Inside the State Department: Scholars Reflect on Working for the Government

What's it like to work in the US Department of State? How is academic knowledge about religion practical to public policymakers? What are the ethical implications of engaging?and of declining to engage?in such work? What seems to be the future of such work in this area. Three of the panelists recently completed a year or more as an AAR-Luce Fellow in the US Department of State: in the Office of Religion and Global Affairs, Evan Berry focused on the environment, and Jerome Copulsky on anti-Semitism, refugees, and training; and in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Todd Green focused on Islamophobia.Rounding out the panel are Elizabeth Prodromou, former Vice-Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, who brings expertise on international policy and conflict resolution; and Robert Albro, a sociocultural anthropologist, who chaired the American Anthropological Association's Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the U. S. Security and Intelligence Communities.AAR-Luce Fellowships are made possible through a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Panelists: - Evan Berry, American University - Jerome E. Copulsky, American University - Todd Green, Luther College - Elizabeth Prodromou, Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy - Robert Albro, American University Mara Willard, University of Oklahoma, presiding This session was recorded at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, Massachusetts on November 19.