February 19, 2015. As part of the NEH's celebration of its fiftieth anniversary in 2016, it selected documentarian Ken Burns to deliver the lecture. The 2017 lecturer was University of Chicago philosophy and law professor Martha Nussbaum, who delivered her lecture, entitled "Powerlessness and the Politics of Blame", on May 1, 2017.

A number of the Jefferson Lectures have led to books, including Holton's The Advancement of Science, and Its Burdens,Gerald Holton, The Advancement of Science, and Its Burdens: The Jefferson Lecture and Other Essays (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press 1986), {{ISBN|0-521-27243-2}}. John Hope Franklin's Racial Equality in America,John Hope Franklin, Racial Equality in America (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1993), {{ISBN|0-8262-0912-2}} . Henry Louis Gates' The Trials of Phillis WheatleyHenry Louis Gates, The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers (Basic Civitas Books, 2003), {{ISBN|0-465-02729-6}} and Jaroslav Pelikan's The Vindication of Tradition.Jaroslav Pelikan, The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), {{ISBN|0-300-03638-8}}. Updike's 2008 lecture was included in his posthumous 2012 collection Always Looking.Carl Dixon, [http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/a-critic-keeping-it-surreal-219248.html "A critic keeping it surreal"], Irish Examiner, January 11, 2013.

Bernard Lewis' 1990 lecture on "Western Civilization: A View from the East" was revised and reprinted in The Atlantic Monthly under the title "The Roots of Muslim Rage".Bernard Lewis, [https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199009/muslim-rage "The Roots of Muslim Rage,"] The Atlantic Monthly, September 1990. According to one source, Lewis' lecture (and the subsequent article) first introduced the term "Islamic fundamentalism" to North America.Amber Haque, "Islamophobia in North America: Confronting the Menace," in Barry van Driel, ed., Confronting Islamophobia in Educational Practice (Trentham Books, 2004), {{ISBN|1-85856-340-2}}, p.6, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TgBzHEQl8oAC&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPA6,M1 excerpt available online] at Google Books.

The following table lists the Jefferson Lecturers and the titles of their lectures.

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{official|https://www.neh.gov/our-work/awards-honors/jefferson-lecture}}
• {{cite web|url=https://neh.dspacedirect.org/handle/11215/2891 |title=Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities |publisher= National Endowment for the Humanities }}

{{Jefferson Lecturers}}

{{Thomas Jefferson|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Lecture series

Category:American awards

Category:Humanities awards

Category:Recurring events established in 1972

Category:1972 establishments in Washington, D.C.

Category:National Endowment for the Humanities

Category:Humanities education