1/24/2020 Statement in Support of Dr. Farhana Sultana | ACADEME BLOG ACADEME BLOG The blog of Academe magazine Home About Academe Magazine Join the AAUP Statement in Support of Dr. Farhana Sultana Hank Reichman / November 10, 2017 POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN On January 31, the AAUP issued a statement on “Targeted Online Harassment of Faculty,” which decried how a growing number of faculty members nationwide “have been subject to threats of physical violence, including sexual assault, through hundreds of e-mails, calls, and social media postings” in response to viewpoints expressed on electronic media or even in the classroom. “Such threatening messages,” the statement added, “are likely to stifle the free expression of the targeted faculty member; further, the publicity that such cases attracts can cause others to self-censor so as to avoid being subjected to similar treatment. Thus, targeted online harassment is a threat to academic freedom.” Farhana Sultana, Associate Professor of Geography at Syracuse University, has since September been the target of a campaign of targeted online harassment in response to her role in criticizing the publication of an article in defense of colonialism in the journal Third World Quarterly. While neither the AAUP nor I as an individual take a position on the suitability of this article, the campaign of harassment directed against Dr. Sultana raises deeply troubling concerns. The following is the text of an online petition circulated in her support. We the undersigned stand in solidarity with Dr. Farhana Sultana, Associate Professor at Syracuse University, USA. Dr. Sultana has been receiving hate mail, targeted online harassment, and mischaracterizations since mid-September. These have been in response to her role in an online petition calling for the well-respected development and post-colonial studies journal Third World Quarterly to retract a thrice-rejected click-bait article that argued for the return of colonialism to the developing world. The article was published in early-September and immediately attracted widespread global condemnation. https://academeblog.org/2017/11/10/statement-in-support-of-dr-farhana-sultana/ 1/31 1/24/2020 Statement in Support of Dr. Farhana Sultana | ACADEME BLOG The petition (https://www.change.org/p/editors-of-the-third-world-quarterly-retract-the-case-for- colonialism ) gained over 10,000 signatures within a few days and was submitted to the publisher, the journal, and the editorial board. Subsequently, nearly half the editorial board resigned in protest over the article and the editorial processes both before and after its publication. Numerous attacks have been made against Dr. Sultana, her scholarship, and her position at Syracuse University. We condemn all threats and harassment against Dr. Sultana. We applaud her public service to academia in working to uphold academic publishing standards, integrity, and ethics. SIGNATORIES: Dr Maxine Horne, University of Salford, UK Lisa RA Overton, Middlesex Univeristy, London, UK Dr. Adam Miyashiro, Stockton University, USA Dr Kelly Pickard-Smith, University of Manchester, UK Kira Jones, Emory University, USA Dr. Bill Mullen, Purdue University, USA Dr Reuben Rose-Redwood, University of Victoria, Canada Charlotte Armstrong, University of York, UK Dr Kate Pangbourne, University of Leeds, UK Dr Rachel King, University College London, UK Muireann Crowley, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Dr Laura McAtackney, Aarhus University, Denmark Dr Catherine Baker, University of Hull, UK Claire Mcginn, University of York, UK Dr Tamar Steinitz, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Dr Dorothy Kim, Vassar College, USA Dr Tania Saeed, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan Dr Alana M. Vincent, University of Chester, UK Dr Eugenia Siapera, Dublin City University, Ireland Astrid Breel, Bath Spa University, UK Dr Susana Loza, Hampshire College, USA Gabi Kirk, UC Davis, PhD Student, Geography Graduate Group, USA Dr Laura McKnight, University of Oregon, USA Dr Cecily Jones, University of Warwick, UK Nicola Harding, Manchester Metropolitan University & Leeds Trinity University, UK Dr Padmini Ray Murray, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, India Dr. Jennifer Mateer, University of Winnipeg, Canada Dr Vanessa Harbour, University of Winchester, UK Dr Isabel Fletcher, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Dr Jennifer Nelson, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA Dr Jenny Hoolachan, Cardiff University, Wales Dr. Íde Corley, Maynooth University, Ireland Dr George Ciccariello-Maher, Drexel University, USA Dr Clayton Plake, Fullerton College and Claremont Graduate University, USA Nadia Dresscher, University of Aruba, Aruba Dr Andrea Cornwall, University of Sussex, UK https://academeblog.org/2017/11/10/statement-in-support-of-dr-farhana-sultana/ 