Nadia Abu El Haj: Difference between revisions
→Facts on the Ground: this section needed balance. see discussion |
|||
| Line 79: | Line 79: | ||
In the article, [[Alan F. Segal]], a professor of religion and Jewish studies at Barnard said that "There is every reason in the world to want her to have tenure, and only one reason against it — her work, I believe it is not good enough."<ref name=Arenson/> He proceeded to say that he was specifically concerned by El Haj's hypothesis that the ancient Israelites did not live in the area now known as [[Israel]], and feels that she either ignored or misunderstood the evidence to the contrary. “She completely misunderstands what the biblical tradition is saying,” he added. “She is not even close. She is so bizarrely off.”<ref name=Arenson/> |
In the article, [[Alan F. Segal]], a professor of religion and Jewish studies at Barnard said that "There is every reason in the world to want her to have tenure, and only one reason against it — her work, I believe it is not good enough."<ref name=Arenson/> He proceeded to say that he was specifically concerned by El Haj's hypothesis that the ancient Israelites did not live in the area now known as [[Israel]], and feels that she either ignored or misunderstood the evidence to the contrary. “She completely misunderstands what the biblical tradition is saying,” he added. “She is not even close. She is so bizarrely off.”<ref name=Arenson/> |
||
Segal told the ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'' that “the problem is that everyone wants someone like her for the diversity of the college, and I agree, she looks great on paper. But then you read the book and you say, ‘No, this isn’t the right person.’”<ref name=Negrin>{{cite web|title=Prof Contests Abu El-Haj’s Claims|author=Hayley Negrin|publisher=''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]''|date=[[2007-09-18]]|accessdate=2007-09-18|url=http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/26749}}</ref> |
|||
Segal also wrote a critique of ''Facts on the Ground'' for the ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', which he concluded by describing why he opposed her tenure bid. "My reasons for turning her down are professional, not political. They have everything to do with her inability to deal in any scholarly way with her stated data."<ref name=SegalSpec>{{cite web|title=Some Professional Observations on the Controversy about Nadia Abu El-Haj’s First Book|author=[[Alan F. Segal]]|publisher=''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]''|date=[[2007-09-21]]|accessdate=2007-09-22|url=http://www.columbiaspectator.com/?q=node/26830}}</ref> |
Segal also wrote a critique of ''Facts on the Ground'' for the ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', which he concluded by describing why he opposed her tenure bid. "My reasons for turning her down are professional, not political. They have everything to do with her inability to deal in any scholarly way with her stated data."<ref name=SegalSpec>{{cite web|title=Some Professional Observations on the Controversy about Nadia Abu El-Haj’s First Book|author=[[Alan F. Segal]]|publisher=''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]''|date=[[2007-09-21]]|accessdate=2007-09-22|url=http://www.columbiaspectator.com/?q=node/26830}}</ref> |
||
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East responded to the controversy by sponsoring an "Underground Lecture Series: What Archaeology Tells Us About Ancient Israel," http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/articles.cgi?ID=3001 |
|||
featuring [[Alan Segal]], [[William Dever]], [[Aren Maeir]], and [[Jodi Magness]]. |
|||
==Accusation of slander== |
==Accusation of slander== |
||
Revision as of 13:15, 16 October 2007
Nadia Abu El Haj | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 |
| Nationality | Palestinian-American |
| Occupation | Anthropologist |
| Employer | Barnard College |
| Title | Assistant Professor |
Nadia Abu El Haj (b. 1962[1] in New York[2]) is a Palestinian-American academic[3] with a PhD in Anthropology. She is an assistant professor of anthropology at Barnard College and the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University.[4] [1]
The author of Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society (2001), Abu El Haj became the center of a tenure battle at Barnard and Columbia University during the 2006-07 academic year.[5]
Academic background
Abu El Haj grew up in Tehran and Beirut, where she went to high school.[2] She attended Bryn Mawr for her Bachelor of Arts degree, and received her doctoral degree from Duke University.[6] Between 1993 and 1995, she did post-doctoral work with a fellowship from Harvard University's Academy for International and Area Studies with a focus on the Middle East.[7] She secured further academic credentials by way of fellowships from the University of Pennsylvania Mellon Program, and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.[8]
She is a former Fulbright Fellow and the recipient of many awards including the SSRC-McArthur Grant in International Peace and Security, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and the National Endowment for the Humanities among others.[8]
Abu El-Haj has lectured at the New York Academy of Sciences, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, the University of Cambridge, the London School of Economics (LSE), and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. She also served on the faculty of the Anthropology Department at the University of Chicago.[8]
She is one of the Associate Editors of the American Ethnologist: A Journal of the American Ethnological Society.[1]
Research
