Saving the Yale anti-Semitism institute

[alp227]

by Walter Reich, Yitzhak Rabin memorial professor of international affairs, ethics and human behavior at George Washington University and member of the international academic board of advisers of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism

Yale just killed the country’s best institute for the study of anti-Semitism. If Yale doesn’t want it, Washington should grab the institute before it goes anywhere else.

For the past five years, the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism has flourished in New Haven, Conn. On a small budget it has sponsored research, visiting fellowships, papers and presentations on the most abiding and lethal hatred mankind has ever known — the one that brought us the Holocaust and that is once again racing around the world.

A few institutes for the study of anti-Semitism have sprung up globally — a couple in Israel and some in Europe and North America. Yale’s is the first in the States and the first to be closed down.

This is, at first glance, strange. The quality and output of the Yale institute have been superb and wide-ranging. The institute has attracted scholars from around the world to study anti-Semitism and to present papers; has numerous governance committees, most of them composed of eminent Yale faculty; and has an international academic board of advisers — on which I serve — from other universities.

So why did Yale kill the institute?

The answer is simple. The institute held a three-day conference last August on “Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity.” More than a hundred invited scholars, almost all of them from universities and research institutes, delivered papers. Some spoke, inevitably, about the fastest-growing and most virulent manifestation of contemporary anti-Semitism — the anti-Semitism in the Arab/Muslim world, in which the tropes of classic European anti-Semitism (such as the allegations that Jews meet secretly to control the world, murder non-Jewish children to use their blood in Jewish rituals and spread disease to kill non-Jews) have been not only adopted but also embellished.

Full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/saving-the-yale-anti-semitism-institute/2011/06/13/AGRjAjTH_story.html

[GillesDeleuze]

1. are there any other interdisciplinary racism that get their own name and department?

or is some racism more worthy of study than others? based on what? race?

[Behind the Aegis]

2. It isn't just anti-Semitism that is discussed.

What is it about the idea of the discussion of anti-Semitism that pisses people off? There are other places that discuss issues of homophobia, racism, sexism...is it jsut the discussion and study of anti-Semitism that pisses you off?

[GillesDeleuze]

8. i think its a very poor frame

Jewish cultural studies seems a bit more, uh, appropriate.

[COLGATE4]

3. Yeah, it's only those Jews that get their own name and department.

:sarcasm:

[GillesDeleuze]

4. i've taken many african-american studies courses, but none

in a department called racism towards the descendants of slaves or the racism against blacks department. instead, the department studied both the history of race/class/gender in the matrix of domination AS WELL AS the emancipatory possibilities through culture and theory.

the department of anti-semitism.. what a name.

[Chef Eric]

5. An institute for the study of anti-semitism is warranted.

Anti-semites have been committing crimes against Jews for thousands of years. Their sheer "body of work" warrants extensive study. Here are some lowlights:
-The destruction of the first temple in 423 BCE
-The destruction of the second temple in 68
-The first crusade in 1096
-The expulsion of Jews from England in 1290
-The Inquisition
-The pogroms
-The forgery of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion
-The Holocaust
-The denial of the Holocaust

[GillesDeleuze]

7. thats nonresponsive

Based on systemic and nonsystemic harm, why not have a department of slavery and subjugation? many universities have departments in judaic studies, jewish cultural studies, etc. that would cover this type of research.

why have a department of victimization?

[Chef Eric]

14. It's not a department of victimization. It's an institute to study a part of history.

And perhaps there SHOULD be an institute to study the history of slavery. Maybe you could try to convince your local learning institutions to establish one. That would be far more constructive than questioning the validity of the Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism.

[LeftishBrit]

16. There's a centre for the study of slavery at the University of Liverpool in the UK

http://www.liv.ac.uk/csis/

'why have a department of victimization?'

Because victimization, of various groups, is an important part of history, and a constant current problem for many groups.

If we study these forms of victimization, maybe we can learn more about how to prevent them or defeat them.

[GillesDeleuze]

20. well, there's this nugget.

Today, Liverpool's history serves as a starting point for different forms of engagement with slavery and abolition across time and space.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Then there is reality....

There is no "department of anti-Semitism."

"Professor Charles Small founded the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy (ISGAP) in 2005 in New Haven, as an independent research organization to study global antisemitism and other forms of racism. In 2006, the center became part of Yale University as the Yale Initiative for Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA). It is part of the university's Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies." source

It is:

Research Centers, which is listed under Humanities and Social Sciences

Bioethics, Interdisciplinary Center for
Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics
Digital Media Center for the Arts DMCA
Economic Growth Center
Yale Center for Faith & Culture
Benjamin Franklin Papers
Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
Haskins Laboratories
Human Relations Area Files Cultural Information for Education and Research
International & Area Studies, Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for
Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
Center for Language Study
Yale Center for Media Initiatives
Yale Center for Parliamentary History
Institution for Social and Policy Studies
International Center for Finance
The Kamusi Project Online Swahili Dictionary
Whitney Humanities Center
The Works of Jonathan Edwards
Yale Boswell Editions
Yale World Fellows Program
Yale Russian Archive Project YRAP
Yale-Ukraine Initiative (source)

Which leads to ISPS, which includes:

Center for the Study of American Politics

Agrarian Studies

Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism

The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) is dedicated to the scholarly research of the origins and manifestations associated with antisemitism globally, as well as other forms of prejudice, including racisms, as it relates to policy. Through the examination of antisemitism and policy, YIISA disseminates scholarly material so to promote further understanding and contribute to aspects of policy analysis. YIISA is housed at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS), Yale University.

Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics

The Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics (source)

Here is a LIST of Departments/Academic Programs at Yale University:

A
African American Studies
African Studies
Agrarian Studies
American Studies
Anesthesiology
Anthropology
Applied Mathematics
Applied Physics
Archaeological Studies
Architecture, School of
Architecture (undergraduate major)
Area Studies, Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and
Art, School of
Art (undergraduate major)
Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of
Astronomy

B
Biological & Biomedical Sciences
Biology - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Biology - Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
Biomedical Engineering
Biostatistics
British Studies

C
Cell Biology
Cellular & Molecular Physiology
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Child Study Center
Classics
Cognitive Science
Comparative Literature
Comparative Medicine
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Computer Science
Computer Science & Mathematics
Computer Science & Psychology

D
Dermatology
Diagnostic Radiology
Directed Studies
Divinity School
Drama, School of

E
East Asian Languages & Literatures
East Asian Studies
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Economic History
Economics
Economics & Mathematics
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Emergency Medicine
Engineering
Engineering & Applied Science, School of
English Language & Literature
Environment
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Studies
Epidemiology & Public Health
Ethics, Politics & Economics
Ethnicity, Race & Migration
European Studies
Experimental Pathology

F
Film Studies
Forestry & Environmental Studies, School of
Forestry & Environmental Studies (undergraduate program)
French

G
Genetics
Geology & Geophysics
Germanic Languages & Literatures

H
Health, Epidemiology & Public Health
Hellenic Studies
History
History of Art
History of Science/History of Medicine
History of Science/History of Medicine (undergraduate program)
Humanities, Special Programs in the

I
Immunobiology
Internal Medicine
International & Area Studies, Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for
International & Development Economics
International Relations
International Studies
Investigative Medicine
Islamic Studies
Italian

J
Judaic Studies

L
Laboratory Medicine
Latin American and Iberian Studies
Law School
Lesbian & Gay Studies
Linguistics
Literature

M
Management (Ph.D. program)
Management, School of
Mathematics
Mathematics & Philosophy
Mathematics & Physics
Mechanical Engineering
Medicine, School of
Medieval Studies
Microbiology
Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
Music, Department of
Music, School of

N
Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
Neurobiology
Neurology
Neuroscience
Neurosurgery
Nursing, School of

O
Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
Operations Research
Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

P
Pathology
Pediatrics
Pharmacology
Philosophy
Physician Associate Program
Physics
Physics & Philosophy
Political Science
Portuguese
Psychiatry
Psychology
Public Health, Epidemiology &

R
Religious Studies
Renaissance Studies
Residential College Seminars

S
Sacred Music, Institute of
Science
Slavic Languages & Literatures
Social and Policy Studies, Institution for
Sociology
South Asian Studies Council
Southeast Asia Studies
Spanish
Special Divisional Majors
Statistics
Study of the City
Surgery

T
Teacher Preparation
Theater Studies
Therapeutic Radiology

W
Whitney Seminar
Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (source)

Notice anything missing?! Why, there IS NO "Department of Anti-Semitism," now is there?

[GillesDeleuze]

9. im glad you figured out what interdisciplinary means.

congrats!

[Behind the Aegis]

10. Have you figured out what "department" means?

Too bad you haven't figured out your "argument" is no different than people who complain about "African-American studies" or "GLBT studies." :(

[GillesDeleuze]

11. in case you missed it

i've taken many african-american studies courses, but none in a department called racism towards the descendants of slaves or the racism against blacks department. instead, the department studied both the history of race/class/gender in the matrix of domination AS WELL AS the emancipatory possibilities through culture and theory.

the department of anti-semitism.. what a name.

[Behind the Aegis]

12. I guess you haven't figured it out. What a shame for you.

I guess the real question is why you persist in calling it something it isn't. Did you bother to take logic courses in college? If not, look into at a local college, it may help you eliminate your need for Strawman arguments.

[GillesDeleuze]

13. sounds like someone feels personally attacked

that I dare question the name "anti-semitism institute" rather than address any of the merits of naming something solely on the grounds of victimization.

did they teach fake vicitimization in your "logic" classes at that "college" you went to?

[Behind the Aegis]

15. Again, I recommend that course in logic.

You will also get to study "red herrings" and ad hominems. It isn't a matter of feeling personally attack, it is simply recognizing bigotry.

[GillesDeleuze]

18. is this they type of scholarship they produce?

"recognizing bigotry".

lulzy. you have no idea of my heritage or political beliefs.

[LeftishBrit]

17. Yes, there are

http://www.sociology.leeds.ac.uk/research/ethnicity-racism/cers/

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/soc/business/specialist_units/65589.html

[GillesDeleuze]

19. i hate to nitpick

but this is exactly the sort of alternative i would advocate for. the institute of antisemitism sounds like something our friend AEGIS here would use as a means to attack or accuse others.

but the center for reduction of hate crimes specifically is titled after the objective to reduce the bad thing, not throw it around as a political weapon, to silence critics, etc.

Furthermore, the description of the study of racism AND ETHNICITY includes "ethnicity" because of its emancipatory angle, especially in postcolonial theory.

These are appropriately titled university departments and institutes. They are categorically different than than the institute of anti-semitism.