Program Description
The Contemporary Issues Initiative began in 1999 to explore ways that the School might apply anthropological research to current global concerns, a new priority articulated by
then SAR president Douglas Schwartz. "Against the background of rapid change, globalization, intolerance, and the clash of ideologies," said Schwartz, "the School has a responsibility to use some of its resources to help identify those major problems of national and global significance that define our times. Once these issues have been identified, we should focus on those that we might have some prospect of helping to solve."
Toward this end, in 2000 the School invited advanced scholars, business and industry leaders, and community activists to convene at
seminars focused on special topics of contemporary global concern:
The Evolving Nature of Work and the Workplace, Caring for Children in a Complex
Society, and Community. Participants in these two-day meetings were asked to identify specific questions and issues in each area, and to propose possible directions for additional focused research at
SAR.
The School encourages scholars who focus on issues of current global concern to apply for our programs for
Resident Scholars and Advanced
Seminars.
