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Category: General News

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Eminent Historian and Kluge Prize Winner Yu Ying-shih Passes Away at 91

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

Yu Ying-shih, considered by many to be the greatest Chinese historian of his time, passed away on August 1st at age 91 in his Princeton, New Jersey home. Yu was Gordon Wu ’58 Professor of Chinese Studies, Emeritus, at Princeton University. Born in Tianjin, China, he received his PhD from Harvard University in 1962. Over …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Pillars of Democracy: Rebuilding America’s Trust in the Presidency

Posted by: John Haskell

For decades America’s civic and governmental institutions have lost the trust of the people, and sometimes even come under direct attack. Commentators offer various explanations for what has happened. Many point to a loss of faith in authority figures beginning with the Vietnam War and the corruption of Watergate, and the movement in the 1960s …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Kluge Center Co-Sponsors Examination of American Institutions with Pillars of Democracy Series

Posted by: John Haskell

For decades America’s civic and governmental institutions have lost the trust of the people, and sometimes even come under direct attack. Commentators offer various explanations for what has happened. Many point to a loss of faith in authority figures beginning with the Vietnam War and the corruption of Watergate. A movement in the 1960s and …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Visualizing “Our Common Purpose”

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

This is a guest post by Lee Ann Potter, Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at  the Library of Congress Center for Learning, Literacy, & Engagement. “Our Common Purpose—A Campaign for Civic Strength at the Library of Congress,” a wealth of activities at the Library this spring. The theme, chosen by Danielle Allen, winner …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Kissinger Chairs Reflect on the 20th Anniversary of the Chair’s Establishment

Posted by: John Haskell

Introduction from the Director of the Kluge Center Around the turn of the century, then-Librarian of Congress James Billington secured a generous gift to endow the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations, concurrent with the opening of the Kluge Center. Many of Dr. Kissinger’s friends and colleagues, as well as foundations, …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

What Makes Americans American? Why Origin Stories Require Negotiation

Posted by: Dan Turello

Origin stories are never simple, and this is as true for countries as it is for individuals, ideas, and cultures. That the term “nation-state,” which designates one of the primary building blocks of modern geopolitical order, is a compound word speaks to this complexity, and there are many reasons why scholars are unable to fully …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Kluge Center Announces New Chairs in 2021

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The John W. Kluge Center is pleased to announce four new Chairs beginning their time in residence in 2021. David Baron holds the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation. Baron is a journalist, author, and broadcaster who has worked as a science correspondent for National Public Radio and …