[Linganth] Supporting change at the AAA (Elise Berman)

Thu Oct 12 17:31:38 UTC 2023

The timing on this seems incredibly cynical and manipulative.

On Thu, Oct 12, 2023 at 11:52 AM <linganth-request at listserv.linguistlist.org>
wrote:

> Send Linganth mailing list submissions to
>         linganth at listserv.linguistlist.org
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linganth
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>         linganth-request at listserv.linguistlist.org
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
>         linganth-owner at listserv.linguistlist.org
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Linganth digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Supporting change at the AAA (Elise Berman)
>    2. Re: Supporting change at the AAA (Alexander M. Thomson)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:45:43 -0400
> From: Elise Berman <eberman at charlotte.edu>
> To: "LINGANTH at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG"
>         <linganth at listserv.linguistlist.org>
> Subject: [Linganth] Supporting change at the AAA
> Message-ID:
>         <CAG-JUfuXrmVjk0vntmR6HAgijVx=
> t7Oi+DUnhpejxBNPrrC-Bg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Dear SLA members:
>
>
> Below you will see a letter asking you to support a change in by-laws of
> the AAA.  The changes proposed are below as is a brief rationale for
> them, and a link to sign.  This move is in response to the recent vote by
> the AAA to boycott and sanction universities in Israel. Especially in light
> of recent events, I hope that you might follow the link, sign the petition,
> and support the organization considering this change in the AAA by-laws.
>
>
>
> Very best wishes
> Elise Berman (incoming linguistics seat on the AAA nominations committee)
>
>
>
>
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>
>
>
> Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>
> As you know, the AAA membership recently voted to boycott and sanction
> universities in a single nation, Israel. Arguments against the boycott of
> any academic institutions were previously posted on the AAA website.
> Anthropology as a discipline was founded on the commitment to promoting
> understanding and communication across cultural boundaries. Academic
> boycotts violate this basic principle.
>
>
>
> To address this concern, a next step is to launch an effort to amend the
> By-Laws of the AAA to prohibit any academic boycotts by the American
> Anthropological Association (Article I, Section 1). This amendment to the
> AAA By-Laws will reflect a commitment to the free exchange of ideas among
> academics, which is core to the discipline of Anthropology.
>
> In order for there to be a full AAA membership vote to amend the AAA
> By-Laws, 250 signatures from AAA members are required. Please visit the
> following website to endorse a vote on the proposed amendment (
> https://forms.gle/5p7CDmZTCujMBbzU6).
>
>
>
> If you sign this document, and 250 signatures are received, it will come to
> a vote of the broader AAA membership. At that point, all AAA members will
> have the opportunity to vote on the proposed new By-Law.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, Carleton College
>
> Aliya Glatt, University of California Los Angeles
>
> Harvey E. Goldberg, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
>
> Alma Gottlieb, University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign and Brown
> University
>
> Sergei Kan, Dartmouth College
>
> Melvin Konner, Emory University
>
> Jill E. Korbin, Case Western Reserve University
>
> Robert Lemelson, University of California Los Angeles
>
> Fran Markowitz, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
>
> David M. Rosen, Farleigh Dickenson University
>
> Cynthia Saltzman, Rutgers University-Camden
>
> Richard A. Shweder, University of Chicago
>
>
>
> ***************************************************
>
> Proposed New AAA By-Law against Academic Boycotts:
>
> ?AAA is an academic and professional association and a community of
> scholars who support open inquiry, free speech, and the unrestricted
> exchange of ideas on a global scale. In furtherance of our commitment to
> academic freedom, the
>
> American Anthropological Association opposes and does not participate in
> academic boycotts."
>
>
>
> ****************************************************
>
> Rationale for the New AAA By-Law:
>
> The American Anthropological Association should uphold the sanctity of the
> principle of academic freedom that enables and protects the ability of
> scholars to write, teach, and pursue research. This right must be protected
> by recognizing that academic boycotts pose a threat not only to
> institutions, but to the students, scholars, and staff who work there and
> who are the lifeblood of universities. Where governments or institutions
