Sawyer Seminar on Human Rights, 2010-2011 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the Human Rights Initiative a major grant to conduct a Sawyer Seminar on the theme of "Vulnerability and Resilience: Rethinking Human Rights for the 21st Century." The seminar series will begin in February 2010 and run through April 2011. The series will consist of nine distinct seminars, each a day long, that are focused on specific themes. The first seminar (2/12) will focus on vulnerability and human rights, the second (3/12) will focus on resilience and human rights, and the third (4/16) will focus on history, representation, and human rights. Details on the list of speakers is forthcoming. To read an abbreviated version of our framing document, please consult this text. In addition to sponsoring the seminar series, the Mellon award will fund two graduate students who are conducting advanced research on human rights, as well as post-doctoral fellow who would be in residence at UW-Madison for the 2010-2011 academic year. Human Rights and Climate Change For the 2009-2010, the Human Rights Initiative is organizing an additional seminar series on the human rights implications of climate change. The HRI is teaming up with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies as well as the Land Tenure Center to sponsor the series. Talks will be on climate change and conflict, climate change and indigenous rights, and climate change and patterns of health. The series will also help to bring two filmmakers to campus to screen documentaries on human rights and climate change. The series is funded with support from the Division of International Studies and Global Studies. Book Series on “Critical Human Rights” at the University of Wisconsin Press The HRI is sponsoring a new book series on "critical human rights," which will begin publishing in the 2009-2010 academic year. Prospective authors interested in submitting manuscripts should contact Scott Straus at sstraus@wisc.edu. Past Events and Programs The HRI sponsors a series of programs to cultivate opportunities for student and faculty in the field of human rights. First, the initiative is working with the International Studies major to offer a human rights certificate and a human rights track within the major. The HRI also hopes to develop a service learning program in human rights for undergraduates through internship programs. Second, the HRI is sponsoring a graduate student working group and symposium to showcase research in progress. Last year the HRI awarded four faculty course development grants which resulted in four new courses on human rights. In the future the HRI hopes to provide research support to faculty and graduate students. Since 2007, the Initiative has sponsored a lively speaker series, which this year features former Irish President and United Nations High Commissioner Mary Robinson, historian Micheline Ishay, Virginia Vargas, and others. For a full list of the HRI’s previous events and speakers, please check our past events page. View President Robinson’s lecture and Q&A and Virginia Vargus’s Lecture. Please sign up to join our mailing list to be notified of upcoming events.

Welcome About Us Programs Faculty Affiliates Courses Past Events Upcoming Events Contact

Sawyer Seminar on Human Rights, 2010-2011

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the Human Rights Initiative a major grant to conduct a Sawyer Seminar on the theme of "Vulnerability and Resilience: Rethinking Human Rights for the 21st Century." The seminar series will begin in February 2010 and run through April 2011. The series will consist of nine distinct seminars, each a day long, that are focused on specific themes. The first seminar (2/12) will focus on vulnerability and human rights, the second (3/12) will focus on resilience and human rights, and the third (4/16) will focus on history, representation, and human rights. Details on the list of speakers is forthcoming. To read an abbreviated version of our framing document, please consult this text. In addition to sponsoring the seminar series, the Mellon award will fund two graduate students who are conducting advanced research on human rights, as well as post-doctoral fellow who would be in residence at UW-Madison for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Human Rights and Climate Change

For the 2009-2010, the Human Rights Initiative is organizing an additional seminar series on the human rights implications of climate change. The HRI is teaming up with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies as well as the Land Tenure Center to sponsor the series. Talks will be on climate change and conflict, climate change and indigenous rights, and climate change and patterns of health. The series will also help to bring two filmmakers to campus to screen documentaries on human rights and climate change. The series is funded with support from the Division of International Studies and Global Studies.

Book Series on “Critical Human Rights” at the University of Wisconsin Press

The HRI is sponsoring a new book series on "critical human rights," which will begin publishing in the 2009-2010 academic year. Prospective authors interested in submitting manuscripts should contact Scott Straus at sstraus@wisc.edu.

Past Events and Programs

The HRI sponsors a series of programs to cultivate opportunities for student and faculty in the field of human rights. First, the initiative is working with the International Studies major to offer a human rights certificate and a human rights track within the major. The HRI also hopes to develop a service learning program in human rights for undergraduates through internship programs. Second, the HRI is sponsoring a graduate student working group and symposium to showcase research in progress. Last year the HRI awarded four faculty course development grants which resulted in four new courses on human rights. In the future the HRI hopes to provide research support to faculty and graduate students.

Since 2007, the Initiative has sponsored a lively speaker series, which this year features former Irish President and United Nations High Commissioner Mary Robinson, historian Micheline Ishay, Virginia Vargas, and others. For a full list of the HRI’s previous events and speakers, please check our past events page. View President Robinson’s lecture and Q&A and Virginia Vargus’s Lecture. Please sign up to join our mailing list to be notified of upcoming events.