Navigating Career Changes in "An Honest Living"

Since last October, some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges have become sites for protest over the Israeli War on Gaza. Students and faculty members are continuing to demand their university administrations to divest from Israel and stand in solidarity with the people in Gaza. Protests have led to violent police encounters, hundreds of arrests, and a growing trend of political censorship in academia.

Back in 2014, Steve Salaita was fired from his tenured position at the University Illinois. His dismissal was in part due to his unwavering support of human rights in Palestine. After exiting academia, Salaita found himself working as a bus driver to pay his bills.

Salaita’s new memoir An Honest Living goes beyond recounting his tumultuous period of life after academia. It offers a look inside Salaita’s journey toward freedom of thought and how he made his return to the classroom at the American University in Cairo.