> engage in unethical practices, including limiting academic freedom of their
> own students and faculty, those policies and truths should be exposed and
> critiqued, especially by scholars with regional expertise. Nonetheless, the
> AAA should not formally endorse a broad academic boycott of these
> institutions, whose human capital would be directly affected. Instead, in
> accord with the principles of academic freedom and open inquiry, the AAA
> should support open lines of communication, the free exchange of ideas, and
> a diversity of viewpoints among scholars globally.
>
>
>
> As the AAUP has stated, ?The form that noncooperation with an academic
> institution takes inevitably involves a refusal to engage in academic
> discourse with teachers and researchers, not all of whom are complicit in
> the policies that are being protested. Moreover, an academic boycott can
> compound a regime?s suppression of freedoms by cutting off contacts with an
> institution?s or a country?s academics. In addition, the academic boycott
> is usually at least once removed from the real target. Rarely are
> individuals or even individual institutions the issue. What is being sought
> is a change in state policy. The issue, then, is whether those faculty or
> ideas that could contribute to changing state policy are harmed when
> communication with outside academic institutions is cut off and how to
> weigh that harm against the possible political gains the pressure of an
> academic boycott might secure.?
>
>
>
> The AAUP argued that the continued exchange of faculty, students, and ideas
> is more conducive to academic freedom in the long run than is an academic
> boycott. This freedom is what we share and treasure as academics, beyond
> specific ideologies or political views we might espouse as individuals. In
> accord with this rationale, a new By-law stating that the AAA does not
> endorse academic boycotts is warranted and necessary.
>
>
>
> We invite you to vote in favor of this new addition to the AAA By-laws.
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: <
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20231012/b79617c4/attachment-0001.htm
> >
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 08:51:29 -0700
> From: "Alexander M. Thomson" <alexander.thomson at ucla.edu>
> To: Elise Berman <eberman at charlotte.edu>
> Cc: "LINGANTH at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG"
>         <linganth at listserv.linguistlist.org>
> Subject: Re: [Linganth] Supporting change at the AAA
> Message-ID:
>         <
> CAGHmBp47FxgsGZycKbmShj5FFsHGHTy+-nmz6i-yZh5XO8N81w at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Thank you for sending this out! Can someone remind me though why the AAA as
> a scientific and professional body feels compelled to take moral &
> political stances (e.g. boycotts) in the first place?
>
> On Thu, Oct 12, 2023 at 8:47 AM Elise Berman <eberman at charlotte.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > Dear SLA members:
> >
> >
> > Below you will see a letter asking you to support a change in by-laws of
> > the AAA.  The changes proposed are below as is a brief rationale for
> > them, and a link to sign.  This move is in response to the recent vote by
> > the AAA to boycott and sanction universities in Israel. Especially in
> light
> > of recent events, I hope that you might follow the link, sign the
> petition,
> > and support the organization considering this change in the AAA by-laws.
> >
> >
> >
> > Very best wishes
> > Elise Berman (incoming linguistics seat on the AAA nominations committee)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Friends and Colleagues,
> >
> > As you know, the AAA membership recently voted to boycott and sanction
> > universities in a single nation, Israel. Arguments against the boycott of
> > any academic institutions were previously posted on the AAA website.
> > Anthropology as a discipline was founded on the commitment to promoting
> > understanding and communication across cultural boundaries. Academic
> > boycotts violate this basic principle.
> >
> >
> >
> > To address this concern, a next step is to launch an effort to amend the
> > By-Laws of the AAA to prohibit any academic boycotts by the American
> > Anthropological Association (Article I, Section 1). This amendment to the
> > AAA By-Laws will reflect a commitment to the free exchange of ideas among
> > academics, which is core to the discipline of Anthropology.
> >
> > In order for there to be a full AAA membership vote to amend the AAA
> > By-Laws, 250 signatures from AAA members are required. Please visit the
> > following website to endorse a vote on the proposed amendment (
> > https://forms.gle/5p7CDmZTCujMBbzU6).
> >
> >
> >
> > If you sign this document, and 250 signatures are received, it will come
> > to a vote of the broader AAA membership. At that point, all AAA members
> > will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed new By-Law.
