International writers from the 2015 International Writing Program (IWP) residency will join activists and members of the academic community at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 16, in Art Building West for a special WorldCanvass Studio on “The Human in Human Rights: First Person Global Perspectives.” This is the concluding event in the symposium “Social Justice after Ferguson,” sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Department of Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies; the Center for Human Rights; and International Programs (October 15-16; more information, see conference webpage). Joan Kjaer, host of the monthly WorldCanvass television/radio/internet program produced by International Programs, will moderate the discussion.
The first half of the program will focus on social justice issues in the home countries of three IWP writers: El Jones from Canada; Harris Khalique from Pakistan; and Homeira Qaderi from Afghanistan. Additional observations will be made by Christopher Merrill, director of the IWP and frequent traveler to international locations as a cultural ambassador for the U.S.
The second portion of the program will address social justice issues in the U.S. and the roles of race, gender, minority status, economic standing, and so on in what appears to be disproportionate minority contact, uneven treatment before the law, and the violation of human rights. Participants will be Richard Lippke, professor and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University; Eva Nagao, managing director of the Exoneration Project, Chicago; and Colin Gordon, professor and director of undergraduate studies, Department of History, University of Iowa.
The Human in Human Rights: First Person Global Perspectives
7:00-7:30—El Jones, Harris Khalique, Homeira Qaderi, and Christopher Merrill
7:30-8:00—Richard Lippke, Colin Gordon, Eva Nagao
WorldCanvass Studio is the mobile version of the monthly WorldCanvass series. Audio of the program will be available following the live show on iTunes, the Public Radio Exchange, and the International Programs website. WorldCanvass Studio is a production of UI International Programs. For more information on WorldCanvass, contact Joan Kjaer at joan-kjaer@uiowa.edu or visit the WorldCanvass webpage.