SMU Human Rights Education Program

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Godbey Lectures

Godbey Lectures

The Struggle for Human Rights

There are almost 200 countries in the world today as recognized by the United Nations, and every one of them commits human rights violations. No nation can claim a moral high ground when it comes to human rights behavior. This series will focus on a litany of crimes committed by governments against (groups of) individuals because of who they (allegedly) are. From torture to terrorism and from slavery to genocide, these lectures will discuss the history and current status of human rights in the world today.

October 19 -- The Global Status of Human Rights
This session will take a sobering look at the devastating impact of bad human behavior across the globe. Some of the crimes to be discussed will include mass murder and genocide, crimes against women and children, torture, executions, and hate crimes. White it is easy to be overwhelmed by such horrific behavior, we will also discuss various ways to become involved to end these crimes and to work for a better and safer world.

October 26 -- Up Close and Personal - Visits to Sites of Mass Crimes
The second session will present a review and a discussion of several trips taken to sties where massive human rights violations occurred. We will focus on a winter Holocaust-related trip to Poland (including some extermination sites) and summer trips to Argentina ("Dirty War"/disappearances) and Rwanda (genocide). This session will include a slide presentation and discussion about the legacies and ramifications of these past atrocities for our society and world today.

November 2 -- Pointing the Finger Inward - A Critical Assessment of America's Human Rights Record
We are all fortunate to live in this country that allows us wide-ranging freedoms in matters of conscience, faith, and individual choices. Nevertheless, the overall human rights record of the United Sates has been and remains troubling. Our national experience includes the horrors of slavery, genocide of native peoples, centuries of the denial of basic rights of women, and terrible crimes committee during all of our wars. This session will assess both the current domestic and foreign policy human rights records of our nation.