Facts on the Ground
In 2001, Abu El Haj published Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society.[8] The book was recognized by the Middle East Studies Association of North America as one of the winners of the 2002 Albert Hourani Book Award, which recognizes outstanding publishing in Middle East studies.[9]
"Abu El-Haj... offers a post-structuralist and post-colonial critique of archaeology, in which facts are determined contextually by class and other interests... Archaeology has a peculiar authority since it tends to be taken as providing given facts. In Israel, archaeology emerged as a principal site for the reenactment of Jewish presence with the objective of colonizing Palestine to turn it into Eretz Yisrael (pp. 9, 11, 13,18, 21)... the point is well taken that archaeology, especially when we attempt to correlate it with ancient texts, requires a good deal of interpretation and cannot be regarded as a body of raw, objective facts. But... her philosophical framework crosses the line into anti-realism." http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2007_09_23_archive.html#7794082609795697575
"Abu El-Haj draws upon the sociology of science, in particular actor-network theory, to argue that a better way of understanding the nature of scientific activity (in this case archeology) is to move away from discourse analysis, which has characterized postcolonial studies, to examine the way scientists actually practice their craft - in other words, to consider science (archeology) as action rather than as discourse. This enables us to do two things. First, it permits us to view scientific practice as a contingent activity that depends on the mobilization of various actors, including local and everyday actors. Second, by assuming local character, scientific knowledge is portrayed as heterogeneous and amenable to transformation." http://web.mit.edu/cis/www/mitejmes/issues/200210/zureik.htm
While receiving mixed reviews from El Haj's fellow anthropologists, the book generated significant controversy and drew criticism from archeologists and historians.
Recent Scholarship
Abu El-Haj's more recent scholarship explores the field of genetic anthropology through the analysis of projects aimed at reconstructing the origins and migrations of specific populations.[8] Analysis is also directed toward the role of for-profit corporations offering genetic ancestry testing.[8] How race, diaspora, and kinship intersect and how genetic origins emerge as a shared concern among those seeking redress or recognition are predominant themes in the work.[8]
In her recent paper "Rethinking Genetic Geneaology: A Response to Stephan Palmié." American Ethnologist 2007, 34:2:223-227. Abu El Haj states that one of the "accepted forms of knowledge" that has been "disproved" by genetic research is "the 'fact' that the Jewish maternal line originated in ancient Palestine."
On October 9, 2007, Martin Peretz editor of the New Republic, wrote that "Criticisms of the few papers she has published on genetics to date reveal problems that appear to echo the criticisms of the use of archeology in Facts on the Ground." http://www.tnr.com/blog/spine?pid=150373
Tenure controversy
| Part of a series on |
| Palestinians |
|---|
 |
| Demographics |
| Politics |
|
| Religion / religious sites |
| Culture |
| List of Palestinians |
Abu El-Haj joined the Anthropology Department at Barnard College in the fall of 2002.[8] Because of Barnard College's affiliation with Columbia University, professors recommended for tenure at Barnard are subject to approval by Columbia. Abu El Haj was considered for tenure at Barnard in the 2006-07 academic year, and is under consideration at Columbia in the 2007-08 academic year.
A group of Barnard alumnae opposed to tenure for Abu El Haj was formed, led by Paula Stern, who lives in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.[1] Stern wrote that Abu El Haj had "written a book denying that the ancient Jewish or Israelite kingdoms existed. 'What was considered to have been ancient Jewish national existence and sovereignty in their homeland' is 'a tale best understood as the modern nation's origin myth ... transported into the realm of history.'[10] The Hasmonean and Davidic dynasties are a mere 'belief, an ideological assertion, a pure political fabrication.'[11]
Barnard President Judith Shapiro responded in November 2006 with an open letter to alumnae in which she wrote that Abu El Haj's tenure review process would involve "distinguished scholars in the candidate's field", including "archaeologists with appropriate expertise and broad comparative perspectives". She said that tenure decisions are made after "long and careful consideration to such outside evaluations". She expressed appreciation for feedback from alumnae, but wrote that she was concerned about "communications and letter-writing campaigns" and said that Barnard would "adhere to the principles that have served us so well throughout our history."[12] Shapiro also stated that "it is a legitimate cultural anthropological enterprise to show how archaeological research can be used for political and ideological purposes."[13]
On the same day, William Dever, retired professor of Near East archaeology at the University of Arizona told the New York Sun that Abu El Haj should be denied tenure "not because she's Palestinian or pro-Palestinian or a leftist, but because her scholarship is faulty, misleading and dangerous."[14]
Articles appeared intermittently during the remainder of the 2006-07 academic year, but widespread attention was drawn to Abu El Haj just before the start of the 2007-08 academic year with a pair of dueling petitions, to deny and to grant tenure.
