Letter to the editor: Protestation of Professor Michael Barry's dismissal

We, the undersigned undergraduate members of the Department of Near Eastern Studies, submit the following statement regarding one of our faculty members, Dr. Michael Barry.

Dr. Barry has been a fixture in the Department of Near Eastern Studies for the past 12 years. During his time at Princeton, Dr. Barry has taught on the greater Middle East with depth and vigor, encouraging his students to explore the entire expanse of the Islamic world, particularly its lesser-known fringes. Covering material from the Maghreb to Southeast Asia, Dr. Barry’s lectures have inspired students across a number of disciplines to engage with subject matter often ignored in conventional scholarship. In this semester alone, over 250 students are enrolled in his classes on Later Sufism and Medieval Islamic Spain.

Dr. Barry’s accomplishments are not limited to the field of academia. Throughout his distinguished career, Michael Barry has served as an Afghan Affairs observer for the International Federation for Human Rights, testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Soviet war crimes and personally delivered food and medical supplies to Afghan and Tajik war refugees. His priceless credentials uniquely qualify him as an expert in a region critical to US policy interests and objectives, while promoting an understanding of regional history and culture that delves far beyond the superficial. In addition to this considerable knowledge and experience, Dr. Barry brings to our department a love and devotion that have made him an exceptional teacher, mentor and friend.

We strongly protest the impending dismissal of Dr. Barry from the Princeton faculty. Dr. Barry is a tremendous asset to the University, as well as a leading expert in his field. His loss would be irreplaceable and his dismissal, just two years from retirement, decidedly unjust. So many of us have taken his courses in the past and continue to seek his advice and insight. Above all else, Dr. Barry exemplifies Princeton’s commitment to undergraduate teaching.

We do not purport to speak for anyone besides ourselves, but we can attest to the fact that countless students and alumni have grown to love and admire Dr. Barry over the past 12 years. We encourage others to share their stories with the community and University administration in order to demonstrate the full impact of Dr. Barry’s life and work. This University is meant to be a true sanctuary for scholarship. It makes no sense to dismiss one of our greatest scholars.

Signed,

Hammad Aslam

Alice Catanzaro

Ali Cebeci

Hannelora Everett

Samuel Gelman

Andrew Hanna

Sarah Jacobs

Kristen Johnson

Preston Lim

Kate Maffey

Natasha Madorsky

Zeena Mubarak

Erin O’Brien

Stevie Peacock

Jasmine Robinson

Tori Rinker

Jeremey Rotblat

Mark Stein

Justin Vogel

Jacob Zucker