Nicholas De Genova [search for this prof in CU directory of classes]
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(general review of professor)
August 2002
I`d like to respond to the comments made by the previous reviewer. First, a point of clarification: the above reviewer quotes professor De Genova as saying "the heritage of the holocaust does not belong to Jews, it belongs to Palestinians," when in fact he said " the heritage of the holocaust does not belong to the state of Israel, it belongs to the palestinian people." I think it`s an important distinction. That said, I agree that that statement is an oversimplification to a certain degree, but I also think its unfair to pull one quote from a longer set of comments made at a rally and judge the academic ability of a professor whose class you have not taken. I have taken a course with Professor De Genova, and while he makes no secret of his politics, he rarely takes arguments at face value and encourages his students to grapple with complications. He is also open to student comments, and i have never seen him attack anyone who disagreed with him. I would encourage people interested in taking one of his classes to check the class out themselves and not let the above review scare them off.
General Comment
August 2002
[CULPA CENSOR NOTE: The following review is obviously the opinion of the reviewer. S/he paraphases a statement made by the professsor in a larger context, which s/he feels sheds light on the teaching ability of the professor.]
I lost all respect for this man as an academic when he said this spring that Jews no longer have any claim to the heritage of the Holocaust because of Israeli policy towards Palestinians. While at first this seems like a personal attack on my part, it is an academic criticism, and here`s why. Professors are responsible for taking ideas and analyzing them, cutting them down to their roots and components, no matter how simple those ideas are at the surface. De Genova does the reverse: he takes the Mideast Conflict, a sophisticated topic by any standards (even those outspoken Palestinian advocates like Professor Massad) and simplifies it by comparing Israeli policy to Nazi policy. Furthermore, he does so despite the fact that he is not an expert in this area, but rather in Latin American studies. In my view, that makes de Genova an irresponsible and unsophisticated academic. I won`t take his classes now, but not because I don`t like him or even because I disagree with him, but because I don`t trust him to give me a complete, fully-analyzed picture of the issues.
Latino History and Culture
December 2001
De Genova is a timid, quiet speaker, but still an interesting one who encourages discussion. The readings give an excellent background on Latino History, although they are sometimes slightly biased in the leftist direction. Attendance isn`t really necessary for success in the class.
Workload: one midterm (5-7 page essay, graded generously), 10-12 page final paper, no final exam.
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