Public Programs Offered During Summer Institute on Human Rights

Public programs on topics ranging from refugees in Wyoming to insights about museum and memorial sites around the world will be presented daily during the Summer Institute on Human Rights at the University of Wyoming.

Barbara Logan, a UW lecturer in history and women’s studies, will open the conference Sunday, June 14, at 7 p.m. in Room 186 of the UW College of Law Building. Her talk, “Freedom of Slavery: Athens and its ‘Others,’” is a discussion of Greek ideas of human rights and the issue of slavery in the ancient world.

Free public programs will be offered each day at 4 p.m. beginning Monday, June 15, through Thursday, June 18, in Room 186 of the UW College of Law Building. The schedule:

Monday, June 15 -- “What in the World,” part of a long-standing educational series presented by graduate students in the Global and Area Studies Program and the Center for Global Studies. Topics and speakers are “Ireland’s Great Hunger, 1845-1850,” Christopher Parsons, master’s degree candidate in history; “Project Citizen in Morocco,” Adil Bentahar, Ph.D. candidate in curriculum and instruction; and “The Role of Women in Tunisia’s Arab Spring,” Ola Raddaoui, master’s degree candidate in global and area studies.

Tuesday, June 16 -- David A. Messenger, associate professor in the UW Department of History, will share his research on museums and memorial sites around the world and ask why societies seek to remember and preserve the history of mass human rights violations in his presentation, “The Memory of Human Rights in Contemporary Museums.”

Wednesday, June 17 -- Aura Newlin, instructor of sociology and anthropology at Powell’s Northwest College and secretary of the Heart Mountain Foundation, will lead a discussion about the Emmy Award-winning film “The Legacy of Heart Mountain.” Newlin, a UW alumna, has relatives who were interned at Heart Mountain.

Thursday, June 18 -- Suzann M. Pritchett, UW assistant professor of law and director of the International Human Rights Clinic, and invited guests will participate in a discussion of “Refugee Resettlement in Wyoming” and take questions from the audience.

The Wyoming Humanities Council, the UW Global and Area Studies Program, and the Center for Global Studies host the Institute on Human Rights, sponsored by the International Studies Club. It replaces the Wyoming Humanities Council Summer Classics Institute that was offered for many years.

Taught by skilled faculty, the classes, seminars and public presentations examine human rights with a focus on connecting history from the classical era, through the 20th century, to contemporary issues.