The B.A. in Human Rights is closely linked to the Institute for Human Rights (IHR) at UAB. The IHR provides a platform for students, scholars, and activists to collaborate on interdisciplinary issues to educate and raise awareness, organize outreach initiatives, and conduct research to protect and promote human and civil rights on the local, national, and international levels. IHR engages in three areas:
Education
Apart from being affiliated with the major and minor in human rights, the IHR strives to educate students, faculty, and the community locally, nationally, and globally on the content of human rights, human rights implementation, and issues relating to human rights violations. The IHR also participates in the Master of Arts in Anthropology of Peace and Human Rights, and the IHR Blog is a large part of its educational mission. Undergraduate student interns, graduate assistants, IHR Faculty Associates, and guest bloggers write blog posts to educate the global community and raise awareness of human rights.
Outreach
As part of its outreach mission, the IHR organizes public lectures, panel discussions, and conferences to raise awareness for human rights and human rights violations around the world. Students can attend events covering various human rights topics from the local to the international levels. The IHR’s biweekly Social Justice Café serves to engage in conversations around current events and pressing human rights issues. Sign up for the IHR Newsletter to stay informed.
Research
The IHR engages in collaborative research with other UAB units, as well as with national and international universities and governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The IHR’s research portfolio includes both theoretical and applied perspectives and addresses human rights issues from the local to the international realm.
The IHR’s research focuses on the following themes:
- Human rights of marginalized populations
- Human rights education as a tool to empower marginalized voices
- Combining a “top down”, international approach to human rights with a more community-centered, “bottom up” approach to human rights