To conclude our thematic week, it’s time for yet another events’ post! This time the theme is, of course, human rights. Given what we have discussed also earlier, most of these events are not strictly speaking anthropological – here our reference being that although the topic has a lot to offer, the anthropology of (human) rights is still perhaps not quite as vibrant an area of research as it could be. Which is, of course, only something to be changed for the future!
Yet it is evident that all of these event could benefit from some firm anthropological gaze, so we encourage all Allies to submit abstracts (and, of course, report back). Simultaneously we have no doubt that these events will offer plenty of anthropological food for thought, either on human rights, or the communities studying human rights – or likely both and then some
Remember: Do get in touch with Andrea at andreak@allegralaboratory.net or audef@allegralaboratory.net if you want your event to feature in our next event list or if you feel like writing a short report!
Summer School (ECMI 2016): The European Minority Rights and Minority Protection Regime
29 August – 4 September 2016, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv, Ukraine
All countries in the EU Neighbourhood are home to ethnic minorities, and many countries continue to experience ethnic tension in the aftermath of the post-Cold War thaw. Although most countries in the Neighbourhood have signed up to international human rights norms and European minority rights standards, few have implemented the latter in a systematic manner. The European Union Neighbourhood is the next frontier for securing Europe’s peace through democratization and the rule of law. The EU Eastern Partnership strategy addresses issues of concern that policy makers consider relevant for accelerating political association and economic integration, including legal reform and good governance norm diffusion leading to convergence with EU laws and standards. Although the Copenhagen criteria on minority rights protection are not part of the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy, they loom large on the horizon if Europe’s peace and stability is to become sustainable.
The ECMI Summer School aims at raising awareness and transfer of knowledge and values to this ethnically diverse and conflict-sensitive region (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia). The accumulated significant academic expertise in Western Europe and the examples of successful diversity management can enrich practitioners from the field and empower them with knowledge and skills for bringing about a positive change in their activities and subsequently in their societies. In turn, the insights from the field can enrich and update the scientific and policy discourse. The ECMI Summer School participants will be able to advance their academic knowledge on the issues they face or work with on a daily basis, as the Summer School will provide them with alternative perspectives to these problems and eventually with ideas for new solutions. [more]
Deadline for applications: 15 May 2016
Workshop: Freedom and Control of Expression in the Digital Aftermath of the 2015 Paris Attacks
13-14 October 2016, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, France
After the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices were attacked in January 2015, debate and discussion flourished about freedom of expression, in France and abroad. This debate intensified after the Paris attacks of November 13th. At the epicenter is the role of the Internet and free speech. An enormous wave of worldwide indignation expressed itself after both events, including a deluge of hashtag solidarity. But this social media storm eventually revealed cultural, political and social divides inside France, as well as globally. Much like after the 9/11 attacks, France passed laws allowing state surveillance of online communication. At the same time, social media censored posts about the attacks that were considered to be provocative or shocking.
The variety of reactions, including indifference or, on the contrary, the expression of very different points of view – sometimes even surveilled or censored – showed that one hashtag is neither unifying nor a universal view shared by everyone. This event magnified the notion that the digital public sphere is a conflicting arena of not just what is being said (or kept quiet) online but also what the limits are. Undoubtedly, the Internet is the main means of massive public expression for millions. Yet it is still the result of a complex set of power relations established between professional media, amateur content producing communities, which sometimes defend particular interests, as well as corporate intermediaries. The resulting online content embodies rival editorial, political and industrial strategies. Recently, scholars have begun to question the idea of digital participatory democracy in terms of a level playing field.
This workshop aims to progress this debate by addressing the following central question: Who controls freedom of expression and online content in the digital era, and how? [more]
Deadline for submission of proposals: 1 April 2016
Summer Program: Genocide and Human Rights
1-12 August 2016, University of Toronto (St. George Campus), Toronto, Canada
The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies is announcing this year’s Genocide and Human Rights University Program, now in its 15th year. Three new faculty members will be joining this year’s program. Each year applications are received from a diverse group of highly motivated, bright and dynamic students from around the globe.
The Institute encourages applicants to contact us with their inquiries as soon as possible, as we have found there can be significant delays for those who require a visa to come to Canada. [more]
Reading group: Health and Social Justice
22 June – 27 July 2016, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY
How have health, illness, and disability—innately such personal and private matters—become politicized and complex public issues? And since these issues have entered the public arena, what can we learn from the loudest voices out there—and which voices aren’t being heard? The stories of illness, disability and different bodies are often characterized by isolation and marginalization. How are embodied experiences inherently issues of social justice?
Over the course of six sessions, we will explore these questions through both fiction and non-fiction readings, group discussions, and reflective writing exercises facilitated by Annie Robinson, MS. [more]
Register here.
Global conference: Testimony. Memory, Trauma, Truth, Engagement
19-21 September 2016, Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom
The 3rd Global Conference on Testimony shines the spotlight on the role of (eco-)testimony and the act of testifying in the negotiation of issues pertaining to land rights and reconciliation processes of place-based human rights concerns. Following on from previous meetings that highlighted the role testimony plays in social justice and peace education, this conference continues to explore these themes in relation to current transnational movements focused on eco-awareness and conscious-raising. The event aims to provide an interdisciplinary framework in which inter-disciplinary perspectives from fields such as environmental justice, geography, history, politics, linguistics, law, education, activism, health, the arts, business and religion shed light on the impact of testimonial production within the cultures of redress and transnational justice processes for both the producers of testimony and their audience.
This call for proposals asks for consideration of testimony as used by activists, educators, researchers, professionals, and artists working in the field. We hope to address how testimony can foster or hinder ally-ships across different geographies, cultures, ways of knowing, while addressing past histories of violations and abuses of human rights. [more]
Deadline for submission of proposals: 29 April 2016
Featured image by University of Essex (flickr, CC BY 2.0)
