Today I started work at the Lebanese University, Lebanons national, state owned university. It is something of a turning point in my career as I put 14 years of work in American academic institutions and think tanks behind me. Feeling like a little girl on her first day at a new school, I attended my first faculty meeting today. It was quite an academic culture shock for me: a relaxed and highly democratic decision-making environment where university policies are collectively deliberated by faculty members who speak to one another exclusively in flawless Arabic. Wow. Despite its shortcomings, the Lebanese University practices far more freedom of expression than its American counterparts in Lebanon and the US, as well as other universities in the liberal West. It is also one of the only universities in the world where high-ranking Hizbullah officials teach freely. I can basically write what I usually write and say what I usually say without fear of being fired, as I often have been. I am proud to be teaching in an academic institution that does not belong to the Academy. My only regret is that it took me this long.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 15:29:34 +0000
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