Defenders and critics of Kristofer Petersen-Overton still disagree over whether he lost a job teaching a course on Middle Eastern politics because of his political views or because he lacks a doctorate. But on Monday, he won the job back.
Petersen-Overton, a doctoral student in political theory at the City University of New York Graduate Center, had been slated to teach the master’s-level course, starting Thursday at Brooklyn College, until the offer was revoked this month. The position disappeared after a member of the New York State Assembly who is a vocal defender of Israel called for Petersen-Overton to be dismissed, saying that he was anti-Israel and sympathetic to terrorists. Brooklyn College officials insisted (and still insist) that they revoked the job offer not because of the political complaint, but because Petersen-Overton does not have the academic credentials to teach master’s students.The dispute quickly attracted widespread attention in academe.
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