Bertell Ollman
Encyclopedia
Bertell Ollman is a professor of politics at New York University
. He teaches both dialectical methodology and socialist theory. He is the author of several academic works relating to Marxist theory (see 'Works' below).
Ollman attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving a BA in political science in 1956 and an MA in political science in 1957. He went on to study at Oxford University, earning an A.B. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1959, an MA in political theory in 1963, and a PhD in political theory in 1967. He already had gained much teaching experience before receiving his PhD, and began teaching at NYU in 1967, immediately after earning his PhD.
. It received publicity due to its unusual and controversial themehttp://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1510.
and Rowland Evans
, alleging that a column they authored had libeled him, resulting in the rescinding of his offer. The column had characterized his teaching style as indoctrination
, including an anonymous quote from another professor saying "Ollman has no status within the profession, but is a pure and simple activist." Ollman's suit was defeated in the D.C. Circuit Court, which held that Novak and Evans' column was protected speech.
In 2001, he won the first Charles McCoy Life Achievement Award from the New Political Science section of the American Political Science Association
.
In 2005, as a protest against "Israel's oppression and humiliation of the Palestinians", Ollman wrote and published a Letter of Resignation from the Jewish People, stating: "Socialist and ex-Jew that I am, I guess I still have too much respect and love for the Jewish tradition I left behind to want the world to view it in the same way as they rightly view and condemn what the ex-Jews who call themselves Zionists are doing in its name. And if changing my status from ex-Jew (current) to non-Jew (projected) stirs even ten good people (God's minyan) into action against the Zionist hijacking of the Jewish label, then this is a sacrifice I am ready to make."
" to face the accusation that as Sean Hannity
's professor in the 1980s, he had given him a lower grade for being a conservative and a supporter of Ronald Reagan. Ollman pointed out that he has been a Professor of Political Science at New York University for 40 years, and claimed that had he discriminated against Conservative students he 'would not have lasted long.' Ollman gave a detailed account of his teaching and his explanation of why his non-Marxist students "do at least as well as the rest of the class," in a letter to the editor in the Washington Post 1978.
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He teaches both dialectical methodology and socialist theory. He is the author of several academic works relating to Marxist theory (see 'Works' below).
Ollman attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving a BA in political science in 1956 and an MA in political science in 1957. He went on to study at Oxford University, earning an A.B. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1959, an MA in political theory in 1963, and a PhD in political theory in 1967. He already had gained much teaching experience before receiving his PhD, and began teaching at NYU in 1967, immediately after earning his PhD.
Class Struggle Board Game
Ollman is also the creator of Class Struggle, a board game based around his Marxist beliefs, and from 1978-1983 was president of Class Struggle, Inc., the company that initially produced and marketed the game. The game was later released by a major board game company, Avalon HillAvalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
. It received publicity due to its unusual and controversial themehttp://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1510.
Other Noteworthy Events
In 1978, after having his offer of chairmanship of the Government Department at the University of Maryland College Park rescinded, Ollman sued columnists Robert NovakRobert Novak
Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
and Rowland Evans
Rowland Evans
Rowland Evans, Jr. was an American journalist. He was known best for his decades-long syndicated column and television partnership with Robert Novak, a partnership that endured, if only by way of a joint subscription newsletter, until Evans's death.Born in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania, Evans...
, alleging that a column they authored had libeled him, resulting in the rescinding of his offer. The column had characterized his teaching style as indoctrination
Indoctrination
Indoctrination is the process of inculcating ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or a professional methodology . It is often distinguished from education by the fact that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or critically examine the doctrine they have learned...
, including an anonymous quote from another professor saying "Ollman has no status within the profession, but is a pure and simple activist." Ollman's suit was defeated in the D.C. Circuit Court, which held that Novak and Evans' column was protected speech.
In 2001, he won the first Charles McCoy Life Achievement Award from the New Political Science section of the American Political Science Association
American Political Science Association
The American Political Science Association is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals...
.
In 2005, as a protest against "Israel's oppression and humiliation of the Palestinians", Ollman wrote and published a Letter of Resignation from the Jewish People, stating: "Socialist and ex-Jew that I am, I guess I still have too much respect and love for the Jewish tradition I left behind to want the world to view it in the same way as they rightly view and condemn what the ex-Jews who call themselves Zionists are doing in its name. And if changing my status from ex-Jew (current) to non-Jew (projected) stirs even ten good people (God's minyan) into action against the Zionist hijacking of the Jewish label, then this is a sacrifice I am ready to make."
Trivia
Ollman appeared on "Hannity & ColmesHannity & Colmes
Hannity & Colmes was a live television show on Fox News Channel in the United States, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, who respectively presented a conservative and liberal perspective. The series premiered on October 6, 1996, and the final episode aired on January 9, 2009. It was the...
" to face the accusation that as Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
's professor in the 1980s, he had given him a lower grade for being a conservative and a supporter of Ronald Reagan. Ollman pointed out that he has been a Professor of Political Science at New York University for 40 years, and claimed that had he discriminated against Conservative students he 'would not have lasted long.' Ollman gave a detailed account of his teaching and his explanation of why his non-Marxist students "do at least as well as the rest of the class," in a letter to the editor in the Washington Post 1978.
Works
- Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society (Cambridge U.P., 1971; 2nd ed., 1976). This book has gone through thirteen printings, sold close to 30,000 copies, and been translated into Spanish, Italian, and Korean
- Studies in Socialist Pedagogy, co-ed (Monthly Review Press, 1978)
- Social and Sexual Revolution: Essays on Marx and Reich (South End PressSouth End PressSouth End Press is a non-profit book publisher run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 by Michael Albert, Lydia Sargent, John Schall, Pat Walker, Juliet Schor, Mary Lea, Joe Bowring, and Dave Millikan, among others, in Boston's South End...
, 1978) - Class Struggle Is the Name of the Game: True Confessions of a Marxist Businessman (Wm. Morrow Pub., 1983); 2nd expanded ed. entitled Ball Buster? True Confessions of a Marxist Businessman (Soft Skull Press, 2003)
- The Left Academy: Marxist Scholarship on American Campuses, co-ed., vol. I (McGraw Hill, 1982)
- The Left Academy..., co-ed., vol. II (Praeger Pub., 1984)
- The Left Academy..., co-ed., vol. III (Praeger Pub., 1986)
- The U.S. Constitution: 200 Years of Anti-Federalist, Abolitionist, Feminist, Muckraker, Progressive, and Especially Socialist Criticism, co-ed. (N.Y.U. Press, 1990)
- Marxism: an Uncommon Introduction (Stirling Pub., New Delhi, 1991)
- Dialectical Investigations (Routledge, 1993) A French translation is forthcoming
- Market Socialism: the Debate Among Socialists, ed. and co-author (Routledge, 1998). A Chinese translation appeared in 2000
- Dialectics: the New Frontier, co-ed. (Special Issue of Science and Society, Fall, 1998); an expanded version of this issue will soon be published as a book
- How to Take an Exam...and Remake the World (Black Rose Books, Montreal, Spring, 2001)
- BALLBUSTER? True Confessions of a Marxist Businessman, 2002 (Soft Skull Press, 2002)
- Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marx's Method (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2003). Turkish translation has been completed in February 2007 and a Chinese translation is being prepared.