New York University Professor George Shulman explores the relationship between prophecy and politics in a book due out just prior to the 2008 presidential election (University of Minnesota Press). But his analysis is relevant to the Nov. 7 mid-term elections.
Shulman, a professor at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, examines how biblical or prophetic language influences American politics. Because this language has been captured by the New Right since 1980, he examines whether it can be re-worked for progressive purposes. What is the most effective response to Jerry Falwell’s assertion that God is punishing America for tolerating abortion and homosexuality? Is counter-prophecy, or, instead, a lowering of political temperature in the name of non-partisanship, the best response to the “War on Terror”? To pursue these questions, he focuses on the creative use of prophetic idioms by Frederick Douglass, Henry Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison.
Reporters interested in speaking with Shulman should contact James Devitt, Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.
Editor’s Note:
The Gallatin School of Individualized Study is a small innovative college within New York University. Gallatin gives students the opportunity to design a program of study tailored to their own needs and interests. The key to Gallatin’s educational approach is its close supervision of the student’s course of study by its faculty advisers. Students pursue individual interests by taking courses in the various schools of NYU, engaging in self-directed education through independent studies and participating in experiential learning through internships at New York City’s countless institutions, businesses, and arts organizations. Undergraduates experience a thorough grounding in the history of ideas and great books, and graduate students pursue advanced study in interdisciplinary modes of thought.