Book Review: Al Qaeda Goes to College
On Jan. 23, 2009, Adjunct Prof Blog announced that James Ottavio Castagnera, a well known lawyer and professor at Rider University, just wrote an exciting new book entitled "Al-Qaeda Goes To College." Professor Castagnera was kind enough to provide me with an advance copy and I could not put it down.
The book starts off by detailing how Professor Castagnera world began to change on 9-11. It then goes on to discuss the Anthrax scare that occurred at the Hamlton New Jersey Post Office, just a few miles a way from Rider University.
The book's research is excellent and it is full of detailed footnotes that others will undoubtedly find helpful. Professor Castagnera central thesis, however, is on the impact 9-11 had on higher education. He views 9-11 as a double edge sword. On the one hand universities lost their innocence at great cost (increased governmental regulations, security costs etc.), but on the other hand universities also got a windfall because now they offer more programs and research on national security. Professor Castagnera believes that American universities have met the challenge of 9-11 and we are better off because of it. He compares 9-11 to WWII and states that America became a super power because of WWII.
The book goes on and covers such topics as universities' roles in training counter-terrorism experts, particularly anthropologists working in Iraq and Afghanistan; bio-terrorism research on campuses; inflammatory critiques by the likes of Ward Churchill; the conspiracy theories advocated by some academics regarding 9/11; lawsuits against universities by terror victims trying to get settlements from countries like Iran by seizing archaeological artifacts in American universities; accused Islamists teaching at American colleges, like Sami al-Arian at USF.
This book not only presents well researched factual information, but it also contains legal analysis. For example with respect to the discharge of Professor Ward Churchill, Professor Castagnera outlines the First Amendment rights of public employees and in particular academic freedom.
To my knowledge, this is the first book on how 9-11 has changed the world of higher education. This book will be available around April 30th and you can pre-order it now from the above link. You will be glad that you did.
Mitchell H. Rubinstein"
The book starts off by detailing how Professor Castagnera world began to change on 9-11. It then goes on to discuss the Anthrax scare that occurred at the Hamlton New Jersey Post Office, just a few miles a way from Rider University.
The book's research is excellent and it is full of detailed footnotes that others will undoubtedly find helpful. Professor Castagnera central thesis, however, is on the impact 9-11 had on higher education. He views 9-11 as a double edge sword. On the one hand universities lost their innocence at great cost (increased governmental regulations, security costs etc.), but on the other hand universities also got a windfall because now they offer more programs and research on national security. Professor Castagnera believes that American universities have met the challenge of 9-11 and we are better off because of it. He compares 9-11 to WWII and states that America became a super power because of WWII.
The book goes on and covers such topics as universities' roles in training counter-terrorism experts, particularly anthropologists working in Iraq and Afghanistan; bio-terrorism research on campuses; inflammatory critiques by the likes of Ward Churchill; the conspiracy theories advocated by some academics regarding 9/11; lawsuits against universities by terror victims trying to get settlements from countries like Iran by seizing archaeological artifacts in American universities; accused Islamists teaching at American colleges, like Sami al-Arian at USF.
This book not only presents well researched factual information, but it also contains legal analysis. For example with respect to the discharge of Professor Ward Churchill, Professor Castagnera outlines the First Amendment rights of public employees and in particular academic freedom.
To my knowledge, this is the first book on how 9-11 has changed the world of higher education. This book will be available around April 30th and you can pre-order it now from the above link. You will be glad that you did.
Mitchell H. Rubinstein"
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