Event Date
Defending the right to be human — and not a commodity, unit of labor, or a consumer — sits at the center of the academic study of human rights. And that right to be human is more than just having economic and civil rights, but also social and cultural rights.
Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right of all to “freely … participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts, and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” This means having the right to history, cultural heritage, to commemorate and celebrate past wrongs and triumphs through public art and monuments. It recognizes the critical role of music, memory, dance, and drama in making sense of human rights abuse, mass atrocity and liberation struggles. Human rights claims for us the humanities as a right and not a privilege.
UC Davis is unique among leading Human Rights Studies programs in its emphasis on humanities-informed disciplinary approaches to the study of human rights rather than law or international relations scholarship. Still, like other programs around the world, the community of Human Rights Studies scholars at UC Davis, is committed to public scholarship, that is creating knowledge in such a way that connects the rich resources of the university to our most pressing social, civic, and ethical problems.
Our Fall conference will bring together Human Rights Studies scholars from across humanities fields to explore further ways to expand and make more impactful contributions to the public good.
As an unConference, our approach will emphasize intentional group conversations around pre-circulate documents, images, and secondary materials, with an effort to build a broad consensus-framework for possible shared research and future initiatives. Convenors have developed activities and thought provocations to invite participation and knowledge sharing.
For more information please contact: kwatenpaugh@ucdavis.edu
Event sponsored by: UC Davis Human Rights Studies; UC Davis Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement; UC Davis Global Affairs