Author: McCarthy, Kathleen D.

Publication Year: 1980

Media Type: Book

Summary:

Papers presented at a five-day conference on International Philanthropy and the Humanities convened by the Rockefeller Foundation and held at is conference center in Bellagio, Italy, in autumn 1981. In order to survey the extent of international foundation development and to assay the prospects for privately funded humanistic ventures in the and abroad, the Rockefeller Foundation convened a five-day conference on International Philanthropy and the Humanities at the Villa Serbelloni, the foundation's conference center in Bellagio, Italy, in Autumn, 1981.

Abstract:

Papers presented at a five-day conference on International Philanthropy and the Humanities convened by the Rockefeller Foundation and held at is conference center in Bellagio, Italy, in autumn 1981. In order to survey the extent of international foundation development and to assay the prospects for privately funded humanistic ventures in the and abroad, the Rockefeller Foundation convened a five-day conference on International Philanthropy and the Humanities at the Villa Serbelloni, the foundation's conference center in Bellagio, Italy, in Autumn, 1981.

The justification for devoting resources to cultural concerns was a recurrent question. Why focus on cultural resources, particularly in an era still vexed by problems of basic human survival and overshadowed by the threat of nuclear holocaust? Several justifications were posited. As one participant noted, humanistic study undergirds and often anticipates many contemporary social and scientific concerns. It can illuminate value systems and trace the roots of social issues and societal ills. In less-developed areas, cultural research can help to define the national character of new nations, foster a sense of collective identity, and in the case of linguistics, often forms an important framework for national educational policy making. Historical and religious studies, literature, philosophy, linguistics, cultural preservation, and anthropology - all have contributed in some way to the development process.

Each of the conference papers addresses these issues from a different perspective. W. McNeil Lowry, who headed the Ford Foundation's highly successful Humanities and Arts program, explores the meaning, role and relevance of international humanistic philanthropy, with particular emphasis on the politically sensitive issues inherent in such work. Citing the example of a Ford program to keep cultural inquiry alive within a European totalitarian state, he observes that the essence of the humanities is the ability to make choices, a matter which some governments and quasi-political groups would prefer to obscure.|Malcolm Richardson's essay outlines some of the special ways in which the humanities might be fostered. Focusing on the Rockefeller Foundation's humanistic endeavors, he details the history of the foundation's involvement in the support of creative writing and translation programs, individual research, scholarly exchanges, library development - as he explains, the ways of helping are almost endless. Richardson also discusses the foundation's ongoing commitment to the notion that cultural exchange can foster intercultural understanding as a necessary prelude to the maintenance of a healthy world order.

Francis X. Sutton adopts a still broader view. Moving beyond the traditional scholarly disciplines which were the target of the Rockefeller Foundation's work, Sutton details the Ford Foundation's experiences with nonacademically oriented programs in developing countries, particularly cultural preservation , and presents the need for greater foundation involvement in this little-worked and uncrowded field.|The ambitious efforts of the Ford and Rockefeller foundations contrast vividly with the guarded corporate prognosis posited by Danella Schiffer. As Schiffer points out, corporate support of humanistic undertakings at home or abroad has been relatively insignificant, since this area is seen as having little relevance to a corporation's well-being. If humanists have hopes of garnering corporate support for their endeavors, they will have to state their case more clearly, more eloquently,and with greater force, underscoring the relevance of their work to the business world.

The essays which deal with non-U.S. activities present an interesting admixture of optimism, ingenuity, and dismay. Like Schiffer's, each underscores the point that prospects for the humanities are severely limited. Otto Hafner's essay echoes many of Tress's concerns, and outlines some of the ways in which Germany's largest foundation has attempted to cope with government retrenchment. Kazue Iwamoto's essay presents a general overview of the Japanese situation. Most Japanese foundations, including Toyota, are of recent origin, founded since the beginning of the 1970s. Foundation philanthropy is a transplanted idea which the Japanese are grafting onto the country's cultural, social and academic scene.

CONTENTS
Preface.
Acknowledgements.

Part 1. View from the .

  Introduction.
  1. U. S. Foundations and International Concerns.
      Kathleen D. McCarthy.
  2. The Humanities and International Understanding: Some reflections on
      the experience of the Rockefeller Foundation.
      Malcolm Richardson.
  3. Humanism and the humanities: an effort at definition.
      W. McNeil Lowry.
  4. Business support of the humanities: a global perspective.
      Danella Schiffer.
  5. Discussions.

Part 2. The International Scene.

  Introduction.
  6. Non-U. S. Foundations: an overview.
      Kathleen D. McCarthy.
  7. British Foundations and the Humanities.
      Ronald Tress.
  8. Foundations and Government Support for the Humanities in
      Germany.
      Otto Hafner.
  9. An overview of Japanese Philanthropy and International Cooperation
      in the Third World.
      Kazue Iwamoto.
10. Foundations and Cultural Development of the Third World.
      Francis X. Sutton.
11. Discussion.

Conclusions.
Biographical sketches of contributors.
List of participants.
Bibliographical essay.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Private Sector