The petition opposing tenure appeared first. Part of the lengthy preamble states: "We are submitting this petition because the use of evidence in "Facts on the Ground" fails to meet the standards of scholarship that are expected of Columbia and Barnard undergraduates." It also repeats many of the charges made by Paula Stern and concludes:
"We very much fear that the appointment of a scholar of Abu El Haj's demonstrably inferior caliber, her knowing misrepresentation of data and violation of accepted standards of scholarship will indeed destroy public trust in the University and undermine sensitive relationships between Columbia, Barnard and the graduates who used to be proud of the high standards of scholarship that Columbia and Barnard always stood for. We urge you to protect Columbia's reputation for scholarship and integrity by upholding the principal that research must be based on a disinterested consideration of evidence."
In response, a petition supporting Abu El Haj was initiated by Paul Manning, a linguist in the anthropology department at Trent University in Peterborough, Canada.[1] He explained that part of what motivated him was that, "Nadia has been targeted a long time, for years, and she's not been having a very good time of it."[1] By September of 2007, some 1,300 people had signed to "strongly endorse" her bid for tenure, and "completely reject every unsubstantiated allegation" made in the petition to deny Abu El-Haj tenure. Calling the attacks on her "an orchestrated witch hunt" designed to shut down legitimate intellectual inquiry, the petition concluded: "We also believe that Ms. Abu El-Haj has been singled out from among many other authors who make the same points essentially because of her last name, thus, we suspect that something like simple ethnic prejudice is at issue here.[1] By this time, Stern's petition had garnered 2,000 signatures.
Elaine Bloom, a Barnard alumna and former politician with no known credentials in anthropology or archaeology, said that Abu El Haj "has written and made statements that are not based in fact and refused to recognize fact." She also said she might stop contributing to the college if Abu El Haj wins tenure.[15]
In August of 2007, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that support for Abu El Haj was growing among scholars of anthropology and of Middle East studies. Lisa Wedeen, Chair of the Political Science department at the University of Chicago, said that Facts on the Ground was about "how science and nationalist imaginings work together, how they basically shape each other", and that Abu El Haj was more interested in the philosophy of science than in political argument.[16]
The Chronicle of Higher Education also wrote that many of Abu El Haj's supporters said that peer review, and not public pressure, are appropriate measures of a scholar's work, and they noted that Abu El Haj has been the recipient of many awards, grants, and academic appointments.[16]
An article in The New York Times in September, 2007 reported that many of Abu El Haj's supporters, particularly those in the field of anthropology, say "her book is solid, even brilliant, and part of an innovative trend of looking at how disciplines function."[1]
For example, Michael Dietler, a professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago said, "She is a scholar of the highest quality and integrity who is being persecuted because she has the courage to focus an analytical lens on subjects that others wish to shield from scrutiny, and because she happens to be of Palestinian origin."[1]
In the article, Alan F. Segal, a professor of religion and Jewish studies at Barnard said that "There is every reason in the world to want her to have tenure, and only one reason against it — her work, I believe it is not good enough."[1] He proceeded to say that he was specifically concerned by El Haj's hypothesis that the ancient Israelites did not live in the area now known as Israel, and feels that she either ignored or misunderstood the evidence to the contrary. “She completely misunderstands what the biblical tradition is saying,” he added. “She is not even close. She is so bizarrely off.”[1]
Segal told the Columbia Daily Spectator that “the problem is that everyone wants someone like her for the diversity of the college, and I agree, she looks great on paper. But then you read the book and you say, ‘No, this isn’t the right person.’”[17]
Segal also wrote a critique of Facts on the Ground for the Columbia Daily Spectator, which he concluded by describing why he opposed her tenure bid. "My reasons for turning her down are professional, not political. They have everything to do with her inability to deal in any scholarly way with her stated data."[18]
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East responded to the controversy by sponsoring an "Underground Lecture Series: What Archaeology Tells Us About Ancient Israel," http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/articles.cgi?ID=3001
featuring Alan Segal, William Dever, Aren Maeir, and Jodi Magness.
Accusation of slander
In September 2007, Professor Aren Maeir, in an opinion column in the Columbia Daily Spectator, accused Abu El Haj of slandering archaeologist David Ussishkin. "In her book she attacks, harangues, vilifies and slanders respected archaeologists in the field. In particular ... Abu El-Haj accuses David Ussishkin of 'bad science,' of using bulldozers 'in order to get down to earlier strata which are saturated with national significance, as quickly as possible' and in such a way that 'the remains above it were summarily destroyed.'" Maeir wrote that Abu El Haj's assertions concerning Ussishkin were "in effect, an attempt to prevent him from doing his work."[19]
Published works
- "The Genetic Reinscription of Race" in Annual Review of Anthropology (2007).[8]
- "Rethinking Genetic Geneaology: A Response to Stephan Palmi" in American Ethnologist (2007), 34:2:223-227.[8][2]
- "Edward Said and the Political Present" in American Ethnologist (2005), 32:4:538-555.[8]
- "Reflections on Archaeology and Israeli Settler-Nationhood" in Radical History Review (spring 2003), 86:149-163.[3]
- "Producing (Arti)Facts: Archaeology and Power during the British Mandate of Palestine" in Israel Studies Summer (2002), 7:2:33-61.[8]
- Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society (2001), University of Chicago Press.
