A lot of interesting stuff in the news today... Controversial professor's class canceled http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_re_us/controversial_professor CHICAGO - DePaul University canceled the one remaining class taught by a controversial professor who has accused some Jews of improperly using the legacy of the Holocaust. Norman Finkelstein, whose work led to a long-running public feud with Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, says he may respond by committing civil disobedience when classes resume Sept. 5. Finkelstein, 53, was denied tenure in June after six years on the DePaul faculty, but he was permitted to teach for the one year remaining on his contract. On Friday, however, the university e-mailed students saying that Finkelstein's sole political science course had been canceled. By Monday, the books for the course had been pulled from the DePaul bookstore's shelves. Finkelstein's most recent book, "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History," is largely an attack on Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel." In it, Finkelstein argues that Israel uses the outcry over perceived anti-Semitism as a weapon to stifle criticism. Dershowitz, who threatened to sue Finkelstein's publisher for libel, urged DePaul officials to reject Finkelstein's tenure bid in June. The American Association of University Professors is preparing a letter to the university protesting Finkelstein's treatment as a serious violation of academic ethics, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday. Finkelstein told the newspaper that he planned to wage his own campaign against the administration. "I intend to go to my office on the first day of classes and, if my way is barred, to engage in civil disobedience," Finkelstein said. "If arrested, I'll go on a hunger strike. If released, I'll do it all over again. I'll fast in jail for as long as it takes." After he was denied tenure, Finkelstein, a son of Holocaust survivors, posted a letter on his Web site explaining the school officials' reasons, including Finkelstein's "deliberately hurtful" scholarship along, lack of involvement with the school and tendency for public clashes with other scholars. "In the opinion of those opposing tenure, your unprofessional personal attacks divert the conversation away from consideration of ideas, and polarize and simplify conversations that deserve layered and subtle consideration," school President Dennis Holtschneider wrote in a letter dated June 8. DePaul at the time verified the letter was authentic. Denise Mattson, the university's associate vice president for public affairs, released a statement saying Finkelstein was on administrative leave with full pay for the academic year. "Administrative leave relieves professors from their teaching responsibilities. He was informed of the reasons that precipitated this leave last spring," the statement said.
Interesting excuse as a reason for unofficially firing the guy and possibly killing his career. Anyone with a sound mind realizes the influence of Israel in American foreign policy is way out of line with the gains Israel provides. I'm getting kind of sick of the preferential treatment only because it looks like it'll bite the both of us in the ass one day.
Yeah seriously. This goes against the very idea of tenure which is a method of protecting professors and encouraging open thought and academic freedom. It forms the core of modern academia and is one of the most important barriers to the politicization of the academic process. I realize that this isn't a completely black/white issue because a professor who openly advocate something like enslaving black people again would probably be justifiably fired. But seriously there is a level of common sense that can be applied and Finkelstein's work which I'm somewhat familiar with doesn't come close to that. Just a stupid move on the part of the administration.
Strike another for the PC Police. What's it now? Freedom of Speech 0, PC Police 50? Since when is Criticising a country worthy of losing one's job? Jeez, this is going too far and a perfect example why I detest people twisting people's intent and words in order to instill a culture of fear for people to say what they really think. This isn't defending minorities, it's attacking and suppressing the opinions of those who have outlier views under the false name of fighting bigotism
It sounds to me he's getting canned for being an insufferable jerk, not because he thinks the fear of anti-Semitism is being exploited. He's engaged in an argument with Dershowitz that is so bad they're talking lawsuits. And, there's other scholars he engages with in this way. And, he's hoping to make a big scene of it all, get arrested, do a hunger strike, etc. Sounds like a jerk. He reminds me of the judge suing over the lost pants. A curmudgeon who doesn't play well with others, which isn't the sort of person you want to offer tenure to. And, he doesn't have tenure. It's not like the university is undermining the academic security professors get with the tenure-system. He's on contract, which he is being paid for, he can write all he wants; he simply is not being renewed.
As a university person, I have to say I think JV nails it. Most administrations couldn't care less about an individual professor's stance on issues, or what take they advocate in their writing, as long as it's quality work. But if the person in question is just an out-and-out butthole, the person wastes hundreds of person hours of the administration, via copious meetings dealing with complaints, and drives other good employees away from campus (that includes good staff, students, and profs). Oh have I ever seen this happen. Granting tenure to such a person is just extending the headache thirty years into the future, risking the implosion of an entire department, multiple lawsuits, etc. Such people are usually even worse once they have tenure. The only time this is worth the risk is if the person is doing brilliant innovative work -- that does not seem to be the case here. The ideas put forward are not especially new.
