Joseph Nevins
Encyclopedia
Joseph Nevins is an American author, activist and Associate Professor of Geography
at Vassar College
in New York.
, Mexico
, and the United States-Mexico border region.
Nevins' writings have appeared in numerous journalistic publications, including The Boston Review, The Christian Science Monitor
, the International Herald Tribune
, The Nation
, Los Angeles Times
, The Progressive
, and The Washington Post
.
to a working class family, he attended the city's public schools. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College
in Vermont
in 1987. It was as a student there that he became politically active, engaging in solidarity work with Central America
, and efforts to end CIA recruitment on campus. He received a Ph.D. in geography in 1999 from UCLA.
A long-time solidarity activist with East Timor
, Nevins is a founding member of the East Timor Action Network. He visited East Timor
many times during the years of the Indonesian occupation and was the first American to meet with the East Timorese guerrilla movement. Under the pen name Matthew Jardine, he authored numerous articles and two books on the war and occupation, and on U.S. and Western complicity in Indonesia's crimes. In 1999, he helped to organize and coordinate the largest non-governmental observer mission for the UN-run plebiscite in East Timor
which resulted in the country’s eventual independence.
A father of two girls, Nevins is also a board member of the Tucson-based BorderLinks, a bi-national organization that offers experiential educational seminars along the border focusing on the issues of global economics, militarization, immigration, and popular resistance to oppression and violence. He is also a founder and board member of La’o Hamutuk, the East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis.
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
in New York.
Background
Joseph Nevins studies territorial and social boundaries, imperialism and other forms of political violence, and matters of human rights, international law and social justice in the aftermath of mass atrocities. In doing so, he has conducted research in East TimorEast Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and the United States-Mexico border region.
Nevins' writings have appeared in numerous journalistic publications, including The Boston Review, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, The Progressive
The Progressive
The Progressive is an American monthly magazine of politics, culture and progressivism with a pronounced liberal perspective on some issues. Known for its pacifism, it has strongly opposed military interventions, such as the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The magazine also devotes much coverage...
, and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Biography
Born and raised in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to a working class family, he attended the city's public schools. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
in 1987. It was as a student there that he became politically active, engaging in solidarity work with Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and efforts to end CIA recruitment on campus. He received a Ph.D. in geography in 1999 from UCLA.
A long-time solidarity activist with East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, Nevins is a founding member of the East Timor Action Network. He visited East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
many times during the years of the Indonesian occupation and was the first American to meet with the East Timorese guerrilla movement. Under the pen name Matthew Jardine, he authored numerous articles and two books on the war and occupation, and on U.S. and Western complicity in Indonesia's crimes. In 1999, he helped to organize and coordinate the largest non-governmental observer mission for the UN-run plebiscite in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
which resulted in the country’s eventual independence.
A father of two girls, Nevins is also a board member of the Tucson-based BorderLinks, a bi-national organization that offers experiential educational seminars along the border focusing on the issues of global economics, militarization, immigration, and popular resistance to oppression and violence. He is also a founder and board member of La’o Hamutuk, the East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis.
Major Work
- A Not-So-Distant Horror: Mass Violence in East Timor (Cornell University Press, 2005)
- Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the Illegal Alien and the Making of the US-Mexico Boundary (Routledge, 2002)
- Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid (City Lights, 2008)
- Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond: The War on "Illegals" and the Remaking of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary (Routledge, 2010)
External links
- 2011 essay on the occupation of Palestine and of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands
- 2011 essay on drones
- 2010 essay on "ecological privilege" and flying in a time of climate change
- 2010 essay on bottled water
- ZNet interview with Joseph Nevins re: Dying to Live
- Dying to Live excerpts and reviews
- Chronogram interview with Joseph Nevins
- Op-ed on U.S. atrocities in Vietnam and beyond
- 2004 op-ed: After Suharto: Justice Still Eludes Indonesia and East Timor
- 2003 review essay on four books related to imperialism and U.S. foreign policy
- 2002 critical review of Samantha Power's "A Problem from Hell"