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Membership is open to academics and independent scholars who are interested in the history of world cultures and related global issues.

New President’s Address

Civilization Matters
Asilomar-Monterrey, CA 2007

I am honored that you have elected me a new president of the ISCSC. I pledge to you to do my best in the coming three years of my tenure.

I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Past-President Lee Snyder (USA), a great civilizationist, who has identified a 300-400 year-long cycle of civilization and its four-stage timing. I thank past Vice-Presidents Laina Farhat-Holzman (USA) and Shuntaro Ito(Japan) for their dedication to our Society.

Our new officers are: Oleg Benesch (USA), Vice-President  for Organization; Jung Dong-Hyeon ( S. Korea )  Vice-President for International Relations; Laina Farhat-Holzman (USA), Secretary General; and Betsy Drummer (USA),  Treasurer

Our new vice presidents, Oleg Benesch (USA) and Dong Hyeon Jung ( S. Korea ) will bring in youth-driven curiosity,  energy, and global reach. Laina Farhat-Holzman (USA), our new Secretary General is tasked with  being our Society’s  memory and Content Master.  Also I would like to thank Matthew Melko, our great inspiration, for his enormous help in  putting together a new leadership team.

Our new Comparative Civilizations Review Editorial Team is: Joseph Drew, Editor in Chief; Laina Farhat-Holzman, Editor; Walter Benesch, Receiving Editor; Mathew Melko, Peer Review Editor; David Wilkinson, Book Editor.

Our new Leadership Team is: Sanford Holst, Chair of the Quigley Committee; Connie Lamb, Chair of the Communications Committee; Norman Rothman, Chair of the Membership Committee, Donal Burgy, Chair of the Means and Ways Committee, Ross Maxwell, Chair of the Ethics Committee, Stephen Blaha, 2008 Program Chair, Ricardo Duchesne, 2008 Conference Chair.

Our newly elected Council Members are: Lee Snyder, Michael Andregg, Oleg  Benesch, Donald Burgy, Ricardo Duchesne,  Isaac Tseggai, Keisuke Kawakubo, Ashok Malhotra, Ross Maxwell, Peter O’Brien, Norman Rothman, Douglas Shrader, Lee Stauffer, Palmer Talbutt, and Midori Yamanouchi and above mentioned officers and editors.

Our newly elected members of the Quigley Award Committee are; Stanford Host (Chair), John K. Hord, Lee Snyder, David Wilkinson.

Our Advisory Council of former Presidents includes Matthew Melko, Michael Palencia Roth-Chair, Shuntaro Ito, Wayne Bledsoe, and Lee Snyder. Welcome to them.

1. My program is designed to strengthen our organization by:
1. Supporting the Society’s mission and goals:

                                                   i.      Mission: Provide a forum for collaboration among all persons interested in the advancement of the comparative study of civilizations.

                                                   ii.      Creed: Civilizational studies matter.

                                                 iii.      Goal: Achieve scholarly recognition as the primary source of knowledge on the comparative study of civilizations.

                                                  iv.      Strategy: Organize annual international conferences with leading scholars of the comparative study of civilization and to publish our bi-annual journal, Comparative Civilization Review (CCR), Conference Proceedings, & Civilization Book Series.

2. Securing the active participation of many our members in conferences, publications and committees.
3. Improving or expanding the Society’s resources: budget, Website, e-communication, grants/donations, conferences, proceedings, and CCR.
4. Implementing the Society’s Bi-Laws in the accordance with the Constitution.
5. Establishing the Academy of Civilization.
6. Expanding the Society’s membership and bringing in more young researchers/contributors, who can continue our work and interests.

2. Make the Society a truly interdisciplinary group of researchers and contributors investigating the past, present, and future (Braudel); challenges and responses of civilization (Toynbee), including aggressive use of communications technology to further our mission.
3. Make the membership of the Society a pleasant and intellectually inspiring experience for those who are involved in the Society’s practices and beliefs that “understanding civilizations matters” in the 21^st century.

                                                                  Andrew Targowski

                                               WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (USA)
                                                                             June 2007