Last updated on: 11/12/2015 | Author: ProCon.org

Steven Salaita, PhD Biography

Title:
Edward W. Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut
Position:
Pro to the question "Is a Two-State Solution (Israel and Palestine) an Acceptable Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?"
Reasoning:

“Israel repeatedly has been ordered by the United Nations to withdraw from the territories. An endless stream of Security Council resolutions since 1967 has identified Israel’s illegal occupation as the primary source of conflict, and yet the United States has stood alone with Israel each time in blocking the implementation of any solution based on international stipulations to which both Israel and the United States are a party.”

“Let Americans Learn Palestinian Side of the Story,” The Houston Chronicle, Aug. 14, 2001
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Edward W. Said Chair of American Studies, American University of Beirut (Lebanon), Oct. 2015-present
  • Associate Professor, American and Ethnic American Literatures, Virginia Tech University, Aug. 2009-2014
  • Assistant Professor, American and Ethnic American Literatures, Virginia Tech University, 2006-2009
  • Former Executive Director, Radius of Arab American Writers, Inc. (RAWI)
  • Former Assistant Professor, American and Ethnic American Literatures, Virginia Tech University
  • Assistant Professor, American and Ethnic American Literatures, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2003-2006
  • Member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Peacebuilders Delegation to Palestine
Education:
  • PhD, Native American Literature and Palestinian and Arab American Literature, University of Oklahoma, 2003
  • MA, English, Radford University, 1999
  • BS, Political Science, Radford University, 1997
Other:
  • Twitter Handle: @stevesalaita
  • Born on Sep. 15, 1975 in Bluefield, Virginia
  • Featured in “Why the ‘Unhiring’ of Steven Salaita Is a Threat to Academic Freedom,” thenation.com, Aug. 27, 2014
  • His job offer at University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana was revoked in Aug. 2014 following his controversial Twitter posts about Israel
  • In Nov. 2015 the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana approved a $600,000 settlement with Salaita in the case brought after the revocation of his job offer