In an op-ed for The Chronicle, David Stoll, a professor of anthropology at Middlebury College, assesses recent criticisms of the field of anthropology and accusations of Eurocentrism, colonialism, and racism. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has called for a racial reckoning to decolonize US anthropology, despite what Stoll characterizes as its long-standing opposition to racism and colonialism. The op-ed argues that such a reckoning implies that anthropologists can be reduced to their racial identity, leading to identity-first argumentation, a process whereby “who we claim to be counts for more than our evidence, and contrary evidence can be dismissed as racist,” Stoll writes. According to Stoll, calls for solidarity can disengage anthropology from evaluating claims through immersive research, and reliance on racial classification may stifle academic debate.
As colleges and universities enroll increasingly diverse student populations, students across the country have called for their institutions to include non-Christian religious holidays in their academic calendars. Increased security risks faced by Jewish and Muslim students in the past month have amplified this demand, The Chronicle reports. The City University of New York (CUNY) has closed during Jewish holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but on Eid al-Fitr, the holiest day on the Islamic calendar, the college remains open. Muslim students have campaigned for a non-class day during Eid al-Fitr, claiming they are excluded from the treatment afforded to major Christian and Jewish holidays. College officials denied the request, stating that students who miss class for religious observances have the right to request accommodations and receive an equivalent opportunity to make up missed assignments.