Uncivil Rites : Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom

188 Pages·2015·3.23 MB·English

by  Salaita

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Tweet Tweet
Palestine, (un)Naturally
Entry Not Approved
Uncivil Rites
Survival of the Fitness
Imaginary Students
The Pro-Israel Activist Handbook, Unabridged
On Being Palestinian and Other Things
Spies (Don’t) Like Us
PeP Talk
Palestine in the American Imagination
Shame on Me
The Evolution of “Anti-Semitism”
Puffery
The Lovely, Timeless Noise of Innocence
The Chief Features of Civility
The Disappearance of Print
Injustice: A Bull(shit) Market
Civilized Twitter
The Darling That Can No Longer Be Defended
Consumption
An Incivility Manifesto
A Politics of the Child
Addendum: Speaking in Times of Repression
Epilogue
Appendix One: AAUP Statements
Appendix Two: Hiring/Termination Documents
Appendix Three: Salon Article and Virginia Tech Response
About the Author
Praise for Uncivil Rites
“Uncivil Rites reveals Steven Salaita’s deep
humanity and integrity. Despite the efforts of the University of Illinois to silence
him, Salaita continues to speak out courageously for Palestinian rights. His case
is a reminder to us all of the need to defend academic freedom and to protect
those who challenge the powerful.”
—Glenn Greenwald, author, No Place to Hide and With Liberty and Justice for
Some “This book is an important historical document, recounting a courageous
academic’s effort to stand up to institutional racism at one of America’s putative
preeminent academic institutions.”
—Rula Jebreal-Altschul, author, Miral “This is Steven Salaita at his most
brilliant, hilarious, incisive, and moving. Uncivil Rites is a deeply personal
account of Salaita’s year since his firing from the University of Illinois over
tweets critical of Israel’s assault on Gaza. But it is much more than that.
Although I have followed every twist of the case since it began, Salaita’s unique
vantage point provides crucial parts of the story that have been missing until
now. Salaita is capable of startling vulnerability and personal revelation,
seamlessly shifting back to perfect scholarly detachment, always hitting exactly
the right note as he parries with and demolishes his accusers. This masterful
book shows that far from diminishing him, the ordeal inflicted on Salaita has
spurred him to produce some of his best writing yet. It is essential reading for all
of us who believe we must fight to defend free speech against the encroaching
corporatization of every aspect and institution of American life.”
—Ali Abunimah, cofounder, Electronic Intifada and author, The Battle for Justice
in Palestine “Uncivil Rites is Steven Salaita’s most important work to date. Using
his unjust dismissal from University of Illinois as the backdrop, Salaita exposes
the intellectual, moral, and political contradictions of the 21st-century neo-
liberal university. He also spotlights the dangers of conflating anti-Zionism with
anti-Semitism, resistance with terrorism, and righteous outrage with incivility.
This book only reinforces Salaita’s well-deserved reputation as one of the most
honest, courageous, and incisive scholars of our generation.”
—Marc Lamont Hill, Distinguished Professor of African American studies,
Morehouse College “Out of the experience of McCarthyism came a literature of
memoir and protest that was too good for the history that produced it. Steven
Salaita’s Uncivil Rites is also too good for the events that produced it. A kind of
travelogue of the unbound mind, Uncivil Rites offers a palimpsest of Salaita’s
experiences on the road and his reflections—part literary, part historical, part
familial—on the politics and personalities of his firing. ‘An autobiographical
story that is anything but personal,’ it is by turns tender, thoughtful, enraging,
and often laugh-out-loud funny. Many books feel like a duty; this was sheer
pleasure.”
—Corey Robin, professor of political science, Brooklyn College and the CUNY
Graduate Center
UNCIVIL RITES
PALESTINE AND THE LIMITS OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM

Steven Salaita

Haymarket Books
Chicago, Illinois
© 2015 Steven Salaita
Published by
Haymarket Books
P.O. Box 180165
Chicago, IL 60618
773-583-7884
www.haymarketbooks.org [email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-60846-578-1

Trade distribution: In the US, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, www.cbsd.com In Canada,
Publishers Group Canada, www.pgcbooks.ca In the UK, Turnaround Publisher Services, www.turnaround-
uk.com All other countries, Publishers Group Worldwide, www.pgw.com
This book was published with the generous support of Lannan Foundation and the Wallace Action Fund.

Cover design by Dan Tesser. Cover images of Steven Salaita by Tayarisha Poe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.
For he who ignites
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is partly about me, but only as I have been actualized by various
communities. Before we proceed, I wish to recognize numerous people
who have enabled my intellectual, mental, and moral actualization. I beg of the
reader not to harbor any resentment toward these folks for my own
shortcomings.
Matthew and Christina Shenoda: your love and wisdom are peerless; Ben and
Jenny Sax: thank you for always offering your friendship and your home in
moments of trouble (and joy); John and Peter Housein: “in law” does nothing to
describe my actual perception of you; Michael Salaita: you demolish all negative
connotations of the phrase “big brother”; Danya Lynch: few things make me
prouder than calling you my sister; Mom and Dad: you created me—I love you
all the more because you’re proud to live with the result; my beautiful nieces and
nephews: you are each wise beyond my years; Nasri and Delia: I adore being
thought of as one of your own; Mohammed Abed: our friendship, like the
justice, can never be divided; Ahmed Ghappour: may I ever be on your good side
—it’s glorious over there; Corey Robin: just wow; Michael Smith and Michael
Ratner: you are models of principled dissent; Lisa Kahaleole Hall: puppies and
toddlers forever; Ali Abunimah: when we change the world, you’ll get that
Pulitzer; Robert Warrior: my words can never do you justice; Keeanga-Yamahtta
Taylor and Lauryn Fleer: my favorite power couple; Vicente Diaz: please keep
fucking with things in an Island way; J. Kehaulani Kauanui: you’re one of the
few people who could convince me to do acupuncture, and yet I’m not at all
surprised that it works; Magid Shihade and Sunaina Maira: I talk often of your
fierce intelligence but not enough about your deep kindness; David Lloyd: you
are a moral giant; Dina Omar: some streets can be judged by the quality of
company rather than the architecture; Salah Hassan: I never fail to learn tons
whenever we talk; Junaid Rana: you do not get nearly enough credit for your
superb organizing—I hope this shout-out helps; Mimi Nguyen: the same is true
of you and your constant badassery; Sarah Roberts: you’ve been there from the
beginning, and nobody doubts you’ll stay to the end; Rico Kleinstein Chenyek:
abrazos y solidaridad; Donna Nevel and Alan Levine: I always carry your
kindness; Eman Ghanayem: you are the hero of this story; Stephanie Skora: you
are what a real undergraduate educator looks like; Jodi Byrd: the empire will
never withstand your fierce intellect; Nadine Naber: I often joke that we’re