Letter on Academic Freedom in Palestine

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

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