"The Urgency of Memory"
Art in an Age of Uncertainty Conference, New York University
June 7, 2002

Good morning. It is an honor and pleasure to be here today.

It's been said that picture is worth a thousand words; as an art historian, I ardently believe this is true. And so I freely confess that nothing I say here today is as meaningful, as momentous, or as memorable as the sight of what lies nearby. We are on hallowed ground.

The magnitude of the horrific events of September 11 is still being realized, the aftershocks still felt. But even in an age of uncertainty there are truths to be discovered, lessons to discern, and hope to share.

Today, I'd like to talk to you about the centrality of the humanities to democratic and civic life; the danger of American amnesia; and the possibilities of recovering our memory and protecting the best of our culture.

Importance of the Humanities

In times of crisis, the humanities and the arts are often praised as sources of consolation, comfort, expression, and insight, but rarely seen as essential, or even high priorities. But they are much more than that. Indeed, the humanities help form the bedrock of civic understanding and civil order.

The range of the humanities disciplines is wide; their impact deep. The classics and archeology show us from whence our civilization came. The study of literature and art shape our sense of beauty. The knowledge of philosophy and religion give meaning to our concepts of justice and goodness.

The NEH was founded in the belief that cultivating the best of the humanities had real, tangible benefits for civic life. Our founding legislation declares that "democracy demands wisdom." America must have educated and thoughtful citizens who can fully and intelligently participate in our government of, by, and for the people. The NEH exists to foster the wisdom and knowledge essential to our national identity and survival.

Indeed, the state of the humanities has real implications for the state of our union. Our nation is in a conflict driven by religion, philosophy, political ideology, and views of history--all humanities subjects.

Our tolerance, our principles, our wealth, and our liberties have made us targets. To understand this conflict, we need the humanities.

The values implicit in the study of the humanities are part of why we were attacked. The free and fearless exchange of ideas, respect for individual conscience, belief in the power of education… all these things are anathema to our country's enemies. Understanding and affirming these principles is part of the battle.

The attack on September 11 targeted not only innocent civilians, but also the fabric of our culture. The terrorists struck the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and aimed at either the White House or Capitol dome--all structures rich in meaning, and bearing witness to the United States' free commerce, military strength, and democratic government. As such, they also housed many of the artifacts--the manuscripts, art, and archives--that form our history and heritage.

In the weeks following the attack, the NEH awarded a grant to Heritage Preservation, an organization which conducted a survey of the damage to our cultural holdings. They found that the attack obliterated numerous art collections of great worth. Cantor Fitzgerald's renowned "museum in the sky" is lost, as well as priceless works by Rodin, Picasso, Hockney, Lichtenstein, Corbusier, Miro, and others. Archaeological artifacts from the African Burial Ground and other Manhattan sites are gone forever, as are irreplaceable records from the Helen Keller archives. Artists perished alongside their artifacts. Sculptor Michael Richards died as he worked in his studio on the 92nd floor of Tower One. His last work, now lost, was a statue commemorating the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.

Of course, the loss of artifacts and art, no matter how priceless and precious, is dwarfed by the loss of life. Each life that was snuffed out that day was itself a work of art and a historical record. Each person who died on September 11 meant the world to others. I often fear that the scholarly tendency to over-theorize under-estimates the importance of the individual. One of the clearest lessons of that awful day is that individuals matter--their decisions, their courage, their sacrifices, their hopes, their lives. They--not theories--are the stuff of history.

Today, it is all the more urgent that we study American institutions, culture, and history. There is much we have lost, but there is much we have learned. Defending our democracy demands more than successful military campaigns. It also requires an understanding of the ideals, ideas and institutions that have shaped our country.

This is not a new concept. America's founders recognized the importance of an informed and educated citizenry as necessary for the survival of our participatory democracy. James Madison famously said, "the diffusion of knowledge is the only true guardian of liberty." The humanities tell us who we are as a people and why our country is worth fighting for.

They are part of our homeland defense.

Dangers of Amnesia

All great principles and institutions face challenges, and the wisdom of the humanities, and the principles of democratic self-government, are not immune. We are standing along the periphery of a horrendous attack from without on our way of life and government. But we face a serious challenge to our country that lies within our borders--and even within our schools: the threat of American Amnesia.

One of the common threads of great civilizations is the cultivation of memory, Lincoln's "mystic chords of memory, stretching from battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this great land." Many of the great works of antiquity are transliterated from oral traditions. From Homer to Beowulf, such tales trained people to remember their heritage and history through story and song, and passed those stories and songs throughout generations. Old Testament stories repeatedly depict prophets and priests encouraging people to remember, to "write on their hearts" the events, circumstances, and stories that make up their history.

We are in danger of forgetting this lesson. For years, even decades, polls, tests and studies have shown that Americans do not know their history, and cannot remember even the most significant events of the 20th century.

Of course, we are a forward-looking people. We are more concerned with what happens tomorrow than what happened yesterday.

But we are in danger of having our view of the future obscured by our ignorance of the past. We cannot see clearly ahead if we are blind to history. Unfortunately, most indicators point to a worsening of our case of American amnesia.

I'll give just a few examples. One study of students at 55 elite universities found that over a third were unable to identify the Constitution as establishing the division of powers in our government, only 29 percent could identify the term "Reconstruction," and 40 percent could not place the Civil War in the correct half-century.

The recent National Assessment of Education Progress test found that over half of high school seniors couldn't say who we fought in World War II. And lest you think I'm picking on students--and hey, I'm a former professor--a nationwide survey recently commissioned by Columbia Law School found that almost two-thirds of all Americans think Karl Marx's dogma, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" was or may have been written by the founding fathers and was included in the Constitution.

Such collective amnesia is dangerous. Citizens kept ignorant of their history are robbed of the riches of their heritage, and handicapped in their ability to understand and appreciate other cultures.

If Americans cannot recall whom we fought, and whom we fought alongside, during World War II, it should not be assumed that they will long remember what happened here on September 11.

And a nation that does not know why it exists, or what it stands for, cannot be expected to long endure. We must recover from the amnesia that shrouds our history in darkness, our principles in confusion, and our future in uncertainty.

Recovering our Memory

Our nation's future depends on how we meet these challenges. We all have a stake, and a role to play, in recovering America's memory. There are several things we can do to alleviate our serious case of American amnesia.

At the NEH, we have recommitted ourselves to the core functions of the agency, including the preservation, protection, and exhibition of historical and cultural artifacts. We reaffirmed the central role of scholarship in all our activities.

We believe an important part of the NEH's role is to ensure the survival of seemingly obscure knowledge. Scholarly editions, Presidential papers, preserved copies of historic newspapers, and lexicons of ancient tongues all deserve--and will receive--the same enthusiastic support we give to television documentaries seen by millions.

We are also preparing to launch a new initiative to bolster the study and understanding of American history. In the coming months and years, I want the NEH to help lead a renaissance in knowledge about our history and culture. Understanding ourselves is the first step to understanding our place in the world.

In this age of uncertainty, we can draw from the humanities' deep well of wisdom. For perspective, guidance, and even consolation, we can look to arts and letters.

But these resources are not available to everyone. Too many Americans, especially young people, have been deprived of the tools of citizenship and the building blocks of the good and examined life.

This is a challenge we need to meet and best. We cannot expect that a nation which has lost its memory will keep its vision. We cannot hope that forgetting the past will enhance our focus on the future. And we cannot neglect the great democratic imperative: to give each succeeding generation a brighter light, a broader perspective, and an enriched legacy with which to face the future.