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

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