Faculty Overview
The academic study of human rights began with the creation of the United Nations in 1945 as a response to the Holocaust. This study focuses on the rights propounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and on historical and current abuses and issues such as the recent genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda; the ongoing genocides in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo; U.S. policies and actions in Guantanamo and post-Katrina New Orleans; and on topics such as the death penalty, the environment, health care, torture, mass murder, and crimes against women.
The goal of the Embrey Human Rights Program (EHRP) is to offer SMU students opportunities to encounter human rights issues and the world in ways that will enlarge their understandings of what it means to be socially responsible citizens in a globalizing society.
One of the most energizing features of the study and teaching of human rights is its multi-disciplinary nature. The EHRP's goal can only be fulfilled in partnership with faculty members in multiple fields from across the University
The EHRP invites faculty partnership through the following:
- faculty course development grants for developing courses focused on human rights in faculty members' own fields;
- membership on the Human Rights Faculty Council--faculty members interested in discussing the pedagogy of human rights from the perspectives of their own disciplines;
- Human Rights Program travel--faculty members are invited to participate in human rights-sponsored travel, including three annual international trips;
- Support for research and publication in human rights.
For inquiries relating to any of the above, or for information on how to have a course included as an elective in the Human Rights minor, please contact EHRP Director, Rick Halperin at rhalperi@smu.edu or 214-768-3284.
