Steven Salaita will be giving a talk based on his new book on Tuesday, October 13 from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Independent Media Center.
From the press release:
The event is co-sponsored by Haymarket Books, the Campus Faculty Association of UIUC, Illinois Faculty for Academic Freedom and Justice, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP-UIUC).
In the summer of 2014, American Indian studies scholar Steven Salaita’s appointment to a tenured professorship was revoked by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Salaita’s employment was terminated in response to his public tweets criticizing the Israeli government’s summer assault on Gaza.
Salaita’s firing generated a huge public outcry, with thousands petitioning for his reinstatement, more than five thousand scholars pledging to boycott UIUC, and the AAUP censuring the administration of UIUC. His case raises important questions about academic freedom, free speech on campus, and the movement for justice in Palestine.
In his new book Uncivil Rites: Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom (Haymarket Books 2015), Salaita combines personal reflection and political critique toshed new light on his controversial termination. He situates his case at the intersection of important issues that affect both higher education and social justice activism.
Steven Salaita currently holds the Edward W. Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut. The author of six previous books, he is a regular columnist for Electronic Intifada and a member of the Organizing Committee of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI).