Anthropologists Question ‘Minerva’ Project

Inside Higher Ed: The Network of Concerned Anthropologists, a group that has asked scholars to pledge not to help the Bush administration’s “war on terror” or military activities in Iraq, has announced a series of concerns about a Pentagon proposal to support unclassified research in the social sciences and humanities. The statement notes that federal research support already has the potential to shift researchers’ agendas, and says that there were additional concerns about this program. Despite pledges that there will not be political litmus tests for research, the statement says that “subtle but powerful biases” are present from any outside funder. Further, the statement says that the plan — which is being endorsed by a number of university presidents — would push the Pentagon’s research agenda for the social sciences above that of scholars. The statement also questions whether the Defense Department could live up to promises made about the program. “The Pentagon is an agency that lacks the historical commitment to more open debate and the freer pursuit of knowledge associated with, for example, NSF and NIH and many foundations, and university funds themselves,” the statement says.

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