academic freedom handbook

Back in November I wrote about the growing frequency of politically-motivated attacks on academics studying the Middle East and Islamic world, particularly those who work on contentious topics (like Israel/Palestine) and/or those who engage in activism related to contemporary political issues. Thankfully, people in the field are thinking increasingly proactively and creatively about how to counter such smear campaigns. I found out today about a new addition to the toolkit--the Taskforce on Middle East Anthropology's "Academic Freedom and Professional Responsibility after 9/11: A Handbook for Scholars and Teachers" (pdf link). The Taskforce--"a group of anthropologists working to preserve a space for open discussion on the Middle East/North Africa/Southwest Asia and academic freedom"--drafted the handbook based on feedback from academics, university administrators, journalists, and lawyers.

It's somewhat basic in parts, especially for anyone already experienced with activism and dealing with the media, but there are plenty of talented academics who lack those skills, and the material on legal matters and professional resources for besieged scholars is excellent. There's also some thoughtful, brief, and balanced pedagogical advice on teaching controversies and dealing with friction in the classroom--again, commonsensical, but useful as a reminder.