I don’t really have anything to add to what Richard Silverstein has written on the subject. It’s sad for Finkelstein, sad for DePaul University, and sad for academia generally speaking, especially as it is generally recognized that Finkelstein is an accomplished scholar and it appears he was denied tenure essentially because of his personality. Finkelstein is an aggressive debater, some people (even among his ideological allies) may think he is too polemical but I think that kind of aggressivity is essential when the party he opposes (Alan Dershowitz and his ilk) had the resources to wage entire campaigns of obfuscation and slander.
See also Kafr al-Hanadwa and of course Finkelstein’s own website, where there is a statement of support by noted Holocaust historian Raul Hilberg as well as an interesting interview on the 1967 war I recently listened to.
And of course, if you haven’t already, read his books:
P.S. Can someone explain to me whether this means it is unlikely Finkelstein will be hired anywhere else? Can a campaign be organized for him to be hired elsewhere? Perhaps in the region, since Finkelstein is interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…
Of course he can be hired elsewhere. Everyone denied tenure tries again somewhere else. When you are at that level of seniority/books published, you can generally negotiate a job in which you’ll be taken on with tenure. The smear campaign does, of course, make it likely that other US institutions, particularly those with conservative boards, will be wary of taking someone like Finkelstein on. I’m betting that his future is in the UK or Europe.
Thanks for linking to my post. It is a sad day.
As for his getting hired elsewhere, Finkelstein himself inexplicably says his being blacklisted means he won’t have the opportunity to enter the classroom again. This mystifies me.
I agree that an English university would be a great place for him. Avi Shlaim, who teaches at Oxford, joined Raul Hilberg in praising Finkelstein’s scholarship on Democracy Now. Maybe Oxford or Cambridge is where he belongs. After all, Ilan Pappe left/was forced out of the Univ. of Haifa & ended up in a British university.
I wish he could get hired at a top tier school but any faculty department or university president is going to realize they will have to fight a huge battle against the acadmemic brownshirts represented by Dershowitz, Pipes, Horowitz, et al.
After reading the Chicago Tribune article and learning that NF has been denied tenure before at various NYC universities (makes sense, otherwise would be odd that someone who’s published so much is only just coming up for tenure), I can see why he thinks he’s finished with academia. Perhaps he’ll end up in a think-tank or advocacy organisation.
He will absolutely be hired somewhere else. In his field it is almost a badge of honor to be denied tenure somewhere.
In addition, it is the academic right of any unviersity to make a decision, using its own due process. No one ever has a right to be permanently employed by anyone – after they have tenure.
De Paul’s loss, or gain, depending on how you voted.
He will be around.
Shimron, I’m sure you realise, knowing a little something about academia, that being denied tenure doesn’t so much amount to being denied permanent employment (though that’s part of it) as getting a message that you’re not wanted any more – i.e. leave, or you’ll be a pathetic has-been looked down on by everyone else.
As for due process, it’s extremely rare for a department to approve tenure but the deans to shoot it down for personality or public profile reasons, which is what happened in the Finkelstein case. It’s a sort of grey area for due process.
Yes, I agree completely w. SP. The poli sci dept. which is the one that will have to deal w. him permanently decided there were no collegiality issues. But the dean, president & 4 of 7 members of a faculty commmittee composed of members outside of his dept. & college, who won’t have to deal w. him at all, decide there are. Something’s rotten.
On the topic of whether or not Norman can be hired somewhere else;
Of course he is able to be hired elsewhere but there are 2 major unofficial barriers to his future employment:
1. The character assassination to which he has been subjected including the assertions that he is a ‘holocaust denier’ and ‘supporter of terrorism’ will undoubtedly prove a barrier to employment by any institution that is ‘sensitive’ towards those allegations.
2. His being employed by any institution will now be seen as a statement, not of support for his academic credentials but rather as ‘taking sides’ against Israel, a position which no reputable institution would be willing to take or be seen as taking.
Noor Hammad
Sydney, Australia
WOW, AN ARAB WEBSITE SUPPORTING A JEWISH AUTHOR?????
HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR ABOUT THAT HAPPENING????
OH i JUST FIGURED IT OUT!
it appears he was denied tenure essentially because of his personality
Either that or because of a campaign orchestrated by the Israel Lobby.
I’m sure he could get a good ” job” with any of our enemies