Human Rights Program Proposal Nears Review

A four-member committee lobbying for the University to organize a Human Rights studies program solicited input from students on ways to expand human rights offerings early this week.

According to Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Jeffrey Wolcowitz, the proposal will be up for review in the next month.

The small group has been meeting since the fall to set up a formal system of courses, speakers and workshops for students interested in graduating with a certificate in human rights.

“Developing human rights education at Harvard is central to the committee’s mission,” said Jacqueline Bhabha, chief administrator for the University Committee on Human Rights, which oversees the new subcommittee.

The push to grant students a certificate in human rights comes as part of a larger move—groups of students and faculty have recently discussed programs in both queer and ethnic studies.

Establishing a certificate in human rights, Bhabha said, would help make students aware of the current course offerings that deal with human rights issues.

Committee member Andrew Moravcsik, professor of government, said the discussion during Monday’s meeting focused on selecting student representatives to help choose human rights-related workshops and conferences.

“The idea is just to organize what is already here at Harvard and fill in the gaps,” said Carswell Professor of Afro-American Studies and of Philosophy K. Anthony Appiah, one of two professors on the subcommittee.

Appiah was involved in creating a certificate program in African Studies, similar to the pending proposal.

Although Appiah will leave Harvard for Princeton this spring, he said he does not expect his departure to affect the progress.

A number of representatives from student organizations attended Monday’s meeting. These representatives included members from the Woodbridge Society and the Brazilian Student Organization.

Oliver B. Libby ’03, a member of the International Relations Council, called the proposal for a human rights certificate program a “nice precedent to building tolerance and exploring topics of security and international relations facing government today.”