Human Rights and Social Justice in NYC

This seminar and engaged pedagogy course is centered around close collaboration with a community-based organization in New York City. We will divide our time between an intellectual study of the history, theory, and practice of human rights protections, and address the semester's specific topic as it is unfolding locally and nationally, in real time. As an engaged pedagogy course, the academic and project-based work will be conducted in conjunction with, and for the benefit of, an organization involved in local social justice work. The course is therefore fundamentally designed around the lives, experiences, and needs of real people in New York City and the organizations dedicated to advancing their demands. Our partner organizations serve the needs of their members or clients in various ways, including but not limited to: legal representation, public policy advocacy, rights' campaigns, and educational outreach. Students will work directly with members and/or clients of these organizations as they draw upon human rights frameworks to make specific demands to ameliorate their circumstances. Ultimately, students will use their academic knowledge, reading and writing skills, and newly-gained on-site experience to complete a specific project intended to further the causes and needs of the community-based organization and its members.