Have Muslims Replaced Jews as the Other of the Twenty-First Century?
An excerpt from 'Modernity and the Jews in Western Social Thought'
Global Studies at The New School on the Executive Order banning Refugees
A Personal Message from the Chair
For the Last Time: “The West”
Revisiting the myth of the clash of civilizations
As information about the attacks in Paris, which left at least 128 people dead, gradually unfolds, I feel overwhelmed and disturbed. I am overwhelmed by the quantity of affective response to which I add my own grief, but I am also deeply disturbed by the way in which this affective reaction is channeled …
Religion, Essentialism, and Violence
Cherry picking on the left
There has been a contentious theme circulating around the Left-wing blogosphere for quite a while now, sharpened by the atrocities of ISIS and the massacre at Charlie Hebdo. The theme usually begins with the accusation that Islam as a religion is soft on violence, a consequence of its vehement rejection of Enlightenment values. The argument continues: while Islam may not be unique among monotheisms in its endorsement of violent struggle against heretics, infidels, and Western liberal-democratic hegemony, the idea of jihad reveals that it is uniquely serious about it. …