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Address to the Faculty

had been trying to frame some thoughts about the humanities and social sciences at Duke. I am an enthusiastic advocate of our strategic investments in science and engineering; I'm convinced that they are essential for Duke to become a truly world-class university, and even to remain a player in these crucial areas of human knowledge. But the provost, the deans and I surely do not want the humanities and the social sciences, which include fields that are already world-class at Duke, to lose hard-won excellence so that other disciplines might be brought to prominence. You will not be surprised to hear that it proved difficult to say anything of substance in fifteen or twenty minutes about two entire divisions' worth of disciplines that countless scholars have spent their lifetimes studying and teaching, with several of the best of them in the audience. As I contemplated the task I had set myself, I felt rather like the man who survived the notorious Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania, and dined out on stories about it all his life. He died and went to heaven and St. Peter told him that the rules of the place allowed each newcomer to address the assembled host on the first night in residence. So of course, the guy said, I'll talk about my experiences in the Johnstown Flood. St. Peter replied: "Do what you like, but do remember that Noah will be in the audience." However, recent events have given my topic a clear focus, and a new urgency. Thus, to an audience liberally populated with Noahs, I'm going to talk about the humanities and the social sciences in light of what happened on September 11, 2001 and the weeks that have followed Let's think first about the questions that have engaged all of us in the wake of those attacks. Some are in the province of the physical sciences and engineering, to be sure: Why did the buildings implode, and would it even be possible to design buildings that would withstand this particular kind of attack? How does anthrax work on the human body, and what are the most effective ways to cure it? But there is an entirely different range of questions we have been asking, with particular insistence, and all too frequently with despair. Our deepest needs are for solace and comfort; in trying to come to terms with September 11, our first impulse …