Human Rights at UC Davis

Human Rights Studies

Human Rights Studies is among the newest interdepartmental programs at UC Davis and the first of its kind in the University of California system.

The program seeks to build on our campus a favorable climate for rights, advance an agenda of diversity/equity/inclusion, and provide opportunities and resources for excellence in human rights teaching and learning, disciplinary research, and research in the public good.

Our new century has brought with it a host of complex, unprecedented, and daunting challenges to basic Human Rights; courage, creativity, and a commitment to sustained and innovative interdisciplinary collaboration are necessary to understand, address and solve these challenges.

Human Rights Studies is a place for incubating, supporting, coordinating, and promoting faculty and student research, teaching, and learning across the campus on Human Rights and humanitarianism, environmental justice, genocide, mass sexual and gender-based violence, refugee studies, memory studies, and post-conflict transitional justice.

Human Rights Studies courses are among the most popular on campus and include among many other: Human Rights in Latin America; Human Rights, Art and Architecture; Human Rights, Gender and Sexuality.

Human Rights supports students' community engagement and public service internships. Global education is woven into Human Rights Studies' courses and research. Undergraduate Human Rights students go on to join the Peace Corps, professional programs and careers in Public Policy, Law, Education, Nursing and Medicine. Human Rights Studies sponsors programs, lectures and workshops.

Read - What is Human Rights Studies at UC Davis?

Program learning outcomes:

Upon completion of the course of study in Human Rights Studies, students will have:

Explored human rights as a critical element of our contemporary world and a problem for humanity, policy, advocacy and humanitarian action, as well as a subject for historical, ethical, social scientific and cultural study;
Examined moments of terrible human rights abuse: genocide, slavery, colonialism, Apartheid, and sexual and gender-based violence;
Achieved an understanding of movements to protect and promote human rights, including the elaboration of the contemporary human rights régime, efforts by international and local non-governmental human rights organizations, and artistic and literary responses to human rights challenges;
Engaged in critical thinking and writing about human rights and the tools of human rights advocacy;
Been made aware of career opportunities and post-graduate tracks of study in the field of human rights, broadly defined.

Minor

Human Rights Minor

Study Human Rights - Learn About Human Rights Internships - Explore Human Rights Careers

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Events

Human Rights Studies Events Connect the UC Davis Community to Critical Human Rights Issues

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Public Good

Research in the Public Good

Human Rights Faculty Conduct Research in the Public Good

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Professor Keith Watenpaugh on L&S Podcast "Minds over Matters"

Professor Keith Watenpaugh discusses genocide, human rights, and Star Trek on "Minds over Matters"

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