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Home: Our Faculty: Brooklyn College Faculty:

Eric Alterman

Dist Professor   Department: 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., a columnist on Jewish-related issues for Moment magazine and a senior fellow (since 1985) at the World Policy Institute in New York. Alterman is the author of seven books, including, most recently, Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America (2008, 2009) 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). 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 "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 "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