Experience campus life and gain a deeper understanding of human rights issues!

July 24 – 28, 2017

Human Rights serves as an introduction to the law, theories, and practice of international human rights, together with the instruments, organizations and arrangements that affect their implementation and enforcement. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted in 1948 and has become a referential document for many oppressed peoples across the world. Since then, there have been conventions and covenants passed, and many organizations created to pursue and monitor human rights. However, there remains a yawning chasm between human rights policies and practices. This course will look at some of the philosophical and religious precursors of the UDHR, the circumstances that led to the creation and adoption of the UDHR, and a critical analysis of some of the most pressing human rights today. We will take field trips and speak to experts, and the course will end with students working in groups to envision and sketch proposed solutions to some human rights issues.

Hakim Williams – Faculty Lead Instructor 

Dr. Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies & Education at Gettysburg College, and an adjunct lecturer at Teachers College, Columbia University, from where he received his doctorate in International Educational Development with a focus in Peace Education. His research and teaching center on human rights, globalization, social change, school violence, restorative justice, conflict resolution, and community empowerment. He is an Associate Editor of Anthropology & Education Quarterly and more information may be found at his website: www.hakimwilliams.com