Kevin B. MacDonald

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Kevin B. MacDonald bigraphy, stories - Psychologists

Kevin B. MacDonald : biography

January 24, 1944 –

Kevin B. MacDonald (born January 24, 1944) is a professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), best known for his use of evolutionary theory to support his claim that Judaism is a "group evolutionary strategy."

MacDonald’s most controversial claim is that a suite of traits that he attributes to Jews, including higher-than-average verbal intelligence and ethnocentricism, have eugenically and culturally evolved to enhance the ability of Jews to out-compete non-Jews for resources. MacDonald believes this advantage has been used by a number of Jews to advance Jewish group interests and end potential antisemitism by either deliberately or inadvertently undermining the power and self-confidence of the European-derived majorities in the Western world.*Kevin MacDonald: . theoccidentalquarterly.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.*Kevin MacDonald: . theoccidentalquarterly.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.Kevin MacDonald: . theoccidentalquarterly.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.

The university’s psychology department, as well as the Cal State Long Beach academic senate, have formally dissociated themselves from his work. The academic senate described his views as antisemitic and white ethnocentric.

CSULB comments

MacDonald has been highly critical of the SPLC’s investigation of him, including the November 2006 visit to CSULB’s campus by the SPLC’s Beirich. Shortly after the visit, the University issued a statement supporting MacDonald’s academic freedom. Beirich acknowledges that the university supports MacDonald "unequivocally". In reply to Beirich, University spokeswoman Toni Beron replied, "The university will support MacDonald’s academic freedom and freedom of speech." In response to this controversy, MacDonald was initially pressured to post a disclaimer on his website stating "nothing on this website should be interpreted to suggest that I condone white racial superiority, genocide, Nazism, or Holocaust denial. I advocate none of these and strongly dissociate myself and my work from groups that do. Nor should my opinions be used to support discrimination against Jews or any other group." He has since removed that disclaimer. In addition, the Psychology Department on December 4, and 6th, issued three statements: a "Statement on Academic Freedom and Responsibility in Research", a "Statement on Diversity", and a "Statement on Misuse of Psychologists’ Work".

Toni Beron, a spokeswoman for CSULB, said that at least two classes a year taught by all professors—including MacDonald—have student evaluations, and that some of the questions on those evaluations are open-ended, allowing students to raise any issue. "Nothing has come through" to suggest bias in class, she said. "We don’t see it.".

Jonathan Knight, who handles academic freedom issues for the American Association of University Professors said that if there are no indications that MacDonald shares his views in class, "I don’t see a basis for an investigation" into what goes on in his courses.

CSULB dissociates from MacDonald’s views

In late 2007 the Cal State Long Beach Psychology Department began the process of formally dissociating itself from MacDonald’s views on Judaism, which in some cases are "used by publications considered to publicize neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology." The department’s move to dissociate followed a discussion of MacDonald’s December forum presentation at meeting of the department’s advisory committee that concerned his ethics and methodologies. Late in 2006, a report issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center after an on-campus investigation labeled his work antisemitic and neo-Nazi propaganda, and described increasing concern about Macdonald’s views by CSULB faculty members (see above). In an e-mail sent to the college’s Daily Forty-Niner newspaper, MacDonald noted that he had already pledged not to teach about race differences in intelligence as a requirement for teaching his psychology class, and expressed that he was "not happy" about the dissociation. The newspaper also reported that in the e-mail, MacDonald confirmed that his books contained what the paper described as "his claims that the Jewish race was having a negative effect on Western civilization."