Confronting Anti-Semitism in Higher Education with Cary Nelson Ep 32

What does it mean for a university to become a battleground against deep-seated prejudices and historical tensions? In today’s episode, we dive into these challenging questions with our distinguished guest, Cary Nelson, a celebrated scholar and ardent advocate for academic freedom. Nelson shares his insights on the intersection of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism in academia, a topic explored in his new book, " Mindless: What Happened to Universities? " The conversation examines how the lines between critique of Israel and hostility towards Jewish students blur, becoming toxic and divisive forces across campuses, from historical shifts that turned post-1948 anti-Zionism into a rejection of Israel's existence to the phenomenon of hatred and the campus protests that undermine foundational academic values. Nelson calls for reclaiming the core purpose of academia as a community of imperfect learners where dialogue and understanding prevail. In This Episode: Historical context of anti-Zionism and its transformation into anti-Semitism The unique pressures faced by Jewish students on campuses The role of social media in spreading campus protests Distinctions between psychological and intellectual safety in Academia The undermining of the university's role as a space for diverse perspectives About Cary: Cary Nelson is Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an affiliated faculty member at the University of Haifa. He holds an honorary doctorate from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Over his distinguished career, Nelson has authored or edited 36 books and published over 400 essays, focusing on modern poetry, critical theory, the politics of higher education, and issues related to antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From 2006 to 2012, he served as president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), advocating for academic freedom and shared governance. Nelson’s latest work, “ Mindless: What Happened to Universities? ”, published on March 6, 2025, examines how universities have deviated from their commitment to shared intellectual principles, leading to environments where extremism and intolerance can flourish. Follow Heterodox Academy on: Twitter: Facebook: LinkedIn: Instagram: Substack: 🔗 Find out more about Heterodox Academy at:

You can listen to Confronting Anti-Semitism in Higher Education with Cary Nelson Ep 32 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Confronting Anti-Semitism in Higher Education with Cary Nelson Ep 32 is an episode from Heterodox Out Loud by Heterodox Academy.

This episode is 01:02:31 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Heterodox Out Loud when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.