Anarchy in the Academy
I just discovered that David Graeber was fired from the hallowed halls of Yale University. His crime? It's not insufficient scholarship; he's one of the most published young academics at Yale. It's not lack of teaching acumen; there are scores of students supporting him. Indeed, they have organized an online petition urging Yale to reconsider.It seems that the reason his contract was not renewed is because he is one of the few -- perhaps the only -- openly anarchist academics in the US. Of course, this is impossible to verify; the way academia works is highly secretive, with members of the upper cabal sworn to secrecy in this (and many other) cases. There was no official reason given for his dismissal.
I've actually corresponded with David a time or two regarding his article in a publication I'm typesetting. He's a pleasant guy, and very insightful in his writings. His writing is quite good, having written for both academic audiences and popular audiences. I also found a recent article of his on anarchism that I'm very interested in reading.
There is also an interview with David Graeber about the circumstances of his dismissal.
Frightening times indeed...
posted by JWL at
4:26 PM |
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