The 2009 recipient of the American Philosophical Society’s Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities is Barbara Mittler for her paper “Popular Propaganda? Art and Culture in Revolutionary China.”  It was presented at the Society’s Spring General Meeting in April 2007 and published in the December 2008 issue of the Society's Proceedings.

In her paper, Barbara Mittler addresses the question why the items of propaganda of Mao’s time, a tragic period of suffering, are now popular in China, and the figure of Mao himself, once a monster, has become a mythical figure.  This, she argues, goes against the general response to propaganda that it is to be scorned and mistrusted.  From her experience in China especially interviewing artists and musicians, she proposes various reasons.  The use of art and music in Maoist propaganda did not reject Chinese tradition but brought it to the countryside (people read Confucius or heard Chinese opera who would never have done so).  People found pleasure in this learning experience, many of them able to look beyond the Maoist criticism to the value of the works.  Some of her interviewees credited participation in activities during the Great Leap Forward with starting them on careers in music and painting that would never have been open to them otherwise.

The other main point she makes applies to the broader Chinese society as a whole.  The glorifying of the Maoist period is a response to the new society that has emerged as China introduces its form of capitalism, with the scene of extravagant wealth falling into a few hands.  The new world makes Mao’s dedication to the common man seem a heroic age.  This is useful knowledge, a valuable perception of the gut feeling of ordinary people in China to the current regime.

Barbara Mittler, since receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) in 1994, has been a member of the Institute of Chinese Studies at the same institution.  She was first employed through a project sponsored by the German Research Foundation, later (since 1996) as an Assistant Professor, yet later again (since 1999) as an Associate Professor. Starting in October 2002, she was on research leave, originally for three years, on a Heisenberg Scholarship by the German Research Foundation. During this time, she was affiliated with the Institute of Chinese Studies and the Center for Gender Studies at Marburg University, as well as the Centre d'Etudes de la Chine moderne et contemporaine in Paris. She resumed teaching as a Full Professor at the University of Heidelberg in 2004.  Her former desires to become a practicing musician led her to explore Chinese avant-garde music and fueled her passion for Chinese culture.  She is a member of the Selection Committee for German Scholarships by the Rhodes Trust, a member of the Senate committee for International Affairs, and a Principal Investigator and Member of the Steering Committee in Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe, Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows.”

Endowed by Edith N. Moe in 1982, the prize honors Henry Allen Moe, paying particular tribute to his firm commitment to the humanities and those who pursue them.  Early in his career, Dr. Moe became president of the Guggenheim Foundation, and for the next forty years shaped and ran the organization to become one of the nation’s chief benefactors of creative scholars, scientists, and artists.  Dr. Moe served as president of the American Philosophical Society from 1959 to 1970.

The selection committee consisted of Richard Herr (chair), Professor of History Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; Kezia Knauer, Consulting Scholar, Mediterranean Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology; and Christopher Jones, George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics and History, Harvard University.

The 2007 recipient of the American Philosophical Society's Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities is Patricia M. Wald for her paper "International Criminal Courts: Some Kudos and Concerns." It was presented at the Society's Autumn General Meeting in November 2004 and published in the June 2006 Proceedings.

Patricia M. Wald was Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1977 to 1979. She then presided at the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals for twenty years, serving as the Chief Judge for five years. From 1999 to 2001, she served as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague, a position appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General. It is from that experience that her paper begins. Judge Wald provides a candid yet comprehensive analysis of the complexities of international criminal courts and their attempts to provide a forum to address and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. She describes the development of the varied international courts, the problems that plagued these endeavors, and how the experiences of these previous courts are continually evolving into a more effective process, although one that is still "having a stormy adolescence." The final section of her paper discusses the creation of the new International Criminal Court (ICC), a permanent court that would not need to be reinvented for each new controversy. The United States was initially very much involved in setting up the ICC, but when the Bush administration came on board it withdrew and has adamantly opposed involvement in the court. Judge Wald looks at both sides of the argument and fully details the implications and unfortunate consequences if the United States continues to refuse to participate.

Judge Wald is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Open Society Justice Initiative, for which she was chairman. She recently served on the President's Commission on Intelligence Capabilities, the independent body that examined U.S. intelligence gathering in light of the war in Iraq. She was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society in 2000.

The Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities is awarded annually to the author of a paper in the humanities or jurisprudence read at a meeting of the Society. It was established in 1982 by a gift from the widow of Henry Allen Moe to honor the longtime head of the Guggenheim Foundation and president of the American Philosophical Society from 1959 to 1970. It pays particular tribute to his firm commitment to the humanities and those who pursue them.

The selection committee consisted of chairman Richard Herr, professor of history emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, Christopher Jones, George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics and History at Harvard University, and Elfriede R. Knauer, consulting scholar for the Mediterranean Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.