3 Call on Medieval Academy to Boycott Arizona

To the Editor:

Recently the three of us resigned from the program committee planning the 2011 conference of the Medieval Academy of America in Arizona because we support the boycott in protest against Arizona’s recent immigration law, SB 1070. While some provisions of the legislation were struck down by a federal judge, all indications are that this will initiate a court battle that may not be resolved before the time of the academy’s meeting. We therefore urge the executive committee of the academy not to hold the 2011 conference in Arizona, and we urge the 4,000-plus members of the Medieval Academy of America to support the boycott of Arizona until SB 1070 is repealed or confirmed to be unconstitutional.

Boycotts have been proven to be effective, but they take time to work and some sacrifice. It is understandable that the academy wishes to avoid the costs involved in canceling its hotel reservation, but many members have pledged to help defray these costs. By not supporting the boycott, the academy has also not avoided making a collective political statement; it has tacitly approved one that others have made for it. And that statement is one of intolerance and injustice. The fact that plans for the academy’s conference now feature keynote speakers and special sessions on medieval immigration and displaced persons is some indication that the membership of the academy is aware of the injustice the legislation will perpetrate. Yet writing and speaking about injustice in the academic world are no substitutes for acting in the real world.

There are moments when we are all called upon to make moral decisions, no matter how much they force us to choose between supporting the groups we work with or supporting our allegiance to the greater community of humankind. For us, the question of the academy’s unwillingness to oppose the injustice of SB 1070 is just such a moment. We hope it will prove to be one for you as well.

Monica Green
Professor
Department of History
Richard Newhauser
Professor
Department of English
Rosalynn Voaden
Associate Professor
Department of English
Arizona State University
Tempe, Ariz.