Rutgers University names Naomi Klein as inaugural Gloria Steinem Chair

Naomi Klein

Author, social activist and filmmaker Naomi Klein has been named the inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved the appointment of Klein on Wednesday. Over the next three years, she will teach, organize public events, conduct research and engage students in debate and scholarship on a range of issues. Topics will include the role of activist journalists in revolutionary movements from abolition to feminism, and the complex relationships among new media technologies, market forces, democracy, and movements for racial, gender and economic justice.

“Naomi Klein represents intellectual brilliance and innovative thinking about the way inequalities are being perpetuated in our society,” said Jonathan Potter, dean of the Rutgers School of Communication and Information. “Engaging with students in the classroom and beyond, she will contribute to Rutgers’ leading role in educating the next generation of responsible citizens committed to social justice.”

Klein is the author of “The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists”, “No is Not Enough: Resisting the New Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need”, “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate”, “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”, and “No Logo”. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages.

“She broadens the discussion of feminism to encompass the big questions of our time, such as climate change, participatory democracy and poverty,” Dafna Lemish, associate dean for programs and a professor of journalism and media studies, said of Klein’s appointment.

Gloria Steinem will join Klein to kick off the Steinem program with a public discussion on Sept. 21. The conversation will focus on the ways that information technology and new media are reshaping culture and power relationships, as well as the challenges ahead for progressive movements in the United States and beyond.

“I am eager to join Rutgers students in connecting the dots between some of the most critical issues of our time,” Klein said of her new post.