Not Stolen: A panel against polarisation
On Wednesday 29 November 2023, a panel was held on the controversial recent book of staff member Dr Jeff Fynn Paul, called Not Stolen: The truth about European Colonialism in the New World. Already before and right after its publication, the book was met with some criticism from within the Leiden academic community, as became clear from the article submitted by an anonymous student to BAISmag* (followed by Dr. Fynn Paul’s response**) as well as the initial postponement of the panel.
By Rosalie de Beus, 4th year BA International Studies student
The panel was thus a necessity within the Leiden academy, but also functioned as a good example of how debates ought to occur. In the words of the chair, Professor André Gerrits: “This panel is an attempt not to polarise.”
Dr. Fynn Paul started off by introducing the three main theses of his book. He argued that: 1) objectivity in the debate on the colonialism of North America has disappeared, the debate on the colonialism of North America has become too radical; 2) the term “genocide” is not applicable when looking at numbers, intent and historiographical changes throughout the years; 3) “racism” against the North American indigenous population was not the (main) motivator for Europeans to colonise the New World. The three theses were eloquently phrased and based on referenced research.
A rebuttal was then offered by Professor Jaap Verheul, professor by special appointment of Transatlantic Relations at Radboud University. Prof. Verheul called Not Stolen “a polemic and passionate book”, but did not hesitate to counter Prof. Fynn Paul’s first thesis based on “exaggeration”. He further responded to the book and its introduction by agreeing that more nuance and objectivity is needed and that colonialism was indeed not solely based on racism – although it should not be diminished that the latter was, in fact, still very much a driving factor for the Europeans in their colonisation of the ‘New World’. He also argued that the book did not sufficiently deal with academic scholarship. Moreover, he stated that the book draws some simply incorrect conclusions, because “what matters are the results of the European actions”. A better title, Prof. Verheul suggested, would thus be Displacement.
Finally, the floor was opened to offer students and staff an opportunity to ask questions and engage in a civilised discussion, chaired by Prof. Gerrits. From the discussion it became clear that this was a heated topic, both on content, but also on the way scientific and academic debates should be structured. Leiden University staff was critical of both presenters in the panel, the basis for their claims, and the extent to which history can actually be interpreted. Why did Prof. Fynn Paul base his presentation on the usage of the word “genocide” on limited sources? Why was the book titled “Not Stolen” if Prof. Fynn Paul admitted that it was not the most reflective title? How does the publication of a popularising book interfere with scientific and academic research? And did both speakers of the panel not base their conclusions on relatively subjective interpretations?
No matter how politically charged the panel was, one thing was clear: language matters. From (in)correct usage of terms such as “genocide” to the radicalisation in phrasing of what did (not) occur during sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. And from respecting your colleagues academic and professional work to disagreeing with them in an orderly fashion, without diminishing scientific values and simple matters of argumentation and rhetoric.
The International Studies community needs to continue to organise such panels on potentially controversial topics, both based on work by staff members and work produced outside of it. Facilitating discussions with representatives with different positions in a debate is a good way to ensure civilised, academic debates on topics that matter to us all.
* https://baismag.com/2023/06/15/the-myth/
** https://baismag.com/2023/09/01/a-scarlet-response-to-my-anonymous-accuser/
