Peter N. Kirstein
Encyclopedia
Peter N. Kirstein is a professor of history at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Saint Louis University
, and his A.B. from Boston University
, where he studied under Howard Zinn
. Kirstein also attended Washington University in St. Louis
. Kirstein received his university's Excellence in Teaching Award. He is known for his antiwar views and support of academic freedom. He identifies himself as a pacifist. He is currently Vice President of the Illinois Conference of the American Association of University Professors
and is chair of the Illinois Conference Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. He serves as an at-large member on his university's AAUP chapter council.
and has defended free-speech rights of many scholars who were denied tenure, incarcerated or removed from their position for speech and controversial writings. These include Norman Finkelstein
, Ward Churchill
, Richard Berthold
, Mehrene Larudee and Namita Goswami. Kirstein has been strongly criticized for his positions on the Iraq War and American foreign policy, and has spoken at a conference hosted by David Irving
. Professor Kirstein debated conservative David Horowitz
on the Iraq War and academic freedom. He has also lectured or appeared on panels at universities across the United States on topics ranging from war and international security to academic freedom.
As a result of these events he was reprimanded and suspended from his position at St. Xavier University for the remaining three weeks of the semester. He had a sabbatical the following semester, and submitted to early post-tenure review.
, Art in America
, Situation Analysis, American Diplomacy, Journal of Mexican American History, Armed Forces and Society, and History News Network
(HNN). Kirstein was honorably discharged from the US Army Reserves. Kirstein published a book chapter "Academic Freedom since 9/11" in Matthew Morgan, ed., The Impact of 9/11 and the New Legal Landscape: The Day That Changed Everything (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). A recent publication is "Hiroshima and Spinning the Atom: America, Britain, and Canada Proclaim the Nuclear Age, August 6, 1945," The Historian, Winter 2009, 805-27. Kirstein spoke at the College of Complexes
in Chicago on July 10, 2010 on "Remembering Howard Zinn: Giving Voice to the Voiceless." Using recently released FBI files, Kirstein has published an article for HNN, "The People’s Historian and the FBI Zinn Files." His review of Cary Nelson, No University is an Island appears in Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture
, 2011.
Kirstein appeared on the Kevin Barrett
, Truth Jihad Radio show on the American Freedom Radio network Friday, March 11, 2011. The prgram is broadcast from Madison, Wisconsin and will explore the challenges to academic freedom and American Foreign Policy. He spoke at a teach-in at Northeastern Illinois University, April 26, 2011 on free speech and academic freedom: the event was endorsed by Noam Chomsky
. He chaired and presented at a session, "Organizing for Academic Freedom," at the American Association of University Professors-Collective Bargaining Congress Midwest Regional Meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chicago on Saturday, April 30, 2011. He will present a paper on November 12, 2011, "Shared Governance and Academic Freedom Under Siege: How Illinois Committee A Battles to Protect Both," at the American Association of University Professors Shared Governance Conference in Washington, D.C.
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
, and his A.B. from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he studied under Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
. Kirstein also attended Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
. Kirstein received his university's Excellence in Teaching Award. He is known for his antiwar views and support of academic freedom. He identifies himself as a pacifist. He is currently Vice President of the Illinois Conference of the American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
and is chair of the Illinois Conference Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. He serves as an at-large member on his university's AAUP chapter council.
Advocacy
He is a nationally known advocate of academic freedomAcademic freedom
Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...
and has defended free-speech rights of many scholars who were denied tenure, incarcerated or removed from their position for speech and controversial writings. These include Norman Finkelstein
Norman Finkelstein
Norman Gary Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D in Political Science from Princeton University...
, Ward Churchill
Ward Churchill
Ward LeRoy Churchill is an author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1990 to 2007. The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government...
, Richard Berthold
Richard Berthold
Dr. Richard Berthold is a former tenured professor of classical history at the University of New Mexico. On the morning of September 11, 2001, while the terrorist attacks were still going on, he told two large freshman classes that "Anybody who blows up the Pentagon gets my vote." Initially, he...
