Research Triangle Park, N.C. In the three short years since its inception, the National Humanities Center's initiative exploring how science and technology are challenging traditional conceptions of "the human" has already begun to influence college curricula and sparked scholarly discussions across the United States and internationally.

The initiative entitled, "Autonomy, Singularity, Creativity" (ASC) has brought together more than 60 leading voices—in fields such as zoology, psychology, neurolinguistics, cultural studies, computer science and philosophy—to openly discuss how new knowledge in scientific fields is shaping contemporary understanding of issues central to the humanities. Many of these interdisciplinary discussions have explored aspects of the human experience such as creativity, communication, evolution, emotions and cognition.

Professors participating in these lectures and symposiums—such as Scott Kimbrough, Ph.D., Jacksonville University, and Paul Gregory, Washington and Lee University professor—have quickly incorporated these issues involving cutting edge scientific research into courses for their students on bioethics, experimental philosophy, medical law and the history of science.

"I used the material from [an ASC-related] seminar to offer a 300-level special topics class in philosophy entitled 'Human Nature,'" said Kimbrough. "I'm also drawing on what I learned in my current upper-level course in philosophy of emotion. And I've been inspired by the interdisciplinary material to develop a new course entitled 'Happiness.'"

Although many of these discussions and research are sparking lively conversations among respected professors and upper-level graduate students, Gregory has used information gained from his participation in an ASC summer institute and its public conferences to expand and enrich classroom conversations among his undergraduate students.

Gregory has created a new course entitled "Science, Nature, Self, and Culture" for first-year undergraduate students at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. "The subject was very challenging and rewarding for me and the students," Gregory said. "I could not have taught this class without the excellent summer institute provided by the National Humanities Center."

Conferences on "The Human and The Humanities" hosted by the NHC have led to similar discussions at other institutions and among intellectual bodies worldwide. Lectures and symposia on these topics have been launched at universities around the country. This past summer, the 2008 World Science Festival in New York City featured several of the leading scholars and researchers who have shaped discussions of the ASC initiative, including Oliver Sacks, M.D., Patricia Churchland, Ph.D., Daniel Dennett, Ph.D., and Sir Paul Nurse.

Dean Linda Halisky from California Polytechnic State University attended this year's conference with several members of her faculty hoping to create a new program at Cal-Poly that will address various topics from the ASC Conference and influence greater collaboration among the university's technical and liberal arts faculty.

The ASC initiative has provided key direction for the developing program at Cal-Poly says Halisky. "This effort by the National Humanities Center stimulates new energy, and an ongoing relationship with director Geoffrey Harpham will play an integral part as we move forward."

While this year marks the end of the Center's ASC conferences, its contribution to the question of what it means to be human is far from over. The NHC will continue to offer local seminars and discussions in partnership with the area's leading universities. In addition, as one of the Center's primary goals is to enrich education in the humanities, it will add an ASC online teaching module to its offered topics—the subject matter will be drawn directly from the ASC conferences, writings, and seminars. Funding for this online resource for teachers will be provided by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and the Teagle Foundation. It will include essays, discussion guides, online resources and primary resources for teachers to learn about ASC-related issues—such as bioethics, cyborgs, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence—so they may devise ways to share emerging theory with students.

This year's ASC conference keynote speaker, Dr. Sacks, has long been regarded as one of America's foremost neurologists and a gifted humanist. His research and writing have provided insight for millions into the relationship between the mind, diseases of the brain and nervous system and the human experience. Dr. Sacks delivered the keynote address, "Creativity and the Brain" for the 2008 ASC Conference on Nov. 13 at the William and Ida Friday Center near UNC-Chapel Hill's campus.

Other events and lectures took place at the National Humanities Center and nearby at the NC Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park, NC as part of the third and final conference on "The Human and The Humanities." For more information on the ASC initiative please visit http://asc.nhc.rtp.nc.us/ or contact Martha Johnson at (919) 549-0661 or e-mail mjohnson@nationalhumanitiescenter.org.

About the National Humanities Center

The National Humanities Center, located in the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina, is a privately incorporated independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. Since 1978 the Center has awarded fellowships to leading scholars in the humanities, whose work at the Center has resulted in the publication of more than 1,000 books in all fields of humanistic study. The Center also sponsors programs to strengthen the teaching of the humanities in secondary and higher education and hosts regular public events to encourage greater public awareness and understanding of the importance of the humanities in American life.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

A number of the participants have new books. For a complete listing, please contact Elizabeth Romero at 919-844-2714 / eromero@merrellgroup.com or Ebony Brooks at 919-844-2749 / ebrooks@merrellgroup.com.

Media Contact:
Jessica Redman
Howard, Merrell & Partners
919-844-2738
jredman@merrellgroup.com

Don Solomon
National Humanities Center
919-549-0661
dsolomon@nationalhumanitiescenter.org