Steven Salaita has settled his suit against Illinois.
While I was not in any sense the "director" or what have you of the philosopher's boycott, I was a catalyst, so I think I should say something here.
Unfortunately, there was some inconsistency in my statements: the letter sent to UIUC and BOT officials said "until Professor Salaita is reinstated" whereas many of the blog posts which alerted people to the boycott effort said "until an equitable resolution is reached." On reflection the latter standard seems the right one to me, but people should make up their own minds here.
The last word I think should be directed to Steven Salaita himself, thanking him for the courage he displayed in this long fight.
UPDATE: Corey Robin finishes his post on the matter in this way:
As I was finishing up this post, Steven responded to an email I had sent him with the following:
We fought hard. I tried my very best to represent those invested in the issue with dignity and decency. And I hope this sort of thing never happens to anybody else.
I would say that Steven did more than try his very best to represent those invested in the issue with dignity and decency. He actually did represent those invested in the issue with dignity and decency. And while I don’t have a crystal ball, I’d be surprised if any university ever tried to pull this kind of stunt again.
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