2/31 1/24/2020 Statement in Support of Dr. Farhana Sultana | ACADEME BLOG Dr Jackie Kirkham, Independent scholar Joseph Keady, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA Dr Sara de Jong, The Open University, UK Dr FIona Kumari Campbell, University of Dundee, Scotland Ashley Rogers, University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland Dr Ted Swedenburg, University of Arkansas, USA Dr Navneet Vasistha, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Julie Wetterslev, European University Institute, Italy Dr Alexis M. Saba, Indiana University, USA Kate Mukungu, University of Cumbria and Northumbria University, UK Professor Kirstein Rummery, University of Stirling, UK Dr. Eda Ulus, University of Leicester, UK Dr Stephanie Patrick, University of Ottawa, Canada Dr Catherine Gander, Maynooth University, Ireland Dr Donatella Galella, University of California, Riverside, USA Jared Sacks, Columbia University, USA Prof. Marina Novelli, University of Brighton, UK Dr. Sara Koopman, Kent State University, USA Eileen A. Joy, Editor, postmedieval & Director, punctum books Dr Antonia Randolph, Christopher Newport University, USA Sahar Aziz, Professor and Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar, Rutgers Law School, USA Vasuki Nesiah, NYU, USA Dr Leslie Kern, Mount Allison University, Canada Dr Elizabeth Evans, Newcastle University, UK Dr. Allison Upshaw, University of Alabama, USA Gemma Bone, University of Newcastle, UK Dr Amit Baishya, University of Oklahoma, USA Dr Sara Goldrick-Rab, Temple University, USA Dr. Natasha Webster, Stockholm University, Sweden Araby Smyth, University of Kentucky, USA Aparna Nair, University of Oklahoma, USA Dr Premesh Lalu (Prof.) University of the Western Cape, South Africa Dr Cynthia Franklin, U of Hawai’i, USA Dr Simon Springer, University of Victoria, Canada Dr Andrew Culp, California Institute of the Arts, USA Marie McDonald, UC Davis, PhD student, USA De. Catherine Nolin, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada Dr Pranav Jani, Associate Professor, The Ohio State University, USA Cody Jackson, Texas Woman’s university, USA Dr Brenna Munro, University of Miami, USA Dr R. Karl, NYU, USA Dana Swarth, UCMerced, USA Prof. Bee Scherer, Director of INCISE Research Centre, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK Cat Flynn, Grad Student in Sociology, North Carolina State University, USA Helen Campbell Pickford, St Antony’s College, Oxford University, UK Gwendolin McCrea, USA Dr Gordon Asher, University of the West of Scotland Dr Betsy Erbaugh, Stockton University, USA https://academeblog.org/2017/11/10/statement-in-support-of-dr-farhana-sultana/ 3/31 1/24/2020 Statement in Support of Dr. Farhana Sultana | ACADEME BLOG Dr Kelly Kay, University of California – Los Angeles, USA Dr Phillip Ablett, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia Michael Lang, University of Victoria, Canada Dr Michael Truscello, Mount Royal University, Canada Dr Anita Chikkatur, Carleton College, USA Joshua Mullenite, Florida International University, USA Dr Holly Lewis, Texas State University, USA Adam Jadhav, UC Berkeley, USA Dr Juliana Chang, Santa Clara University, USA Dr. Claire Oueslati-Porter, University of Miami, USA Dr Natalie Oswin, McGill University, Canada Spencer Bradbury, University of Victoria, Canada Dr Nancy Welch, University of Vermont, USA Dr Nesrine Chahine, Stockton University, USA Gabriel Eckstein, Texas A&M University School of Law, USA Taylor R. Genovese, Ph.D. student, Arizona State University, USA Dr Taro Futamura, Doshisha University, Japan Dr Jesse Cohn, Purdue University Northwest, USA Dr Nagesh Rao, Colgate University, USA Prof Regina Scheyvens- Massey University, New Zealand Aleyah Hassan, Stockton University, USA Tasbeeh Muhamed Dr David Murakami Wood, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada Dr. Chinelo L. Njaka, Independent Scholar Dr Lisa Ann Richey, Roskilde University, Denmark Dr Stefano Ponte, Duke University, USA Dr Navine Murshid, Colgate University, USA Dr. Ebru Ustundag, Brock University, Canada Tiba Fatli, American University in Cairo, Egypt Dr Elora Halim Chowdhury, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA Dr Ebony Coletu, Penn State University, USA Dr Aaron Walker, University of Tampa, USA Dr Matt Huber, Syracuse University, USA Dr Elora Shehabuddin, Rice University, USA Dr Malini Ranganathan, American University, USA Adam Berkowicz, Carl Junction High School, Canada Kristen Sun, UC Berkeley, USA Dr Reshmi Dutt- Ballerstadt, Professor, Linfield College, USA Hannah Gunderman, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, USA Dr Fred M. Shelley, University of Oklahoma, USA Dr Farhang Rouhani, University of Mary Washington, USA Salma Bouchiba, University of Manchester, UK Dr Steven Salaita, Unaffiliated Dr Anna Chilewska, University of Alberta, Canada Dr Gayatri Sethi, Independent scholar Dr Lawrence