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Accounting for Culture in the Military: Implications for Future Humanitarian Cooperation

While the military has made the goal of increased cultural knowledge and awareness a priority since the mid-2000s, these developments have yet to be accounted for as part of a broad inter-agency conversation among military and non-military stakeholders. Join us for a conference focusing on the U.S. military’s efforts to develop cultural expertise.

Date & Time

Friday
Dec. 9, 2011
9:30am – 4:00pm ET

Location

6th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
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Overview

This one-day conference focuses on the U.S. military’s efforts to develop cultural expertise. While the military has made the goal of increased cultural knowledge and awareness a priority since the mid-2000s, these developments have yet to be accounted for as part of a broad inter-agency conversation among military and non-military stakeholders.  The increasing relevance of the military’s approaches to cultural challenges to the work of other government agencies and non-governmental actors, including diplomacy, development, and humanitarian relief, makes the present moment opportune for a fruitful exchange regarding the relationship of culture to security.

Conference Agenda

9:30 a.m. Registration

10:00 a.m. Opening Remarks

  • Michael Van Dusen, Executive Vice President and COO, Woodrow Wilson Center
  • Bill Ivey, Director, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University

10:15 a.m. Panel One: Cultural Education and Training

  • Clementine Fujimura (moderator), Professor, Department of Languages and Cultures, U.S. Naval Academy
  • Brian Selmeski, Deputy Director, Outreach, Planning and Policies, Air Force Culture and Language Center, Air War College
  • Robert Rubinstein, Professor, Anthropology and International Relations, Maxwell School, Syracuse University
  • Rochelle Davis, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University; Wilson Center Fellow

11:15 a.m. Panel Two:  Rise of the Military Culture Analyst

  • Robert Albro (moderator), School of International Service American University
  • Kerry Fosher, Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, Marine Corps
  • Carter Malkasian, Director, Stability and Development Program, Center for Naval Analyses
  • Martin Short, Military Liaison, British Embassy

12:30 p.m. Luncheon and Keynote address

  • Steve Coll, President, New America Foundation

2:00 p.m. Military Cultural Heritage Resource Management

  • Lynn Nicholas (moderator), Independent Researcher
  • Laurie Rush, Archaeologist and Program Manager, Cultural Resources Management, U.S. Army
  • Patty Gerstenblith, Director, Center for Art, Museum, & Cultural Heritage Law, DePaul University
  • Fred Hiebert, Archaeologist and National Geographic Fellow, National Geographic Society

3:00 p.m. Closing Remarks

  • Bill Ivey, Director, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University

This is a free public event, but RSVPs are requested.
Please arrive early to allow time to go through security

Tagged

Speakers

Michael Van Dusen

Former Wilson Center Deputy Director and former Middle East Fellow;
Former Senior Advisor to the President for Alumni Relations, Woodrow Wilson Center; Former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Woodrow Wilson Center

Bill Ivey

Director, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University

Clementine Fujimura

Former Short-Term Grant;
Professor, Language and Culture Studies, US Naval Academy

Brian Selmeski

Deputy Director, Outreach, Planning and Policies, Air Force Culture and Language Center, Air War College

Robert Rubinstein

Professor, Anthropology and International Relations, Maxwell School, Syracuse University
Rochelle A. Davis

Rochelle A. Davis

Fellow;
Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Robert Albro

Research Associate Professor, Center for Latin American & Latino Studies, American University

Kerry Fosher

Director, Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, Marine Corps

Carter Malkasian

Director, Stability and Development Program, Center for Naval Analyses

Martin Short

Military Liaison, British Embassy
Steve Coll

Steve Coll

Editor at the Economist, journalist, author of nine books of nonfiction, and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. 

Lynn Nicholas

Independent Researcher

Laurie Rush

Archaeologist and Program Manager, Cultural Resources Management, U.S. Army

Patty Gerstenblith

Director, Center for Art, Museum, & Cultural Heritage Law, DePaul University

Fred Hiebert

Archaeologist and National Geographic Fellow, National Geographic Society

Hosted By

Environmental Change and Security Program

The Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) explores the connections between environmental change, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy.  Read more

Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.