2011 SRF New School Scholars In Exile

Friday, April 8, 2011
6:00-7:30 p.m.
The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street

RSVP to cps@newschool.edu is required. This event is open and free to the public. 

Join us for a conversation with Senator Patrick Leahy about the importance of protecting scholars who have been threatened or imprisoned.

The special address will be proceeded by a few words from President David Van Zandt and Alfred and Monette Marrow Professor of Psychology Arien Mack and followed by a panel of scholars, who will discuss their own experiences of being forced into exile from their home countries:

Mohsen Sazegara, journalist and pro-democracy political activist; former Iranian Deputy Prime Minister in Political Affairs

Shemeem Burney Abbas, Pakistani scholar of law and gender, linguistics, and creative writing; Associate Professor of Political Science, Gender Studies and Literature, State University of New York at Purchase College

A Palestinian scholar of gender studies who wishes to remain anonymous

Endangered Scholars Worldwide is an initiative founded on the conviction that academic freedom and freedom of inquiry are basic human rights. We are dedicated to raising public awareness and support for intellectuals, academics, researchers, and students who have been threatened, silenced, or imprisoned for simply doing their scholarly work or speaking out against the injustices around them. In 2008, responding to the wrongful imprisonment in Iran of one of our New School colleagues (who was also a Social Research author) and the political sentencing and imprisonment of a New School alumnus in Ethiopia, we made the decision to devote a section of the journal to raising awareness of endangered and imprisoned scholars around the world. This regular feature of Social Research was the genesis of Endangered Scholars Worldwide, which is our way of remaining faithful to the founding vision of the University in Exile. We urge our readers to show support for endangered and imprisoned scholars by writing letters and signing the petitions posted on our website.

Institute of International Education (IIE) is an independent nonprofit that has participated in the rescue of persecuted scholars since its founding in 1919. In 2002, IIE launched the Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) as a formalized response to this ongoing international dilemma. SRF provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers, and other senior academics to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large. During the fellowship, conditions in a scholar’s home country may improve, permitting safe return to help rebuild universities and societies ravaged by fear, conflict, and repression. If safe return is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity. Visit the SRF for more information and to show your support.