LETTER ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN PALESTINE FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ACADEMICS

http://www.academicfreedomcolumbia.org/

 

Dear President Bollinger,

 

On a number of occasions since becoming president of Columbia University you have expressed your views in public on questions of academic freedom in the Middle East. Yet you have remained silent on the actions by Israel that deny that freedom to Palestinians.

These actions include Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza, the imposing of barriers, checkpoints, and closures around and within the West Bank that make academic life unworkable, the denial of exit visas to Palestinian scholars offered fellowships abroad or invited to international conferences, including scholars invited to Columbia, and the recent three-week war against Gaza that included not only the bombing of Palestinian schools and colleges, with great loss of life, but the widespread destruction of the material and social fabric on which academic life depends.

 

We, as Columbia and Barnard faculty, ask you now to make public your opposition to these actions and your support for the academic freedom of Palestinians.

 

Faculty Signatures

1. Lila Abu-Lughod, Anthropology and IRWaG

2. Bashir Abu-Manneh, English

3. Nadia Abuelhaj, Anthropology

4. Qais Al-Awqati, Medicine and Physiology & Cellular Biophysics

5. David Z Albert, Philosophy

6. Alexander Alland, Jr., Anthropology

7. Paul Anderer, East Asian Languages and Cultures

8. Gil Anidjar, MEALAC / Religion

9. Zainab Bahrani, Art History and Archaeology

10. Peter Bearman, Sociology

11. Robert Beauregard, Urban Planning

12. Lee Anne Bell, Education

13. Elizabeth Bernstein, Sociology

14. Akeel Bilgrami, Philosophy

15. Brian Boyd, Anthropology

16. Richard W. Bulliet, History

17. Allison Busch, MEALAC

18. Partha Chatterjee, Anthropology and MEALAC

19. Yinon Cohen, Sociology

20. John Collins, Philosophy

21. M. Elaine Combs-Schilling, Anthropology

22. Susan Crane, English and Comparative Literature

23. Jonathan Crary, Art History

24. Louis Cristillo, International and Transcultural Studies

25. Zoe Crossland, Anthropology

26. Ayca Cubukcu, Postdoctoral Scholar, Committee on Global Thought

27. Hamid Dabashi, MEALAC

28. E. Valentine Daniel, Anthropology

29. Mamadou Diouf, MEALAC and History

30. Madeleine Dobie, French

31. Karen Van Dyck, Classics

32. Brent Edwards, English and Comparative Literature

33. Mona El-Ghobashy, Political Science

34. Marwa Elshakry, History

35. Oguz Erdur, Anthropology

36. Elizabeth Esch, History

37. Gil Eyal, Sociology

38. Bernard Faure, Religion; EALAC

39. Kenneth Frampton, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

40. Katherine Franke, Law School

41. Shawn-Marie Garrett, Theatre

42. Stathis Gourgouris, English and Comparative Literature

43. Victoria de Grazia, History

44. Patricia E. Grieve, Spanish and Portuguese

45. Kim F. Hall, Africana Studies Program

46. Saskia Hamilton, English

47. Ross Hamilton, English

48. Saidiya Hartman, English and Comparative Literature and IRWAG

49. John Stratton Hawley, Religion

50. Angie Heo, Anthropology

51. Anne Higonnet, Art History

52. Marianne Hirsch, English and Comparative Literature, IRWaG

53. Martha Howell, History

54. Andreas Huyssen, Germanic Languages

55. Maire Jaanus, English & Comparative Literature

56. Janet Jakobsen, Women’s Studies

57. Natalie Kampen, Women’s Studies

58. Ousmane Kane, Department of International and Public Affairs

59. Joel Kaye, Barnard History

60. Nanor Kenderian, MEALAC

61. Rashid I. Khalidi, History

62. Philip Kitcher, Philosophy

63. Brian Larkin, Anthropology

64. Lydia Liu, East Asian Languages and Cultures

65. Sylvere Lotringer, French Literature

66. Mahmood Mamdani, Anthropology, Political Science, MEALAC

67. Gregory Mann, History

68. Sharon Marcus, English

69. Peter Marcuse, Urban Planning

70. J. Paul Martin, Human Rights Studies

71. Joseph Massad, MEALAC

72. Mark Mazower, History

73. Mary McLeod, Architecture

74. Christia Mercer, Philosophy

75. Brinkley Messick, Anthropology

76. Marc Van De Mieroop, History

77. Peter B. Milburn, MD, Dermatology

78. Monica Miller, English

79. Timothy Mitchell, MEALAC

80. D. Max Moerman, Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures

81. Rosalind Morris, Anthropology

82. Mahmut Mutman, ICLS, Visiting Scholar

83. Mira Nair, Graduate Film School

84. Mae Ngai, History

85. Richard Peña, Film Division, School of the Arts

86. Pablo Piccato, History

87. Peter G. Platt, English

88. Sheldon Pollock, MEALAC

89. Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Anthropology & Gender Studies

90. Wayne Proudfoot, Religion

91. Noha Radwan, MEALAC

92. Anupama Rao, History

93. Sanjay Reddy, Economics

94. Bruce Robbins, English

95. Nan Rothschild, Anthropology

96. Carol Rovane, Philosophy

97. George Saliba, MEALAC

98. James Schamus, Film Division

99. David Scott, Anthropology

100. Karen Seeley, Anthropology

101. Joseph Slaughter, English

102. Herbert Sloan, History

103. Alisa Solomon, Journalism

104. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, English

105. David Stark, Sociology and SIPA

106. Anders Stephanson, History

107. Paul Strohm, English

108. Timea K. Szell, English

109. Neferti Tadiar, Women’s Studies

110. Michael T Taussig, Anthropology

111. Mark C. Taylor, Religion

112. Kendall Thomas, Law

113. J. Blake Turner, Child Psychiatry

114. Nadia Urbinati, Political Science

115. Deborah Valenze, History

116. Achille Varzi, Philosophy

117. Paige West, Anthropology

118. Meyda Yegenoglu, ICLS

119. Rebecca M. Young, Women’s Studies

120. Zeena Zakharia, Teachers College