Academy Honors Pinker, Kamensky, Lindzen, Wood & More at Library of Congress
In its annual investiture ceremony at the Library of Congress on Nov. 4, 2026, the American Academy of Sciences and Letters awarded the Barry Prize to ten exceptional academics, including Steven Pinker and Jane Kamensky; gave the Zimmer Medal for Intellectual Freedom to Richard Lindzen; and invested a total of 57 new members. Gordon Wood, who had accepted an offer of Academy membership before passing away this year, was invested posthumously.
Humanities Doctorates Down 49% amid Shift from Beauty & Tradition to Power & Identity: Unprecedented New Study
The study, Humanities in Crisis: A Study of 65 Years of Humanities Dissertation Trends, documents these and other important trends using rigorous methods of natural language processing and text analysis. It is being published by the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, a learned society dedicated to excellence in the liberal arts and learned professions.
The report can be downloaded here. (A longer version with full technical details is available here.)
Academy honorees: Nobel & Pulitzer Winners, MacArthur Fellows, Sir Salman Rushdie and More
At its annual investiture ceremony in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, the American Academy of Sciences and Letters has awarded the Robert J. Zimmer Medal for Intellectual Freedom to Sir Salman Rushdie (2023) Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (2024), Dr. Paul McHugh (2025) and Richard Lindzen (2026).
The Academy also honors scholarship through the Barry Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement, and by investing eminent scholars as members of the Academy. Members include winners of the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes, and many other top academic honors.
