Satyel Larson is an Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Larson’s areas of instruction are “Anthropology,” “Law and society,” “The Maghreb” and “Women, gender and sexuality.” Her faculty profile says:

“Her research and teaching lie at the intersections of law, science, technology and society; women, gender and sexuality; reproduction, health and medicine; Islam and secularism; colonialism, postcolonialism and globality; historical anthropology and epistemology; political economy; and language, discourse and narrative.”

Larson made headlines for reportedly teaching a course “that claims black people can be considered disabled due to the purported systemic racism they face.” Princeton’s Undergraduate Courses-Fall 2023 schedule lists Larson as the instructor for “The Healing Humanities: Decolonizing Trauma Studies from the Global South.” The course description says the course:

“Introduces the transdisciplinary field of trauma studies by examining visions of humanity…Reorienting healing as a decolonizing process enables students to re-politicize personal trauma as it intersects with global legacies of violence, war, racism, slavery, patriarchy, colonialism, orientalism, homophobia, ableism, capitalism and extractivism.”

Fox News highlighted Larson’s racialized course along with a textbook on the Sample Reading List. According to the publisher, “The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability” by Rutgers professor Jasbir Puar is “an interrogation of Israel’s policies toward Palestine, in which [Puar] outlines how Israel brings Palestinians into biopolitical being by designating them available for injury.”

The publisher also wrote, “Supplementing its right to kill with what Puar calls the right to maim, the Israeli state relies on liberal frameworks of disability to obscure and enable the mass debilitation of Palestinian bodies.”

On August 16, 2023, the Free Beacon featured Larson in an article titled “5 Things We Absolutely Love About Princeton Professor Satyel Larson.” The Beacon said, “Professor Larson, a white female redhead, brings a valuable diverse perspective to the university’s stable of anti-Semites.” The list with corresponding photos is below:

1. She has a beautiful mind

2. She’s resourceful

3. She doesn’t judge

4. She respects the First Amendment

5. She’s just as comfortable chilling on the back porch as she is teaching in the classroom

According to the National Review, “The International Legal Forum, an Israel-based non-profit, criticized the decision to include [Puar’s] book in the course curriculum” and the “Israeli Minister and the International Legal Forum called for removing the book from the course.”

The Review also said, “Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, called for canceling the course and terminating [Larson].”

Princeton University is not only sanctioning hate speech, but establishing fertile ground for a new generation of antisemitic thought leaders. I am calling on Princeton University to cancel the course in question immediately, fire its professor, Satyel Larson, and issue a public…

— Ronald S. Lauder (@lauder_ronald) August 13, 2023

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Published: September 5, 2023

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