I think you're presuming way too much without knowing the facts. As for Dershowitz, he's pretty well-known for going after scholars that might disagree with him on anything relating to Israel or Zionism; that's his right but he's probably one of the more steadfast supporters of Israel and tends to find it troubling when others criticize its policies. In the case of Finkelstein, Dershowitz finds him especially troubling likely because he's Jewish and both his parents are Holocaust survivors; it somehow adds to his 'credibility' although -- ideally -- it shouldn't have any bearing on the discussion...but it's generally accepted that it does. In April 2007, Dr. Frank Menetrez (a former Editor-in-Chief of the UCLA Law Review) published an analysis of the charges made against Finkelstein by Alan Dershowitz, finding no merit in any single charge. I do think the university will have some issues as a result of this. It's not the first time they've had a controversy on their hands due to tenure denial. Here's a brief background: In June 2007, following a 4-3 vote by DePaul University's Board on Promotion and Tenure (a faculty board), a decision affirmed by the university's president, the University denied Finkelstein tenure. The political science department of the university had praised Finkelstein and recommended tenure by a 9-3 vote (a recommendation endorsed by a 5-0 vote by the College Personnel Committee), but according to university president Dennis Holtschneider, Finkelstein's "unprofessional personal attacks divert the conversation away from consideration of ideas, and polarize and simplify conversations that deserve layered and subtle consideration." The university denied that Alan Dershowitz, who had been criticized for actively campaigning against Finkelstein's tenure, played any part in this decision. At the same time, the university denied tenure to international studies lecturer Mehrene Larudee, a strong supporter of Finkelstein, despite unanimous support from her department, the Personnel Committee and the Dean. The Faculty Council later affirmed the right of the professors Finkelstein and Larudee to appeal, which a university lawyer said was not possible. Council President Anne Bartlett said she was "terribly concerned" due process was not given. DePaul’s faculty association considered taking no confidence votes in administrators, including the president, because of the tenure denials. Finkelstein's books are required readings in many political science classes across many college campuses in the U.S. and abroad (I know a few professors/TF's who require one or more of his published works as part of the readings). So he does have a 'following' of sorts in academia and he's a renowned author in the field; there likely isn't a single professor in IR/Comparative Politics that hasn't at least heard of him or read some of his work. Are you a political science professor?
The problem with stuff like this is It will feed the whole JEWISH CONSPIRACY thing out there Rocket River
Nope (if you're talking to me, not clear). So feel free to ignore my comment about the quality of his work; that's not the substance of my post. Jerks at universities more often find themselves in these positions than people with controversial views. It's much more about conduct, typically, than ideas, in my experience.
Finkelstein and Dershowiz had an interesting, heated debate on Democracy Now! a while back. Transcript/audio/video of the exchange is below: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/24/1730205 Dershowitz really is a scumbag, and Finkelstein completely abuses him (from what I remember when I watched it a couple years ago).
anyone watch "MadMen" on AMC and how it deals with Jewish people in the business world in the late fifties early sixties.
Tiger, the way you quoted in your last quote box makes it look like those statements were written by JuanValdez, which is not the case. For clarity, I'd put poster's name in every quote box if I were to quote two or more posters.
Ahh! My bad...thanks for pointing it out. It's fixed now... I have no way of knowing if he's a "jerk" or not, so I plead ignorance on that. All I can say is the few times I've seen the man he's always come across as the calm, collected type; he's very comfortable in his own skin and has no problem debating anyone who wishes to challenge his premise. He's a scholar, not a pundit.
I've watched the show. It's 100% accurate. My father experienced that kind of treatment first-hand when he got out of college in 1952.
Interesting. It is very possible he's being persecuted for his beliefs... I'd just say that's an exceptional case. It will be interesting to see if the AAUP can get anything done on his behalf; they are much weaker as an organization than they used to be.
Yeah, I am making no judgment one way or the other, I am not privy to the facts. It will be interesting to see what develops, or if Finkelstein will have any recourse...
Anyone who watches that video can see the clear contrast between Finkelstein and Dershowitz. There is a good reason as to why Finkelstein is taken far more seriously as a scholar; that debate highlights why that is the case (while Dershowitz is busy arguing 'intentions' behind the factual errors in his book, Finkelstein is only concerned with the facts as they're stated). It's incredible watching him go on the defensive and attempt to 'lawyer' himself out of the 'challenge' he made...it's absolutely fascinating watching that exchange. Goodman wasn't having any of it, though. I highly recommend you watch that clip...
That's certainly the case. I don't know much about either of them, though I've heard of Dershowitz before. I'm just sharing my observation from the article, which may be completely wrong. But, it really doesn't sound to me like the university has any problems with his scholarship; it really sounds like a problem with interpersonal relations. And, the few points the article provides do make Finkelstein look like a jerk (though others may be as well). I just feel uncomfortable with the implications that the article makes; that his getting canned has something to do with his views and that censorship is involved. And, I would only care about the case at all if censorship was involved; without that element, the public shouldn't be too concerned about where he gets to teach. As for the denial of tenure, okay maybe the administrator is going to get a lot more trouble for this. Maybe Finkelstein will force his way in, in the end. But, insofar as the public has a concern, I don't see why DePaul should have to employ him. If they don't like him, I don't see that they should have an obligation to him beyond the terms of his contract. Btw, if he's an authority in the field, why doesn't he have tenure anywhere at his age. He's taught at five different schools now and none have offered tenure. I know it ain't easy getting tenure, but he's got to be doing something wrong to be this famous and not tenured.
