Introduction—Human Rights in Higher Education: Institutional, Classroom, and Community Approaches to Teaching Social Justice

Abstract

The impetus for this edited volume came from a simple phone call; a professor at a well-known research university (which shall remain nameless) wanted my advice on creating a human rights institute. Eager to encourage human rights education (HRE)—and particularly within a prestigious institution that held vast resources and expertise—I settled in for a long conversation. Within a matter of minutes, however, it became clear that this well-intentioned idea of “teaching human rights” was a vague one indeed. Aside from holding the general belief that human rights are important and interesting to students, this colleague had lit- tle knowledge of the practicalities of teaching rights and social justice— or how to support HRE in any sustained and meaningful way. After the phone call ended, it occurred to me that what we had been doing at my own institution, Webster University—a teaching-focused, private university based in Saint Louis, Missouri—was perhaps worth sharing.1 Once this idea had formed in my mind, the foundation for this book was quickly established. I began to see how various approaches to HRE had combined in innovative and noteworthy ways. And so, writing from Saint Louis—a hub of refugee resettlement and “Black Lives Matter” activism, among many other things—I offer this resource for educators hoping to engage in HRE at the university level. This introductory chapter outlines the concept of HRE in higher edu- cation, including a preliminary review of its vast potential and inherent challenges, thus setting the stage for the discussions and case studies to come. Although respect for (and attention to) HRE has increased dra- matically in recent decades, educators face ongoing obstacles to inte- grating human rights scholarship into existing programs and structures. The central argument guiding this book is that HRE in higher education requires the intersection of three complementary approaches centering on institutions, classrooms, and communities. First, institutions must not only support curricular offerings, but also integrate human rights norms into their governance and priorities. This requires valuing social responsi- bility and the public good, as well as engaged scholarship. Second, teach- ing strategies emphasizing human rights and social justice can transform our classrooms across academic disciplines, expanding HRE while sup- porting underprivileged student groups. Third, community approaches offer opportunities to expand HRE more broadly, building community– university partnerships and providing resources for enhanced advo- cacy and service work. Drawing on the experiences of my colleagues at Webster University (in Saint Louis, as well as our campus in Leiden, the Netherlands), this edited volume offers possibilities for advancing HRE on campus and beyond.