, Mehrene Larudee and Namita Goswami. Kirstein has been strongly criticized for his positions on the Iraq War and American foreign policy, and has spoken at a conference hosted by David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
. Professor Kirstein debated conservative David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
on the Iraq War and academic freedom. He has also lectured or appeared on panels at universities across the United States on topics ranging from war and international security to academic freedom.
Air Force Email Controversy
Kirstein initially gained notoriety in a nationally publicized academic freedom case when an e-mail surfaced revealing that he made vitriolic comments to a United States Air Force Academy cadet in late October 2002. His email was in response to a cadet's e-mail request to promote an academic forum on "America's Challenges in an Unstable World: Balancing Security with Liberty" at the United States Air Force Academy. Kirstein refused to support the forum due to his opposition to war and "your aggressive baby killing tactics of collateral damage." Kirstein's e-mail also compared the cadet to the Washington snipers. The cadet, the Air Force Academy, St. Xavier University and Kirstein exchanged apologies.As a result of these events he was reprimanded and suspended from his position at St. Xavier University for the remaining three weeks of the semester. He had a sabbatical the following semester, and submitted to early post-tenure review.
Publications and Activities
Kirstein has written a book, Anglo over Bracero: The History of the Mexican Worker in the US from Roosevelt to Nixon (San Francisco: R and E Research Associates); ISBN 0882474421). His scholarship has been published by The HistorianThe Historian (journal)
The Historian is a history journal published quarterly by Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta. The journal was established in 1938...
, Art in America
Art in America
Art in America is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It is designed for collectors, artists, dealers, art professionals and other...
, Situation Analysis, American Diplomacy, Journal of Mexican American History, Armed Forces and Society, and History News Network
History News Network
History News Network is a project of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Although the HNN resides on GMU's server, it operates independently of the university as a non-profit corporation registered in Washington State...
(HNN). Kirstein was honorably discharged from the US Army Reserves. Kirstein published a book chapter "Academic Freedom since 9/11" in Matthew Morgan, ed., The Impact of 9/11 and the New Legal Landscape: The Day That Changed Everything (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). A recent publication is "Hiroshima and Spinning the Atom: America, Britain, and Canada Proclaim the Nuclear Age, August 6, 1945," The Historian, Winter 2009, 805-27. Kirstein spoke at the College of Complexes
College of complexes
The College of Complexes is a loosely based organization for speakers and those interested in learning. The name is derived from "a psychiatric term for repressed ideas that compel expression." This organization was founded in Chicago in 1951. According to the group's literature, it claims to be a...
in Chicago on July 10, 2010 on "Remembering Howard Zinn: Giving Voice to the Voiceless." Using recently released FBI files, Kirstein has published an article for HNN, "The People’s Historian and the FBI Zinn Files." His review of Cary Nelson, No University is an Island appears in Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture
Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture
Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture is an academic journal established in 2002 and edited by Michael J. Thompson. It is published quarterly and features articles that seek to foster critical dialogues on issues ranging from arts, politics, foreign affairs, culture, social sciences, to...
, 2011.
Kirstein appeared on the Kevin Barrett
Kevin Barrett
Kevin James Barrett is a former university lecturer, Muslim convert. He is a member of the Scientific Panel for the Investigation of 9/11 , and is a founding member of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance , established October 30, 2004 with the stated aim of improving "interfaith dialogue,...
, Truth Jihad Radio show on the American Freedom Radio network Friday, March 11, 2011. The prgram is broadcast from Madison, Wisconsin and will explore the challenges to academic freedom and American Foreign Policy. He spoke at a teach-in at Northeastern Illinois University, April 26, 2011 on free speech and academic freedom: the event was endorsed by Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
. He chaired and presented at a session, "Organizing for Academic Freedom," at the American Association of University Professors-Collective Bargaining Congress Midwest Regional Meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chicago on Saturday, April 30, 2011. He will present a paper on November 12, 2011, "Shared Governance and Academic Freedom Under Siege: How Illinois Committee A Battles to Protect Both," at the American Association of University Professors Shared Governance Conference in Washington, D.C.