Jim Sleeper is an American author and journalist. He was a lecturer in political science at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

from 1999 to 2020, teaching undergraduate seminars on American national identity and on journalism, liberalism, and democracy. He writes primarily on American political culture, racial politics, news, media and higher education. In the 1990s, he wrote two books about

racial politics Racial politics or race politics is the use of race, as a human categorization or hierarchical identifier, in political discourse, campaigns, or within the societal and cultural climate created by such practice. The phenomenon can involve the a ...

, ''The Closest of Strangers: Liberalism and the Politics of Race in New York'' and ''Liberal Racism''. From 1993 to 1995, he was a political columnist for the '' New York Daily News'' and an occasional contributor to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

,'' ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'', '' Commonweal'', ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...

'' and other political magazines. From 1988 to 1993, he was an opinion editor and editorial writer for ''

New York Newsday ''New York Newsday'' was an American daily newspaper that primarily served New York City and was sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The paper, established in 1985, was a New York City-specific offshoot of '' Newsday'', a Long Island ...

''. He was also an occasional commentator on the ''

PBS News Hour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the progr ...

'' and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

’s ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. Sleeper's recent work has appeared in '' Salon'', '' Foreign Policy'', ''

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

'', ''

Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

'', and ''

Asia Sentinel The ''Asia Sentinel'' is a web-based publication focused on Asian regional news, business, arts and culture. The site was launched in August 2006. Its "About Us" page stated that "''Asia Sentinel'' was created to provide a platform for news, an ...

''. His recent writings include critiques of neoconservative and

grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...

policies in the United States and abroad, the

corporatization Corporatization is the process of transforming and restructuring state assets, government agencies, public organizations, or municipal organizations into corporations. It involves the adoption and application of business management practices and ...

of American higher education, and joint ventures between American universities and universities in authoritarian societies. He also writes extensively about

Trumpism Trumpism is a term for the political ideologies, social emotions, style of governance, political movement, and set of mechanisms for acquiring and keeping control of power associated with Donald Trump and his political base. '' Trumpists ...

and other crises of the American republic, including controversies over freedom of speech. Sleeper has previously written on the Obama Administration,

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement against economic inequality and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, in September 2011. It gave rise to t ...

, Yale University's venture to establish an undergraduate college in collaboration with Singapore, and

gun control in the United States Gun politics within American politics is defined by two primary opposing ideologies about civilian gun ownership. Those who advocate for gun control support increased regulation of gun ownership; those who advocate for gun rights oppose incr ...

. From 1983 to 2021, Sleeper was a member of the editorial board and a frequent contributor to the quarterly ''

'', for which he edited ''In Search of New York'', an edition of the magazine in 1987 that was republished by

Transaction Books Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged with ...

in 1988. Sleeper was born in

Longmeadow, Massachusetts Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farm ...

and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1969. He was awarded a doctorate in education from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1977. In the 1970s and 1980s, he taught urban studies and writing at

, Queens College, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

before becoming a New York City journalist and a lecturer at

. In 1982-83, he was a

Charles Revson Charles Haskell Revson (October 11, 1906 – August 24, 1975) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who created the first pigment-based nail polish and founded and managed R ...

Fellow at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, studying urban housing development, and in 1998 a fellow at

Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center that explores the intersection and impact of media, politics and public policy in theory and practice. Among other activities, the center or ...

. Sleeper is married to the political scientist and philosopher

Seyla Benhabib Seyla Benhabib ( born September 9, 1950) is a Turkish-American philosopher. Seyla Benhabib is a senior research scholar and adjunct professor of law at Columbia Law School. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the Columbia University Depar ...

Bibliography

*''Liberal Racism'' ( Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) (First edition published by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.W. W. Norton & Co.), 1990; paperback (Norton), 1991. *''In Search of New York'' (

), 1988. Editor. An anthology of reportage, essays, reminiscences, and photography that was a special issue of '' Dissent magazine'' in 1987. Contributors include Irving Howe, Ada Louise Huxtable, Michael Harrington, Jim Chapin, Paul Berman, and many others. *''The New Jews'' (

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random ...

paperback), 1971. Co-editor; essays by young religious radicals of the time. Chapters in Anthologies: *''Normative Tensions: Academic Freedom in International Education'', Kevin W. Gray, ed. ( Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), Essay: “Innocents Abroad? Liberal Educators in Illiberal Societies.” *''Orwell Into the Twenty-First Century'' Thomas Cushman and John Rodden, eds. (Paradigm Press, 2005). Chapter: “Orwell’s Smelly Little Orthodoxies – and Ours” *''A Way Out''

Owen Fiss Owen M. Fiss (born 1938) is an American professor who is a Sterling Professor emeritus at Yale Law School. Biography Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Fiss received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1959, B.Phil. from Oxford University in 1961, ...

, Joshua Cohen eds. (

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financia ...

, 2003); Essay, “Against Social Engineering,” a response to an “ urban removal” manifesto by Yale Law Professor Owen Fiss. *''One America?'' Stanley Renshon, ed. ( Georgetown University Press, 2001). Essay:“American National Identity in a Post-national Age.” *''Empire City: New York Through the Centuries'' Kenneth Jackson and David Dunbar, eds. (

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, October 2002). Chapter: “Boodling, Bigotry, and Cosmopolitanism,” about New York City in the late 1980s. *''Post-Mortem: The O.J. Verdict'' Jeffrey Abramson, editor ( Basic Books, 1996). Essay, “Racial Theater,” about the public staging of the O.J. trial. *''The New Republic Guide to the Candidates, 1996'' Andrew Sullivan, editor (Basic Books, 1996). Essay on Bill Bradley, the non-candidate, and his concerns about civil society. *''Blacks and Jews: Alliances and Arguments''

Paul Berman Paul Lawrence Berman (born 1949) is an American writer on politics and literature. His books include ''Terror and Liberalism'' ( a ''New York Times'' best-seller in 2003), ''The Flight of the Intellectuals'', ''A Tale of Two Utopias'', ''Power and ...

, editor (Delacorte Press, 1995). Chapter: “The Battle for Enlightenment at City College,” on CUNY Prof. Leonard Jeffries and

identity politics Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...

. *''Debating Affirmative Action'' Nicolaus Mills, editor. ( Dell Publishing, 1994). Essay,“Affirmative Action’s Outer Limits.” *''Tikkun Anthology'' Michael Lerner, editor, 1992. Essay, “Demagoguery in America: Wrong Turns in the Politics of Race.” (One of the early, classic critiques of identity politics in the American left.)

References

External links

Interview, "Letting Go of Race," in ''Atlantic Monthly'' 1997Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeper, Jim 1947 births Living people Yale University faculty American male journalists American political writers Place of birth missing (living people) Yale College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni