Nicholas de Genova
Encyclopedia
Nicholas de Genova is a visiting Research Professor in the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
He held the Swiss Chair in Mobility Studies during the Fall semester of 2009 as a visiting professor at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Previously, he was assistant professor of anthropology
and Latino Studies at Columbia University
from 2000 to 2009. His research centers primarily on the experience of Mexican-Americans in both Mexico and the United States, especially the transnational urban and conceptual spaces they inhabit. He is also concerned with the methodological problems of anthropology.
De Genova received his BA
and PhD
in anthropology from the University of Chicago
. Prior to his time at Columbia, he served as a visiting professor at Stanford University
.
He is the author of Working the Boundaries: Race, Space, and "Illegality" in Mexican Chicago (2005), and co-author of Latino Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the Politics of Race and Citizenship (2003). He is also the co-editor of The Deportation Regime: Sovereignty, Space, and the Freedom of Movement (2010) and the editor of Racial (Trans)Formations: Latinos and Asians Remaking the United States (2006).
s," a reference to the bloody losses U.S. troops suffered in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. He also stated that “U.S. patriotism is inseparable from imperial warfare and white supremacy
" and that "The only true heroes are those who find ways to defeat the U.S. military."
At a subsequent student rally at Columbia to support U.S. soldiers in Iraq, demonstrators and speakers sharply criticizied De Genova.
The U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University wrote a letter addressed to Columbia University President Lee Bollinger
stating that De Genova's comments were "unacceptable" and demonstrated "his contempt and disregard for human life," and calling on the University to "issue an official condemnation of Professor De Genova’s comments and issue him a letter of reprimand
or similar administrative punishment." De Genova said that Bollinger "has set himself up as an apologist of war crime and apartheid,” and called upon Bollinger to resign.
This was not the only time De Genova had made controversial remarks. At a Columbia teach-in he told students, “The heritage of the Holocaust belongs to the Palestinian people. The State of Israel has no claim to the heritage of the Holocaust. The heritage of the oppressed belongs to the oppressed, not the oppressor.”
and white supremacy
have been constitutive of U.S. nation-state formation and U.S. nationalism" and called for "repudiating all forms of U.S. patriotism" and urged "the defeat of the U.S. war machine." He also stated that "my rejection of U.S. nationalism is an appeal to liberate our own political imaginations such that we might usher in a radically different world in which we will not remain the prisoners of U.S. global domination."
He held the Swiss Chair in Mobility Studies during the Fall semester of 2009 as a visiting professor at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Previously, he was assistant professor of anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and Latino Studies at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
from 2000 to 2009. His research centers primarily on the experience of Mexican-Americans in both Mexico and the United States, especially the transnational urban and conceptual spaces they inhabit. He is also concerned with the methodological problems of anthropology.
De Genova received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in anthropology from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Prior to his time at Columbia, he served as a visiting professor at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
He is the author of Working the Boundaries: Race, Space, and "Illegality" in Mexican Chicago (2005), and co-author of Latino Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the Politics of Race and Citizenship (2003). He is also the co-editor of The Deportation Regime: Sovereignty, Space, and the Freedom of Movement (2010) and the editor of Racial (Trans)Formations: Latinos and Asians Remaking the United States (2006).
"A Million Mogadishus" controversy
De Genova briefly rose to notoriety for a statement he made during a faculty teach-in on March 26, 2003, protesting the impending Iraq War. De Genova said that he hoped U.S. soldiers would experience "a million MogadishuMogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
s," a reference to the bloody losses U.S. troops suffered in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. He also stated that “U.S. patriotism is inseparable from imperial warfare and white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
" and that "The only true heroes are those who find ways to defeat the U.S. military."
Criticism
De Genova's comments drew sharp criticism from a number of sources:- Historian Alan BrinkleyAlan BrinkleyAlan Brinkley is the Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University, where he was also Provost 2003–2009. He was denied tenure at Harvard University in 1986 despite being an award-winning teacher. He lives in New York City with his wife, Evangeline, daughter Elly, and dog Jessie...
, who also at the teach-in, sharply criticized De Genova, stating that: "I was appalled by what he said, and ashamed to be on the same platform with him. I certainly defend his right to say whatever he wishes, but the rest of us have an equal right to disassociate ourselves from his abhorrent remarks." - Professor Eric FonerEric FonerEric Foner is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982, he writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography...
, who helped organize the teach-in, stated that "Professor De Genova's speech did not represent the views of the organizers. I personally found it quite reprehensible." and that "The antiwar movement does not desire the death of American soldiers. We do not accept his view of what it means to be a patriot. I began my talk, which came later, by repudiating his definition of patriotism, saying the teach-in was a patriotic act, that I believe patriots are those who seek to improve their country." - Lee C. Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, while stating that "Under well-established principles of the First Amendment, this is within a person's right to free speech" also stated that "Not for a second, however, does that insulate it from criticism. I am shocked that someone would make such statements. I am especially saddened for the families of those whose lives are now at risk."
- Arizona Congressman J. D. HayworthJ. D. HayworthJohn David Hayworth, Jr. , usually known as J. D. Hayworth, is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007 from Arizona's 5th congressional district...
wrote that "De Genova's comments are not only seditious, they are racist. They bring shame not only on him, but also on one of America's great institutions of higher learning." Haywoth also submitted a letter, signed by 103 Congressmen, to Columbia President Lee Bollinger urging him to fire De Genova. Hayworth added that "the issue is not whether De Genova has the right to make idiotic and hateful comments - he surely does - but whether he has the right to a job teaching at Columbia University after making such comments."
At a subsequent student rally at Columbia to support U.S. soldiers in Iraq, demonstrators and speakers sharply criticizied De Genova.
The U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University wrote a letter addressed to Columbia University President Lee Bollinger
Lee Bollinger
Lee Carroll Bollinger is an American lawyer and educator who is currently serving as the 19th president of Columbia University. Formerly the president of the University of Michigan, he is a noted legal scholar of the First Amendment and freedom of speech...
stating that De Genova's comments were "unacceptable" and demonstrated "his contempt and disregard for human life," and calling on the University to "issue an official condemnation of Professor De Genova’s comments and issue him a letter of reprimand
Letter of reprimand
A letter of reprimand is a United States Department of Defense procedure involving a letter to an employee or soldier from his or her superior that details the wrongful actions of the person and the punishment that can be expected...
or similar administrative punishment." De Genova said that Bollinger "has set himself up as an apologist of war crime and apartheid,” and called upon Bollinger to resign.
This was not the only time De Genova had made controversial remarks. At a Columbia teach-in he told students, “The heritage of the Holocaust belongs to the Palestinian people. The State of Israel has no claim to the heritage of the Holocaust. The heritage of the oppressed belongs to the oppressed, not the oppressor.”
Response from De Genova
In a subsequent letter to Columbia Spectator, De Genova stated wrote that "imperialismImperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
have been constitutive of U.S. nation-state formation and U.S. nationalism" and called for "repudiating all forms of U.S. patriotism" and urged "the defeat of the U.S. war machine." He also stated that "my rejection of U.S. nationalism is an appeal to liberate our own political imaginations such that we might usher in a radically different world in which we will not remain the prisoners of U.S. global domination."