The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) has expanded
rapidly though controversially in the United States in the last five
years. The academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions is a key
component of this movement. What is this boycott? Why does it make
sense? And why is this an American Studies issue? In this short
essential book, Sunaina Maira addresses these key questions. Boycott!
situates the academic boycott in the broader history of boycotts in
the United States as well as in Palestine and shows how it has
evolved into a transnational social movement that has spurred
profound intellectual and political shifts. It explores the
movement’s implications for antiracist, feminist, queer, and
academic labor organizing and examines the boycott in the context of
debates about Palestine, Zionism, race, rights-based politics,
academic freedom, decolonization, and neoliberal capitalism.