> >
> >
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, Carleton College
> >
> > Aliya Glatt, University of California Los Angeles
> >
> > Harvey E. Goldberg, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
> >
> > Alma Gottlieb, University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign and Brown
> > University
> >
> > Sergei Kan, Dartmouth College
> >
> > Melvin Konner, Emory University
> >
> > Jill E. Korbin, Case Western Reserve University
> >
> > Robert Lemelson, University of California Los Angeles
> >
> > Fran Markowitz, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
> >
> > David M. Rosen, Farleigh Dickenson University
> >
> > Cynthia Saltzman, Rutgers University-Camden
> >
> > Richard A. Shweder, University of Chicago
> >
> >
> >
> > ***************************************************
> >
> > Proposed New AAA By-Law against Academic Boycotts:
> >
> > ?AAA is an academic and professional association and a community of
> > scholars who support open inquiry, free speech, and the unrestricted
> > exchange of ideas on a global scale. In furtherance of our commitment to
> > academic freedom, the
> >
> > American Anthropological Association opposes and does not participate in
> > academic boycotts."
> >
> >
> >
> > ****************************************************
> >
> > Rationale for the New AAA By-Law:
> >
> > The American Anthropological Association should uphold the sanctity of
> the
> > principle of academic freedom that enables and protects the ability of
> > scholars to write, teach, and pursue research. This right must be
> protected
> > by recognizing that academic boycotts pose a threat not only to
> > institutions, but to the students, scholars, and staff who work there and
> > who are the lifeblood of universities. Where governments or institutions
> > engage in unethical practices, including limiting academic freedom of
> their
> > own students and faculty, those policies and truths should be exposed and
> > critiqued, especially by scholars with regional expertise. Nonetheless,
> the
> > AAA should not formally endorse a broad academic boycott of these
> > institutions, whose human capital would be directly affected. Instead, in
> > accord with the principles of academic freedom and open inquiry, the AAA
> > should support open lines of communication, the free exchange of ideas,
> and
> > a diversity of viewpoints among scholars globally.
> >
> >
> >
> > As the AAUP has stated, ?The form that noncooperation with an academic
> > institution takes inevitably involves a refusal to engage in academic
> > discourse with teachers and researchers, not all of whom are complicit in
> > the policies that are being protested. Moreover, an academic boycott can
> > compound a regime?s suppression of freedoms by cutting off contacts with
> an
> > institution?s or a country?s academics. In addition, the academic boycott
> > is usually at least once removed from the real target. Rarely are
> > individuals or even individual institutions the issue. What is being
> sought
> > is a change in state policy. The issue, then, is whether those faculty or
> > ideas that could contribute to changing state policy are harmed when
> > communication with outside academic institutions is cut off and how to
> > weigh that harm against the possible political gains the pressure of an
> > academic boycott might secure.?
> >
> >
> >
> > The AAUP argued that the continued exchange of faculty, students, and
> > ideas is more conducive to academic freedom in the long run than is an
> > academic boycott. This freedom is what we share and treasure as
> academics,
> > beyond specific ideologies or political views we might espouse as
> > individuals. In accord with this rationale, a new By-law stating that the
> > AAA does not endorse academic boycotts is warranted and necessary.
> >
> >
> >
> > We invite you to vote in favor of this new addition to the AAA By-laws.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Linganth mailing list
> > Linganth at listserv.linguistlist.org
> > https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linganth
> >
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: <
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20231012/33c1e22b/attachment.htm
> >
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> _______________________________________________
> Linganth mailing list
> Linganth at listserv.linguistlist.org
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linganth
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Linganth Digest, Vol 109, Issue 6
> ****************************************
>

-- 
Paul Manning
Professor of Anthropology, Trent University
Editor, *Semiotic Review*: semioticreview.com

<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
Virus-free.www.avast.com
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20231012/8a8660ae/attachment-0001.htm>