These not-for-credit study groups provide an opportunity for students to delve deeply into topics and apply theory and research to real-world challenges.
Promoting Human Rights in an Increasingly Challenging & Autocratic World
Keith Harper
Meeting dates are Tuesdays, 10/05, 10/19, 11/02, 11/16 and 11/30. Each session will meet from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Registration closed.
A principle objective of the study group is to rigorously assess and reevaluate United States foreign policy generally and the promotion of human rights specifically in the 21st Century environment. We will start with an examination of both the way human rights are traditionally understood and how they are evolving. The study group will evaluate the means by which the United States - as a core part of its foreign policy - promotes the observance of human rights. Specifically, we will evaluate what works; what doesn’t; how could we do better? We will explore what the modern human rights system is and how it works from the Human Rights Council to treaty bodies and the Security Council. One of the central themes throughout the semester will be – an assessment of what impact these institutions have in the real world and real people and how they might be reformed so as to have greater efficacy.
Leveraging Education in the Pursuit of Equity
Kakenya Ntaiya
Meeting dates are Mondays, 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29, and 12/13. Each session will meet from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Gender equality is the 5th goal in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and has dominated development discourse for centuries. Over the years, progress has been made towards gender equality for women. Countries have implemented laws to ensure women have equal access to political and economic leadership, they have addressed girls’ access to education and created strict laws to end harmful practices that hinder women’s and girls’ progress in general. Despite such progress, globally, women are still facing Gender Based Violence (GBV); they are more illiterate and poorer and lack equal representation in political and economic leadership.
The study group will explore how progress toward gender equality has been undermined further by the Covid-19 pandemic and how small non-governmental organizations tackle gender inequality to create a better world for women and girls in East Africa.
We will focus on two strategies used to address gender equality, namely the importance of girls’ education and the involvement of men and boys.
The first sessions of the study group we will learn how Kakenya’s Dream, as a small non- governmental organization, leverages education to address harmful practices that hinder girls from continuing with their education in rural Kenya. We will then move to hear from expert guest speakers working at the local and global levels to address gender equality. The goal of the study group is to provide students with the space to explore their interest in the development field especially using the gender lens.
Leadership and Governance in Challenging Times
Tom Perez
Meeting dates are Mondays, 9/27, 10/4, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8. Each session will meet from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Registration is now closed.
In today's turbulent times, the journey to form a more perfect union often appears as difficult as ever. The “shortest distance” theory feels to so many as if it is seldom part of the playbook of progress in Washington, DC or elsewhere. A host of factors have created an atmosphere of hyper partisanship in which effective governance is elusive, and principled compromise is frequently derided as a four-letter word. As a result, public confidence in our public institutions, especially at the federal level, is at a low ebb.
I have had the privilege throughout nearly three decades of public service to work in all three branches of the federal government, as well as in state and local government. I have had the privilege of running for office, leading federal and state agencies (large and small), and working on Capitol Hill for Senator Edward Kennedy. Most recently, I led the Democratic National Committee from 2017 until earlier this year. I have experienced success and setbacks. My education at Brown laid an important ethical and academic foundation for my future work. At the same time, as a student, I frequently observed that there was a wide gap between what I was learning in the classroom, and how things actually got done in the real world.
A principal goal of this Study Group is to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Specifically, I want to give you a front row seat to problem solving in and around a government setting—the “how does it really happen (or not happen)” dimension that is often absent from traditional classroom dialogue.