HUMANITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Led by Nancy Anderson, M.A., Auburn University--Montgomery
Sponsored in party by Auburn University--Montgomery

“Humanities and Human Rights” will define “humanities” and “human rights." Based on these definitions, the sessions will cover some difficult human rights issues in various fields of the liberal arts to study how they are connected from the perspective of the humanities: genocide, war policies, civil rights, sexual and gender issues, art and literature. This course of study will make the participating teachers aware of, and develop sensitivity to, these controversial issues so that they are informed when confronted with controversial subjects in their classes.

Click here for APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Click here for this institutes's APPLICATION FORM in Microsoft Word format.

Location: Auburn University--Montgomery, Auburn

Dates: July 18-23

Times : Program begins Sunday at 2 p.m. and concludes Friday at 12 p.m. Evening sessions will end at 9 p.m.

Format: Residential seminar. Lodging and all meals provided.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided daily.

Lodging: Auburn University--Montgomery, high-security apartment (one per teacher) with private bathroom

Participants will:

• Define and understand “the humanities” and “human rights.”
• Discuss and understand the relationships among the humanities, culture, human rights and aesthetics.
• Demonstrate an understanding of what it means to analyze (criticize) an artifact (piece of literature, historical evidence, social or cultural condition, artistic work) in light of its place in the study of the humanities.
• Recognize the connections among the humanities and selected cultural, historical, social, artistic and literary subjects

Pre-Institute readings (tentative):

• Mark Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon and selected poems
• Lynn Hunt, Inventing Human Rights: A History
• Kahled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
• Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
• Selected essays and poems

Principal subjects:

• Definitions of humanities and human rights
• Ways of Looking at Things–and “Seeing”–Mark Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon and selected poems
• Geography of Genocide
• Military Occupation Policy: civil war, modern occupation policies and today's war on terrorism
• Visual arts as protest : in the United States and outside the United States
• Sexual and gender Issues and human rights
• Humanities, human rights and civil rights
• Humanities and human Rights in The Kite Runner: the immigrant experience in the U.S.
• Discussion of any approaches to avoid some of these problems?

Writing Prompt for the Application:

In your application essay, please address the following, additional question (Humanities and Human Rights Institute only):

We have all had the opportunity for confrontation and had to decide whether to engage or turn from it. Describe a choice you have made about confrontation (particularly in a professional setting) and why you regret your choice (or what went wrong). That is, write about a confrontation that you should have engaged in but did not, or about a confrontation that did not go well.

CEUs: 45 contact hours

Session Topics, Resource Materials and Activities are posted as available and are subject to change.

For all questions concerning this program, contact
Thomas E. Bryant: tbryant@ahf.net, (205) 558-3997

Additional program support is provided by:

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide)