Barry Mehler
Barry Alan Mehler (born March 18, 1947) is a Jewish-American professor of humanities at Ferris State University who founded the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism (ISAR).[1] He earned his B.A. from Yeshiva University in 1970, his M.A. from City College of New York in 1972, and his Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988. His dissertation was entitled, "A history of the American Eugenics Society, 1921-1940." Mehler has been a professor at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan since 1988.
Cattell controversy
In 1997 Mehler was a driving force behind a successful campaign to have an American Psychological Association lifetime achievement award for Raymond B. Cattell postponed because of claims that some of his writings were 'racist'.[2] Mehler's most cited article was written that year and examined Cattell's concept of "beyondism".[3]
Criticisms of Mehler and the ISAR
Hereditarians such as Glayde Whitney have criticized Mehler for employing what they perceive as 'inflammatory' and 'inquisitional' anti-racist rhetoric in an effort to spur activism and discredit controversial scientists through the 'manipulation' of popular opinion [4] Controversial researchers singled out for criticism by Mehler have included hereditarian psychologists, such as Cattell and Richard Lynn. Whitney has further claimed that Mehler primarily challenges those he accuses of racism through popular rather than scientific channels, e.g. via periodicals and mass-market TV programs, such as The Geraldo Show. Roger Pearson once accused Mehler of "activist Lysenkoism." [4]
Committee to Free Russell Smith
In his early career, in 1977 Mehler was the founder of the Committee to Free Russell Smith, later the International Committee to Free Russell Smith (ICFRS).
Selected bibliography
- Mehler, Barry. "Controlling Human Heredity: 1865 to the Present" (book review). Isis, Vol. 88, No. 2 (Jun 1997), p. 369
- Mehler, Barry. "The Rise of Statistical Thinking, 1820-1900", Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Autumn 1988), pp. 294–296
References
- ↑ "Barry Mehler profile", Genes on Trial: Genetics, Behavior, and the Law, PBS.
- ↑ Hilts, Philip J. (August 15, 1997). "Racism Accusations and Award Is Delayed", New York Times
- ↑ Mehler, Barry."Beyondism: Raymond B. Cattell and the new eugenics", Genetica, 1997;99(2-3):153-63
- 1 2 Whitney, Glayde (Fall 1997). Raymond B. Cattell and The Fourth Inquisition. Mankind Quarterly, vol. 38, #1 & 2, Fall/Winter 1997, p. 99-124.