Human Rights Minor at UMass Boston
The Human Rights Minor at UMass Boston is an interdisciplinary program of study open to students fro
The Human Rights Minor at UMass Boston is an interdisciplinary program of study open to students from all disciplines. Housed in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the minor emerged from the student-faculty-community collaboration of the Human Rights Working Group, which seeks to foster and sustain a human rights community on campus and beyond. Although you may have heard of organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, you may have wondered what it means to commit oneself to the study and practice of human rights. In this minor, we will learn about the concept of human rights as it developed in the 20th century and the challenges of implementing a universal framework in a culturally diverse, radically unequal and gendered world. International human rights frameworks express aspirations to create a world in which each and every person can live a life of dignity, free from fear and want. Human rights concepts are continuously evolving through the contributions of activists, academics and community participants. Women and feminists from all parts of the world have been at the forefront of this evolution toward creating a world that is more just and equitable. Topics covered in the courses include an overview of United Nations human rights conventions and norms as adopted by states, as well as critiques of human rights systems with particular emphasis on the role that social, political and feminist movements have had on transforming human rights frameworks to better address the situation of marginalized populations globally. Throughout the minor, we will consider the influence of culture, cross-cultural interaction, colonial perspectives and our own global and gender perspectives on creating human rights consciousness locally and globally. A total of six courses are required for completing the minor. To declare your Human Rights Minor please visit the WGS office in Wheatley Hall, 5th floor, room 04A.
03/07/2026
Wonderful event with Professor Beth Richie on abolition, feminism, and human rights. March 5.
03/03/2026
02/18/2024
https://heritageradionetwork.org/episode/tracing-food-memory-through-migration-and-displacement
Tracing Food Memory through Migration and Displacement | Heritage Radio Network What does food sustain? Elora Halim Chowdhury joins Gastronomica’s Signe Rousseau to discuss her new article on family, class, and culture in South Asian identity-making. Reflecting on her food nostalgia for the family mealtimes of her childhood in Rajshahi, Dhaka, and New Delhi, Elora discusses h...
02/17/2024
02/09/2023
Join us February 14: Conversations on South Asia with Elora Halim Chowdhury
12:15–1:15 PM ET (via Zoom)
Cinematic media have long been important for remembering and memorializing the 1971 Bangladesh War of Liberation (or, Muktijuddho). They have also been important vehicles for critiquing and reconciling with war’s trauma.
Analyzing Muktijuddho films through Black and transnational feminist frameworks, Elora Halim Chowdhury (University of Massachusetts Boston) considers the power and potential of human rights cinema in her latest book, Ethical Encounters: Transnational Feminism, Human Rights, and War Cinema in Bangladesh (Temple University Press, 2022). As Chowdhury shows, cinematic representations not only portray marginalized experiences but also put those experiences on a global stage.
Join us to learn more!
https://tinyurl.com/ChowdhurySouthAsia
Film and media scholars Gwendolyn S. Kirk (Indiana University Bloomington) and Alka Kurian (University of Washington Bothell) will be joining the author for this discussion.
02/09/2023
Please mark your calendars for a WGS forum Celebrating International Women’s Day:
Reproductive (In)Justice After the Fall of Roe
Featured speaker:
Brigitte Amiri, Deputy Director, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project
Joined by panelists:
WGS Prof. Shoshanna Ehrlich
WGS Prof. Chris Barcelos
&
WGS Major Jackie Miranda
Wednesday March 8th 2-4
Campus Center Ballroom A
12/02/2022
We still have some human rights events lined up for the Fall Semester. See the flyer for more details!
12/02/2022
On Tuesday, December 6th Dr. Harleen Singh will deliver a Human Rights Keynote Lecture titled:
Honorable Deaths / Dishonorable Lives: Narratives of Partition, Women, Silence, and Truth. See the flyer below for more details and we hope to see you there!
12/01/2022
Do join us as we mark World AIDS Day today! There will be an AIDS-Ribbon Making activity as well as a lecture. Se flyer for more details.
11/29/2022
It's almost time for our Fall Human Rights Keynote! Will we see you there on December 6th?
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
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