Susan Jacoby
Encyclopedia
Susan Jacoby is an American
author. Her 2008 book about American anti-intellectualism
, The Age of American Unreason, was a New York Times best seller
. She is an atheist and secularist. Jacoby graduated from Michigan State University
in 1965. She lives in New York City
and is program director of the New York branch of the Center for Inquiry
.
, has been a contributor to a wide variety of national publications, including The New York Times
, the Los Angeles Times
, The American Prospect
, Mother Jones
, The Nation
, Glamour
, and the AARP Bulletin and AARP Magazine. She is currently a panelist for "On Faith," a Washington Post
-Newsweek
blog on religion. As a young reporter she lived for two years in the USSR.
Her book Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism was named a notable book of 2004 by The Washington Post
and The New York Times
. It was also named an Outstanding International Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement (London) and The Guardian
. Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge (1984) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
. Jacoby also won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship
in 1974 to research and write about the new Americans: immigration into the U.S.
Her book Half-Jew: A Daughter's Search for Her Family's Buried Past (2000) explores her partial Jewish roots. Raised in a Roman Catholic home, Jacoby did not learn of her father's Jewish roots until she was in her early '20s.
Jacoby has argued that the idea of anti-Catholicism
being a significant force in American life today is a canard
, perpetrated by theologically and politically right-wing Roman Catholics and aimed at anyone who stands up to the Church's continuing attempts to impose its values on all Americans.
She is currently a member of the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America
, a national lobbying organization representing the interests of secular Americans.
In February 2010 she was named to the Freedom From Religion Foundation
's Honorary Board of distinguished achievers. Also in 2010, she was awarded The Richard Dawkins
Award by Atheist Alliance International
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author. Her 2008 book about American anti-intellectualism
Anti-intellectualism
Anti-intellectualism is hostility towards and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectual pursuits, usually expressed as the derision of education, philosophy, literature, art, and science, as impractical and contemptible...
, The Age of American Unreason, was a New York Times best seller
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
. She is an atheist and secularist. Jacoby graduated from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in 1965. She lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and is program director of the New York branch of the Center for Inquiry
Center for Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in the United States whose primary mission is to encourage evidence-based inquiry into paranormal and fringe science claims, alternative medicine and mental health practices, religion, secular ethics, and society...
.
Life and career
Jacoby, who began her career as a reporter for The Washington PostThe 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...
, has been a contributor to a wide variety of national publications, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the 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 American Prospect
The American Prospect
The American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, DC, The American Prospect is a journal "of liberal ideas, committed to a just society, an enriched democracy, and effective liberal politics" which focuses on United States politics...
, Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
, 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...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, and the AARP Bulletin and AARP Magazine. She is currently a panelist for "On Faith," a 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...
-Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
blog on religion. As a young reporter she lived for two years in the USSR.
Her book Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism was named a notable book of 2004 by 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...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. It was also named an Outstanding International Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement (London) and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge (1984) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
. Jacoby also won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship
in 1974 to research and write about the new Americans: immigration into the U.S.
Her book Half-Jew: A Daughter's Search for Her Family's Buried Past (2000) explores her partial Jewish roots. Raised in a Roman Catholic home, Jacoby did not learn of her father's Jewish roots until she was in her early '20s.
Jacoby has argued that the idea of anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
being a significant force in American life today is a canard
Canard
Canard may refer to:*Nicolas-François Canard , French mathematician and economist*Canard , a small wing mounted on the front of some aircraft, which can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the design of the plane and its intended use*Canard , a phenomenon in some slow-fast dynamical systems...
, perpetrated by theologically and politically right-wing Roman Catholics and aimed at anyone who stands up to the Church's continuing attempts to impose its values on all Americans.
She is currently a member of the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America
Secular Coalition for America
The Secular Coalition for America is an advocacy group located in Washington D.C., representing atheists, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, and other non-theistic people with a naturalistic worldview in American politics. Sean Faircloth, a five-term Maine state legislator, served as Executive...
, a national lobbying organization representing the interests of secular Americans.
In February 2010 she was named to the Freedom From Religion Foundation
Freedom From Religion Foundation
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is an American freethought organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. Its purposes, as stated in its bylaws, are to promote the separation of church and state and to educate the public on matters relating to atheism, agnosticism and nontheism. The FFRF publishes...
's Honorary Board of distinguished achievers. Also in 2010, she was awarded The Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
Award by Atheist Alliance International
Atheist Alliance International
Atheist Alliance International is a global network of atheist organisations around the world. AAI was founded in 1991.AAI's vision is "to transform society into one that understands and respects atheism; that supports and respects a worldview based on the values of reason, empiricism and...
.
Books
- Moscow Conversations (1972)
- The Friendship Barrier: Ten Russian Encounters (1972, British edition)
- Inside Soviet Schools (1974)
- The Possible She (1979)
- Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge (1983)
- Soul to Soul: A Black Russian American Family, 1865-1992 (with Yelena Khanga) (1992)
- Half-Jew: A Daughter's Search for Her Family's Buried Past (2000)
- Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism (2004)
- The Age of American Unreason, Pantheon (2008)
- Alger HissAlger HissAlger Hiss was an American lawyer, government official, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and U.N. official...
and the Battle For History (2009) - Never say Die (2011)
External links
- SusanJacoby.com - official website
- Susan Jacoby article archives, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe 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...
- RSS Feed - Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?, New York Times
- Susan's On Air Interview with The Young Turks.
- http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=204175-1 Susan Jacoby talks about her book The Age of American Unreason with Nick GillespieNick GillespieNick Gillespie is the editor of Reason.com and Reason.tv and was the editor in chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008...
on C-SpanC-SPANC-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
's Book TVBook TVBook TV is the name given to weekend programming on the American cable network C-SPAN2 airing from 8 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday morning to 8 a.m. Eastern Time Monday morning each week. The 48 hour block of programming is focused on non-fiction books and authors, featuring programs in the format of...
program After WordsAfter WordsAfter Words is an American television series on the C-SPAN2 network’s weekend programming schedule known as Book TV. The program is an hour-long talk show, each week featuring an interview with the author of a new nonfiction book. The program has no regular host...
]. Information and video. - http://www.pointofinquiry.org/susan_jacoby_the_age_of_american_unreason/ Susan Jacoby talks about The Age of American Unreason with D.J. GrotheD.J. GrotheDouglas James "D. J." Grothe is an American writer and public speaker who talks about issues at the nexus of science, critical thinking, secularism, religion and the paranormal. He is president of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
on the Point of InquiryPoint of InquiryPoint of Inquiry is the radio show and podcast of the Center for Inquiry, a think tank promoting science, reason and secular values. Started in 2005, Point of Inquiry has consistently ranked highly among similar podcasts. It has been celebrated for its guests, and for the quality of its interviews....
podcastPodcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
] - Google Book Search - About "Freethinkers" & TOC
- Beliefnet.com - "Freethought Revival" - Interview with Susan Jacoby
- Buzzflash.com Interview with Susan Jacoby
- NOW with Bill Moyers - Society & Community - Susan Jacoby - PBS.