About the IHS

About IHS

The Institute for Human Sciences

The Institute for Human Sciences (IHS) was established at Boston University in November, 2001. Its purpose is to promote research and debate among European and American intellectuals and policymakers and to encourage frank and informed discussion of public policy issues of special relevance to both the United States and Europe. The Institute serves as a forum for new, non-partisan debate, research and education in the matters of international (especially transatlantic) relations, introducing European insights and experiences to American debates on major social and political issues, and bringing American perspectives to bear on European discussions. The Institute is particularly interested in the intersection of international relations and culture.

It is affiliated with the Vienna-based Institut fur die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM), an independent, interdisciplinary center for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. The IHS involves academic teachers and students as well as policy makers, journalists, and the public at large in a growing number of multi-purpose and multi- disciplinary projects. It also serves as the American base for joint projects with the IWM.

The Institute is managed by an international board of Directors chaired by Krzysztof Michalski, Rector of the IWM in Vienna and Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. The members of the board are Timothy Garton Ash, Director, Center for European Studies, St. Antony’s College, Oxford; James Hoge, Editor-in-chief, Foreign Affairs; Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University; Michael Mertes, State Secretary, Commissioner for Federal, European and Foreign Affairs, State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; Pierre Rosanvallon, Director of Studies, Centre de Recherches Politiques Raymond Aron, EHESS, Paris; Professor of Modern and Contemporary Politics, Collège de France; Lilia Shevtsova, Senior Associate, Carnegie Moscow Center; Aleksander Smolar, Senior Research Fellow at the CNRS, Paris; President, Stefan Batory Foundation, Warsaw, and Fareed Zakaria, Editor-in-chief, Newsweek International.

The Institute has launched several well-received initiatives, including a popular lecture series on the transatlantic relationship, a series of events exploring the theme “Muslims in Europe,” visits of prominent literary figures, a long term comparative project on Social Solidarity, and the Milena Jesenska Fellowships for North American journalists. In addition, the Institute has held conferences and panel discussions on a variety of other topics, including, for example, “Media and Politics.” Guests of the Institute include not only politicians, journalists, and academics, but also writers, poets, human rights workers, and social commentators. In December 2008, the Institute received a second grant from the European Commission Delegation in Washington DC for a year-long project entitled "Getting to Know the European Union: European Cultures in Focus."