20th May 2005
Yale University
Department of Anthropology
P.O. Box 208277
New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8277
An Open Letter to Anthropology Faculty at Yale
Dear Colleagues,
We, the undersigned colleagues at the University of Glasgow, are writing to express our deep concern at the recent decision not to renew Dr David Graeber’s position as a member of your department.
Dr Graeber has already made and is continuing to make an important contribution to the development of anthropology, in particular in the areas of economic anthropology, comparative ethnography and political theory. His book Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value: The False Coin of Our Own Dreams (New York: Palgrave, 2002) is a key text on both large undergraduate and postgraduate anthropology courses here at the University of Glasgow.
We are concerned that the reasons for the decision not to renew Dr Graeber’s contract appear to remain unclear, and that this risks damaging the reputation of Yale University both nationally and internationally. Although none of us know Dr Graeber personally, we have the highest respect for the quality of his work. It has influenced us as academics in both our research and our teaching. We therefore consider that the loss of his contribution to the discipline as whole that is likely to result from the non-renewal of his contract at Yale would be extremely regrettable.
Respectfully, we urge you to reconsider and to renew Dr Graeber’s contract.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Susana Carro-Ripalda
Dr Simon Charsley
Mr Panayotis Dendrinos
Dr Robert Gibb
Dr Justin Kenrick
Dr Alison Phipps