Lisa Anderson Thinks We're Threatening Her Academic Freedom

Lisa Anderson, the former dean of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, fears that an apparently unmentionable, yet alluded to, group is threatening the academic freedom of professors of Middle East studies. She made the claim yesterday's edition of the Web publication Inside Higher Ed.

The article caught my eye, as the unmentionable organization is clearly Campus Watch, which I direct. Even though her words were hardly complimentary--she warned ominously that "Young scholars of Middle Eastern literature or history are finding themselves ‘grilled' about their political views in job interviews, and in some cases losing job offers as a result of their answers"--I was happy to see them. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to know that those of us dedicated to critiquing academe are getting the attention of those inside the academy's walls.

So I wrote a column about Anderson, and the reasons behind our efforts to improve Middle East studies, for the Washington Examiner. The paper's version of the essay is here, and my slightly amended version is at Campus Watch.