- "Translating Truths: Nationalism, Archaeological Practice and the Remaking of Past and Present in Contemporary Jerusalem" in American Ethnologist (1998), 25:2:166-188.[8]
Academic lectures
- "Bearing the Mark of Israel? Genetics, Geneaology, and the Quest for Jewish Origins," (30 November 2004) for The New York Consortium on Science and Society[20]
- "Genealogical Quests: Question of Identity at the Crossroads of the Historical and Natural Sciences," (28 April 2004) at the University of California in Santa Barbara.[4]
- Lecturer for classes on "Theories of Culture" and "Race and Sex in Scientific and Social Practice" (2002-2003) for the Barnard College Anthropology Department.[6]
- “The Descent of Men: Genetics, Jewish Origins, and Historical Truths,” New School for Social Research, 30 Nov. 2005 newschool.edu/gf/students/gradfacts/2005-11.pdf
- “Jews – Lost and Found: Genetics and the Evidentiary Terrain of Recognition,” 9 November, 2005, Center fo rthe Study of Law and Cultre at Columbia University https://www1.columbia.edu/sec/bboard/encl/encl/archive/2005_10/mailbox
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Karen W. Arenson (10 September 2007). "Fracas Erupts Over Book on Mideast by a Barnard Professor Seeking Tenure". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Nadia Abu El Haj (1995). "Excavating the Land, Creating the Homeland: Archaeology, the State, and the Making of History in Modern Jewish Nationalism".
{{cite journal}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Diana Muir and Avigail Appelbaum (31 May 2006). "Review of Nadia Abu el-Haj's Facts on the Ground; Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society (University of Chicago Press, 2001)". History News Network. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ "Admission Information: Faculty". Columbia University. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ "Input or Intrusion?", Inside Higher Ed, November 21, 2006.
- ^ a b "Barnard Welcomes New Faculty to Campus". Barnard News Center. 1 September 2002. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ "Academy Scholars (1986 - 2006)" (PDF). Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Nadia Abu El Haj". Barnard College Department of Anthropology. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ Albert Hourani Book Award Recipients, 1991-2005, Middle East Studies Association of North America.
- ^ The two quotations in this sentence are from unrelated passages on pages 74 and 104 of Facts on the Ground. Early versions of Stern's message did not include an ellipsis, creating the false impression that she had quoted a sentence from Abu El Haj's book. See, for example, "The Shame of Barnard College: Professor Nadia Abu El Haj", November 6, 2006.
- ^ Despite Stern's use of quotation marks around "belief, an ideological assertion, a pure political fabrication", this is not a direct quote from Facts on the Ground. On page 250, these words appear in the following context: "In other words, the modern Jewish/Israeli belief in ancient Israelite origins is not understood as pure political fabrication. It is not an ideological assertion comparable to Arab claims of Canaanite or other ancient tribal roots." (Italics in original) Both sentences are part of a summary of a paper by Israeli archaeologist Magen Broshi ("Religion, Ideology, and Politics and Their Impact on Palestinian Archaeology", Israel Museum Journal 6:17-32, 1987); in her summary, Abu El Haj does not refer to the Hasmonean and Davidic dynasties.
- ^ Judith Shapiro (November 16, 2006). "A Message to Alumnae from President Judith Shapiro". Barnard College. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Scott Jaschik (21 November 2007). "Input or Intrusion?". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ Gabrielle Birkner (16 November [[[2006]]). "Barnard Alumnae Opposing Tenure for Anthropologist". New York Sun. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Ben Harris, "Petition, donor threats on prof puts spotlight back on Columbia", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, August 14, 2007.
- ^ a b John Gravois, "Newest Battlefield of Middle East Conflict Is Tenure Case at Barnard College", The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 20, 2007.
- ^ Hayley Negrin (2007-09-18). "Prof Contests Abu El-Haj's Claims". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Alan F. Segal (2007-09-21). "Some Professional Observations on the Controversy about Nadia Abu El-Haj's First Book". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Aren Maeir (2007-09-21). "Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Slander?". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Events: New York Consortium on Science and Society". NYU. Retrieved 2007-09-01.