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Eric Alterman
Dist Professor
English
Location: 2416 Boylan Hall
Phone: 718.951.5257
Fax: 718.951.4612
Email:
Eric Alterman is distinguished professor of English and journalism, and professor of journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is also "The Liberal Media" columnist for The Nation, a fellow of the Nation Institute, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., and on politics for The Daily Beast, and a senior fellow (since 1985) at the World Policy Institute in New York. Alterman is the author of eight books, including, most recently, Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama (2011) and the national best-sellers What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News (2003, 2004) and The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America (2004). In spring 2012, he published The Cause: The Fight for American Liberalism from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama.
Education:
Ph.D., Stanford University - 2003 (History)
M.A., Yale University - 1986 (International Relations)
B.A., Cornell University - 1982 (History and Government)
Areas of Expertise:
Media business, journalism, U.S. foreign relations, U.S. history, politics, American Jewish politics.
Books and Publications
"Our Kabuki Democracy and How to Fix It." The Nation, Jan. 24. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2011
"The Media and Barack Obama." Dissent online, Jan. 13. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2011
"The Professors, the Press, the Policy Tanks and Their Problems." Academe, May/June. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2011
Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama. (Books and Publications: Book) 2011
The Cause: American Liberalism From Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama. Viking. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2011
"Das Internet macht uns zu Demagogen." Digitale Mediapolis. Eds. Leif Kramp and Stephan Weichert. Berlin: Broschur. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Do You Want to Know a (Top) Secret" (on Wikileaks. International Herald Tribune/NYT.com, Dec. 2. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Kabuki Democracy: Why a Progressive Presidency Is Impossible, for Now." The Nation Online, July 8. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Something Aabout Christopher" (on Christopher Hitchens). Dissent, Fall. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Des Juifs Americannes contre la Droite Israelienne." Le Monde Diplomatique September. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Accounting for Kristol." The American Prospect April. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Altercation." Regular weblog for Media Matters. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Israel at 60: The State of the State." The Nation September 3. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Loving John McCain." The Nation July 7. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Out of Print: The Death and Life of the American Newspaper." The New Yorker March 31. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"The Liberal Media." Regular column for The Nation. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Think Again." Regular column for Center for American Progress. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Who Are They Calling Elitist?" The Nation April 14. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
The Cause: American Liberalism from World War II through the War on Terror. Viking Books. Under contract. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2008
Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Post-Bush America. Viking Press. (Books and Publications: Book) 2008
"Lives of the Democrats." The New York Times Book Review April 22. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2007
"My Marty Peretz Problem - and Ours." (On the History of The New Republic) The American Prospect July/August. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2007
"Political Pundits." The Encyclopedia of Media and Politics. Eds. Todd M. Schaefer and Thomas A. Birkland. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2007
"Big Ideas Need Sharp Elbows." Living a Life of Value. Ed. Jason A. Merchey. Values of the Wise Press. Reprinted from The Nation. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2006
"Bush's War on the Press." The Best American Political Writing, 2005 (Thunder's Mouth Press) and Annual Editions: American Government (McGraw Hill). Reprinted from The Nation. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2006
"First Casualty of War." The Los Angeles Times November 3; Newsday November 6; etc. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2005
"The Myth of the Liberal Media." News Incorporated: Corporate Media Ownership and Its Threat to Democracy. Ed. Elliot D. Cohen. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2005
"Where Roosevelt Went Wrong." The American Prospect Online May 16. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2005
When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences. Paperback edition, Penguin. (Books and Publications: Book) 2005
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
"American Democracy and the New Class War." Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies. Sturbridge, Mass., April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Do We Have a Kabuki Media?" Shorenstein Center, Harvard University. Cambridge, Mass., March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"How Jewish Intellectuals Became 'American' by Becoming Liberals." Vassar College. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Is America a Kabuki Democracy?" panel. CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. New York, February. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
"Is America a Kabuki Democracy?" Town Hall, Seattle, April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barak Obama." Brooklyn College. March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barak Obama." Center for American Progress. Washington, D.C., February. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Obama: Two Years In" panel appearance. Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. University of Southern California, Los Angeles. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
"American Jews and Israel: The Burdens of Irresponsibility." State University of New York, New Paltz. October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"Journalism of Opinion in the Twentieth Century" panel. Columbia University. New York, April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"Journalism: Does the Future Have a Past?" Long Island University. Brooklyn, N.Y., April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"The Future of Journalism in a Digital Age" panel. Wolfe Institute, Brooklyn College. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"Which Way for the Working Class? Right or Left Populism?" panel. Cooper Union. New York, September. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"Current Interest: Right & Left" panel. Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Democracy, Political Communication, and the New Media." Roosevelt Institution. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Ethical Leadership and the U.S. Presidency" panel. Yeshiva University. January. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"How New Media Can Spark Social Change" panel. Regional Equity 08. New Orleans, March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Liberty and the News" presidential address. Queensborough Community College. Queens, N.Y., October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Reclaiming Liberalism." The Wolfe Institute, Brooklyn College. September. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Election, Left and Right" public debate. Brooklyn College. October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Fall & Rise of American Liberalism: Media, Race, Religion" panel. University of Virginia - Charlottesville, April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Future of Liberalism." Center for American Progress. Washington, D.C., June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Future of News" panel. Princeton University, May. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Future of News." Canadian Research Consortium. Toronto, May. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Media and Civil Liberties." Sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. Cleveland, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"The Media and the 2008 Election." Cornell University. Ithaca, N.Y., October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"What Do Jews Believe." Chai Society, Yale University. New Haven, Conn., November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"When Checks and Balances Fail: The Media and Civil Liberties in the 2008 Election" panel. Boston Public Library, September. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Why We're Liberals." Authors@Google. Mountain View, Calif., March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Why We're Liberals." Ethical Culture Society of St. Louis, March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Why We're Liberals." First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Calif., March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Why We're Liberals." Scarsdale Public Library. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Why We're Liberals." Town Hall. Seattle, March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Why We're Liberals." World Policy Institute. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
"Is American Democracy Even Possible Anymore?" National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. Los Angeles, March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"Is Liberalism Still Great?" panel. The New School. New York, March. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"Terrorism as a Human Rights Issue" panel. New York University Law School, February. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"The Fall and Rise of American Liberalism" panel. University of California - Davis, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"The World and the Web, 2.0" panel. Council on Foreign Relations. New York, October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"Media and Democracy in a Changing World." World Political Forum. Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman. Venice, Italy, June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006
"The Long, Slow Death of American Liberalism." Cornell University, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006
"The New Media." Shorenstein Center on the Press and Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, December. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006
"Why Do Presidents Lie?" Rutgers University, October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006
Professional Leadership
"Does the American Presidency Still Work?" Temple Israel. New York, February. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2011
"Is America a Kabuki Democracy?" New York Public Library. New York, May. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2011
"Obama at Year One." The Thomas Paine/Freedom of Thought Lecture. Center for Ethical Culture. January. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2010
"Do American Jews Need a New Lobby" panel. 92nd Street Y. New York, March. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2009
Community Activities
"Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barak Obama." Authors@Google. New York. 2011
Other Professional Activities
Judge, National Magazine Awards, Category: Reporting. 2011
