Vassar’s Joshua Schreier Promises Zero Objectivity
Winfield Myers • December 12, 2008 • Uncategorized
My Campus Watch colleague Cinnamon Stillwell has just written a post about a disturbing class being taught at Vassar College this semester by Prof. Joshua Schreier. In my years of covering higher education, I’ve rarely run into such an overtly biased presentation of classroom material.
Here’s a bit of Cinnamon’s post:
Biased Middle East studies professors are nothing new, but what about a professor who actually states in his course syllabus that he has no intention of presenting a scholarly, balanced approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict? This is how Vassar College history professor Joshua Schreier introduces the syllabus for his fall 2008 course, “The Roots of the Palestine-Israel Conflict”:
Students should keep in mind that this course is NOT designed to present “an objective” account of a “two-sided” conflict. The fact that there are supposedly two sides does not obligate us to portray each as equally right and/or equally wrong. The goal, rather, is to understand why the conflict arose, and what sorts of power inequalities have made it continue.
Schreier then goes on to lay blame at the feet of—you guessed it—Western imperialism, before making clear that he believes Jews (and, presumably, other non-Muslims?) do not belong in the Middle East:
…Why and how did economic globalization, technological development, and European imperialism foster the creation of two different national identities in Palestine? Why and how and when did these two identities develop in such a way as to preclude members of certain religious or ethnic groups from belonging? Why does Palestine, an area of the Ottoman Empire where the vast majority of people were Arabic-speaking Muslims only 70 years ago, currently host a “Jewish” state whose leadership claims to represent, first and foremost, only one of the ethnic/national communities living there?
To read the rest of Cinnamon’s post, please click here.
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6 Responses to “Vassar’s Joshua Schreier Promises Zero Objectivity”
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I just sent an e-mail to Joshua Schreier. I am sending you a copy. I too am appalled.
must say, that as a student of biblical history, as well as history of The Middle East (I am in my late 70’s) your course presentation is completely skewed and totally off base. I hope that your students have the intelligence to see your biases. I have a granddaughter who is a sophomore at Syracuse, and I would be appalled if she was exposed to an “academic” such as you. Shame on you, particularly if you are or were a Jew. Are you aware of the “implications” of the name Joshua?
Actually, I applaud Dr Schreier’s honesty. Rather than pretending some sort of scholarly neutrality, as a façade behind which to present a wholly one-sided and biased course, he was very up-front with his course content and goals.
Prospective students, you have been warned.
I agree with Dana. At least this professor is honest. Many others are far less transparent. As a political scientist, I should report, however, that very often such academics do not understand the sentiment expressed by Dr. Schreier as an example of taking a side in a dispute but rather as simply stating the naked facts. It’s simply self-evident to many of these folks that Israel has no right to exist, at least not as a Jewish state. This position is today no more controversial in the academy than the opinion that slavery is morally wrong. To be pro-Arab and anti-Israeli requires no great amount of moral courage; it is now orthodoxy.
I somewhat agree with Dana. However, the real question is whether Dr. Schreier will allow students within his class to dissent or argue against his views without penalty.
As a former student of Professor Schreier, I can assure you that he encourages debate. Honestly, this whole outcry against him is ridiculous – he is by far the most passionate, enthusiastic, exciting professor I had in my entire 4 years of college, and he certainly does not hold his opinion as gospel. Perhaps you moral policemen should sit in on one of his classes before passing judgment based on a few snippets of course material.
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For the Prof to start by saying “this course is NOT designed to present “an objective” account”, is like saying this course will not present the truth. Amazing.
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absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
blame your failings on the Jews
for a few more thousand years
they are Earth’s scapegoats
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absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
give Israel away
to appease her enemies
dishonor ALL Jews
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absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
never mock Hamas
it’s just their religion
you RIGHT-WING INFIDEL
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All real freedom starts with freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech there can be no real freedom.
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http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
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