“From San Francisco to Seattle: Where Are We Now?”
Description: We are in the midst of a blossoming of scholarship and teaching on human rights. Increased attention is being paid to emerging rights, power dynamics within rights talk, and critical legal theory on rights. Equally exciting, more teachers are training to be able to offer human rights courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level. What used to be the purview of law schools is increasingly available to a whole generation of students and scholars. As the 2009 ISA Human Rights Working Group, we seek to bring together scholars at all points in their careers, with an emphasis on making connections for those emerging into the professional world seeking mentorship and community.
Group Coordinator: Helen Delfeld, hdelfeld@gmail.com & Natalie Florea Hudson, natalie.hudson@notes.udayton.edu
Helen Delfeld received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers
University, and is at the College of Charleston as an assistant
professor of political science. She specializes in women and politics,
human rights, comparative politics, and international relations. She
is currently working on two books: an edited volume about
postpositivist challenges in human rights, and a book on hollow
states.
Natalia Florea Hudson received her Ph.D. in Political
Science from the University of Connecticut and is an assistant
Professor at the University of Dayton. Her teaching and research
interests include gender and international relations, the politics of
human rights, international security studies, and international law and
organization. She is currently working on a book with Routledge
entitled, “Gender, Human Security and the UN: Security Language a
Political Framework for Human Rights,” which examines discursive
strategies utilized to promote women’s rights and gender equality in
the global security arena, particularly in the context of the United
Nations. Her work has appeared International Journal, Simulation and
Gaming, Global Change, Peace and Security, and International Studies
Quarterly (forthcoming).
Activities and Schedule: The Human Rights Working Group will center on a half-day workshop to be held on Saturday, February 14 the day before the start of the 2009 ISA Annual Convention as well as two follow-up themed meetings during the conference itself. The workshop and subsequent meetings will combine working in small groups (coordinated by scholarly interest) with working as a large group in order to ensure the optimal combination of community and intensity. Additionally, workshop participants will attend three regular ISA panels of their choice sponsored by the Human Rights Section.
Saturday, February 14, 1:00–5:45pm
1:00 - 2:30 Critique Circle for ‘Work in Progress’
Working
Group participants will exchange research projects and/or project ideas
for targeted discussion and feedback from others in the field. We
broadly define this research as a ‘Work in Progress’, but do require
some written paper or project proposal to be circulated and read prior
to workshop. We encourage either more theoretically-oriented papers, or
papers at the very beginning of development, as critique involving
these may be most useful. The purpose is not to replicate the ISA
panel experience, but add value through intense engagement with other
human rights scholars is fostering the growth and development of human
rights scholarship in the making.
2:45 – 4:00 Theory and Practice
A scholar-practitioner in
the field of human rights will discuss his/her experience in bridging
the gap between theory and practice. This session will combine lecture
with time for Q&A.
4:15 – 5:45 Pedagogy
Round Table Discussion by Experienced Faculty
Three
or four faculty members who have been teaching courses on human rights
will share their insights and approaches. This session would then open
to a broader discussion involving all working group participants. Time
permitting, this may include a syllabus-generating session.
Monday, February 16, 12 noon - 1:30 PM
Methodology Lunch
An expert panel will discuss methodological concerns and approaches in research. This session would then open to a broader discussion involving all working group participants.
Tuesday, February 17, 5 - 6:30 PM
Cocktail Hour
This meeting will center on the question: “Where are we now?” particularly in light of the panels that Working Group participants attended over the course of conference. The post-conference survey will also be discussed.
