专访美国华盛顿史密森尼学会副会长.doc

专访美国华盛顿史密森尼学会副会长 保护世界文化：日益紧迫的使命——专访美国华盛顿史密森尼学会副会长理查德·库林?华盛顿史密森尼学会负责历史、艺术和文化的副会长理查德·库林最近与美国国务院国际信息局讨论了保护文化遗产的问题。库林承担着众多展览设施的管理工作，例如赫希杭博物馆、国立非洲艺术博物馆、国立美国历史博物馆、国立美洲印第安人博物馆、史密森尼拉美中心和史密森尼美国亚太裔项目。 ?World Cultural Preservation: A Growing ImperativeA conversation with the Smithsonian Institution’s Richard Kurin Richard Kurin, under secretary for history, art, and culture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, sat down with the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs for a discussion on protecting cultural heritage. Kurin overseas numerous museums, including the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. Question: How would you define culture and why is it important that the United States play a role in its preservation globally? Kurin: As an anthropologist by trade who has worked in many countries around the world, I’m proud to represent not only the cultures of the United States, but indeed the cultures of peoples and regions around the world. I define culture really as a way of life, as the things that are important to us, the values and beliefs that make life meaningful. Culture is expressed through song and dance, through architecture, through literature, through our aspirations, through our religions, through our craftsmanship and artistry. Culture is obviously important because it defines who we are in respect to our fellow human beings, to our neighbors, and indeed to people around the world. We have a tremendous ability to learn each other’s cultures, to learn them the same way we learn languages. Now that said, we do speak a lot of different languages — some 6,000 on the planet right now. And, as we know, the planet has become a lot smaller. Our cultures are in much greater contact every day with each other. So it’s imperative that we, as citizens of a plan