This website primarily reflects the links between my academic and political interests. I also have a related blog and a photo site with galleries and a photo blog. Sometimes I manage to combine several of my interests in a single project. I like that.

Technically, I'm a retired professor of legal studies and psychology at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Much of my academic work addresses the interconnections between psychology, law, and justice. Using a perspective building on anarchism and critical psychology, I'm especially concerned about mainstream psychology's support for an unjust status quo. I recently finished co-editing the second edition of Critical Psychology: An Introduction.

My early retirement was largely stimulated by disability-related fatigue. That continues to hamper me, but as these things go it's pretty manageable.

If you want to see my academic credentials, articles, and related items, that's all in my curriculum vita (pdf file).

Other things: I have three kids (two mid-30s, one teenager).

When I last shaved, in 2006, I looked like this:
Now I look like the photo on the home page, but the beard's even grayer. I should post something more recent.

From Brooklyn to Brookline

1949: Born in Brooklyn, New York (Ocean Parkway; then Brownsville; then Canarsie). A year in Israel after high school, 1966-67. Back to Brooklyn for college.

Then I started moving around, for school, jobs, politics, family, adventure.

1970s: East Lansing, Michigan (grad school 1970-72); Israel again (kibbutz); Newburgh, NY; Boston (South End, Jamaica Plain, Allston); Somerville, Mass.; Red Hook, NY; Brooklyn again (Park Slope 1977-78); Los Angeles; Somerville, for the 1979 Seabrook occupation attempt

1980s: Atlanta; Somerville again; East Lansing again, and then Lansing (back in grad school); Cambridge, Mass.; Lincoln, Nebraska (post-doc)

1988-1998: Springfield, Illinois

Since 1998: back in Boston area, for the fifth time.

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Education

Public Schools, Brooklyn, NY
John Wilson Junior High School, Brooklyn, NY
Stuyvesant High School, New York, NY
Brooklyn College (BA psychology)
Michigan State University (MA & PhD social psychology)
Northeastern University (certificate, Emergency Medical Technician)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (post-doc in psychology and law)

Jobs and Other Gigs

Folk dance instructor/performer (a very long time ago), camp counselor, high school equivalency instructor, Social Security claims representative, unemployment advocate, temp worker (clerical and other jobs), coder, messenger, embossing press operator (I really liked this one), emergency medical technician (ambulance attendant), editorial writer, teaching assistant, community college adjunct instructor, disability examiner, postdoc student, professor, newspaper columnist, writer, photographer.

Longest job: 1988-2005, legal studies and psychology professor, University of Illinois at Springfield.

Political History

Young Judaea - Mid-1960s
- Brooklyn region administrative vice-president. This is where I got my introduction to social justice issues within a utopian socialist framework, during my high school years. My politics have shifted since then...
Gar'in HaShachar 1968-1973
- Co-founder & initial coordinator of group of Americans aiming to start a new kibbutz. In the end I left after five months. Those who remained in Israel founded Kibbuz Ketura
American Federation of Government Employees
- Office union rep in my Social Security office, 1974-75
Boston-area anarchist/direct action/anti-nuclear groups, 1976-1981
- New Moon, Hard Rain, Boston Clamshell Alliance, Clams for Democracy, Coalition for Direct Action at Seabrook (CDAS) - Someday I'll have to write more about this.
Georgians Against Nuclear Energy & Atlanta Coalition Against Registration & the Draft, 1980
MSU Jews for Social Justice 1983-84
SEIU/AFSCME Alliance (Boston) 1985-86
University Professionals of Illinois 1988-1998
- UIS chapter past secretary/newsletter editor/webmaster
Assorted food coops, ad-hoc environmental and anti-war groups.
- Activist at large
RadPsyNet : The Radical Psychology Network 1993-present
- co-founder, archivist, former coordinator/webmaster/treasurer/editor/....
Coalition for Authentic Reform of Education, BrooklineCARE, other efforts to oppose corporate-sponsored high-stakes testing 2000 -
Boston-Area Psychologists for Peace and Justice 2001 -
Brookline Peaceworks 2002 -
Visions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine (now the Boston chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace) 2003 -
Center for Democracy and the Constitution Advisory Board 2004 -
Month-long trip to Israel/Palestine 2004-2005
Ten-week trip to Israel/Palestine 2006

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What am I up to now?

Writing. Politics (especially focused on Israel/Palestine). Sporadic part-time academic work.

What I'd like to do more of: photography (a related interview).

To receive things I write by email, subscribe.

Kid Update

Avram and Rie are now in Virginia, but will soon be in South Korea. Avram's outdated website describes some of his past travels.

Milo is writing and illustrating while supporting himself in traditional struggling-artist fashion, now in Florida. See his website, unless it's down.