About:
This conference will bring together leading thinkers from across disciplines to explore the ethical foundations of human rights in the 21st century. Underlying the discussion will be an exploration of some of the more challenging philosophical and practical questions that have come into view as human rights thinkers have sought to translate the ideals that are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into action.
In 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, beginning the codification process of human rights in international law. The preamble affirms the “recognition of the inherent dignity and…equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” and goes further to assert that human rights are “the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”(United Nations, 1948).
Human rights have become increasingly codified, in both national and international legal systems. While debates have focused on what types of rights should be codified, political rights, social rights, economic rights, and even environmental rights, less attention has been paid to examining the ethical foundations of the concept of human rights.
Speakers:
DR. ALISON BRYSK
Dr. Alison Brysk is the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Professor of Global Governance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the author or editor of fourteen books on human rights, including Speaking Rights to Power, From Tribal Village to Global Village, Human Rights and Private Wrongs, and most recently The Struggle to End Violence Against Women (forthcoming with Oxford University Press). Professor Brysk was selected a Fulbright Professor in 2007 (Canada) and 2011 (India), a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in 2013-2014, the International Studies Association Distinguished Scholar in Human Rights 2015-2016, and the American Political Science Association Distinguished Scholar in Human Rights in 2017. She has lectured and held visiting professorships throughout Europe, Latin America, South Asia, South Africa, and Australia.
“Why Rights Are Right: The Politics of Persuasion”
DR. RAIMOND GAITA
Dr. Raimond Gaita is Professorial Fellow in the Melbourne Law School and The Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne and Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy at King's College London. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. In 2009, the University of Antwerp awarded Gaita the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa “for his exceptional contribution to contemporary moral philosophy and for his singular contribution the role of the intellectual in today’s academic world”. In 2011, Routledge published Christopher Cordner (ed.) Philosophy, Ethics, and a Common Humanity: Essays in Honour of Raimond Gaita and in 2014 Monash University Publishing published Craig Taylor (ed.) A Sense for Humanity: The Ethical Thought of Raimond Gaita.
“Human Rights and the Frail Idea of A Common Humanity”
DR. SAMUEL KERSTEIN
Dr. Samuel Kerstein, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland, works on bioethics, ethical theory, and Kant. He is the author of Kant’s Search for the Supreme Principle of Morality (Cambridge, 2002) and How to Treat Persons (Oxford, 2013), as well as articles on the just distribution of scarce, life-saving resources, the ethics of procreation, and the morality of markets in organs.
“Treating Others Merely as Means”
KAROL SOLTAN
Karol Soltan is an associate professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Professor Soltan has also served as Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law. In addition, he has taught in the Department of Economics at the University of Warsaw, the National School of Public Administration in Warsaw, and he spent a semester as a Visiting Scholar at the School of Law in the University of Toulouse. Professor Soltan earned his Ph.D. and two M.A.'s from the University of Chicago. He earned his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard College.
“Looking for a deeper meaning of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
DR. MICHAEL PENN
Dr. Penn is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Franklin & Marshall College. His research interests and publications explore the application of psychological research & theory to human rights, the interpenetration of psychology and philosophy, and the relationship between culture and psychopathology. Professor Penn serves the UN Leader’s Programme, which trains Director-level United Nations officers. He is the author of “Overcoming Violence against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem” and numerous academic papers and chapters. In 2004 Penn was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Administration by Governor Edward Rendell. He currently serves on the Board of the Authenticity Institute, which trains corporate, medical, and educational leaders around the world, as well as a member of the Permanent Board of the Tahirih Justice Center, which provides legal, clinical, and human rights protections for women fleeing gender-based persecution and violence. Professor Penn was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1986 and is a former Ford Foundation Fellow. He has received numerous academic awards for his research and scholarship, including the John Russwurm award from the University of Pennsylvania and the Solomon Wank Fellowship in Peace Studies from Franklin & Marshall College.
Moderator