Human Rights, Literature, the Arts, and Social Sciences

Human Rights, Literature, the Arts, and Social
Sciences
10 to 13 November 2011
Mt. Pleasant, MI, United States

The envisioned international conference will
focus on the role of literature (the
Humanities), the Arts, and Social Sciences in
the discussion, representation, and promotion of
human rights. We emphasize how writers, artists,
theorists, scholars, and lawyers construct and
engage the issue of human rights, paying
attention to ethical, political, social,
economic, and cultural implications of either
violations or the constructions of human rights.
In addressing the topic of human rights, we are
informed by the UN Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (1948) and other Conventions,
Covenants, and Treaties as well as the Rome
Statute. We are also cognizant of the influences
or references to "rights" in earlier
foundational or model declarations including the
US Declaration of Independence (1776), the US
Constitution (1787), and the French Declaration
of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789).

We invite presentations that address the issue
of human rights or specific topics by themselves
or through comparative lenses, diachronically or
synchronically, and which explore the
development and/or representation of human
rights through literature, the humanities, the
arts, and the Social Sciences. Topics/themes
include, but are not limited to:

•The novel, poetry, drama/memoirs/life writing
•Ethics and international law
•Films/cinema/theatre/performance
•The role of NGOs in the human rights debate
•Holocaust/Genocide/War crimes/crimes against
humanity (slavery, child soldiering, rape)
•Indigenous rights and sovereignty
•Women's rights; GBLT rights
•Civil and political rights; social and economic
rights
•Migration and refugee rights
•Enviromental rights
•Human rights in the age of globalization
•TRC or Truth Commissions (Here we want to move
beyond South Africa)
•Human rights in cultural, regional, national
contexts; human rights compliance

Deadline for abstracts/proposals is 31 May 2011.

Confirmed Speakers:
Winona LaDuke (Honor the Earth)
Kenneth Harrow (Michigan State University)
Patty Loew (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Joseph Slaughter (columbia University)
Aliko Songolo (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Enquiries: eke1mn@cmich.edu or
maureen.eke@cmich.edu
Web address: http://www.cmich.edu/humanrightsconf
Sponsored by: Central Michigan University
----------------------------------------------------------------
This announcement is distributed via Conference Alerts.
We aim to provide correct and reliable information about
upcoming events, but cannot accept responsibility for the text
of announcements or for the bona fides of event organizers.
Please feel free to contact us if you notice incorrect or
misleading information and we will attempt to correct it.
----------------------------------------------------------------