American Institutions, Society, and the Public Good
Since its founding, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has worked to promote a “strong and virtuous” nation. Today this effort involves projects designed to advance the state of scholarship about the nation’s institutions and to develop innovative solutions to problems facing American society. Projects in this area interpret the term “institution” broadly, focusing on all of the constituent elements of government and civil society. These projects seek to examine the impact of institutions on broad sectors of American society. They address how individual citizens interact with social structures, how these experiences prepare people to make a positive contribution to a diverse America, and how these institutions are changing and might operate differently in the twenty-first century. The Academy shares this research through publications, conferences, and active outreach.
