Today in the Humanities...

Streep for Women's History Museum; Anthropology and Philosophy on the Defensive; DC Government Ethics; and the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards

This new regular feature funnels current humanities stories from Washington, DC and around the world to your computer!

Known for her film work, Meryl Streep is going off script to rally for a National Women’s History Museum by the National Mall in Washington, D.C. She’s donated $1 million to the cause, but money isn’t the only requisite. Congressional approval is required for the location.

- Meryl Streep Rallies for New Women's History Museum, Joan Altabe (examiner.com) 

2011 featured pernicious political posturing over what we know and how we discover it. Florida Gov. Rick Scott told the state’s universities that they should be educating students in areas “where people can get a job in this state.” Accordingly, he intends to invest higher education dollars in physical science, math, engineering and technology departments, and let the humanities, arts and social sciences go fallow. Scott singled out anthropology as an example of a job-less education, saying, “Is it a vital interest of the state to have more anthropologists? I don’t think so.”

-  Knowledge Punched by Pundits in 20ll, Leonard Krishtalka (ljworld.com)

“Perennially, departments of philosophy are under attack,” said Andrew Light, the George Mason University professor who organized and monitored the panel discussion. “We’re always looking for better ways to sell the major.”

- Philosophers Debate Meaning of Meaning at Annual Conference, Monica Hesse (Washington Post)

The D.C. Council will take a second and final vote Tuesday on the sweeping ethics bill that has dominated its agenda the past few months.

- Previewing the Final DC Ethics Reform Vote, Mike DeBonis (Washington Post)

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, invites applications for the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards.

- National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange)