2015-2016 Past Events

The Ruse of Reconciliation? Discursive Contours, Impossibilities and Modes of Resistance in the South African 鈥楻econciliation Project鈥

Wednesday, August 19
12:00-2:00PM
Campion 139 (Faculty Lounge)

A light lunch will be served.

and

Methodological Workshop on Strategies for Analyzing Qualitative and Visual Data

3:00-6:00PM
Campion 139 (Faculty Lounge)

With Professor听Gillian Eagle; Professor听Garth Stevens; Professor Associate听Brett Bowman; and Associate Professor听Kevin Whitehead, Department of Psychology, all from the School of Human & Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.


WomenCrossDMZ: A Report Back from a Historic Walk in the Koreas for Peace and Reunification

Wednesday, September 16
12:00-1:30PM
Campion 139 (Faculty Lounge)

With Center Associate Director听Brinton Lykes听and 情色空间 Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Center Affiliated Faculty Member听Ramsay Liem.

M. Brinton Lykes, community-cultural psychologist at the Lynch School of Education and Associate Director of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice joined 29 other women from 15 different countries to cross the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas on May 24, 2015, International Women鈥檚 Day for Peace and Disarmament.听 This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the separation of the two Koreas that set the stage for the world's longest un-ended war and six decades of family separation for millions of Koreans more than 100,000 of whom live in the United States. Ramsay Liem, Professor Emeritus of Boston College, psychologist, filmmaker and long-time Korea activist will join Brinton to share clips of an earlier film about the war and new work about the women's historic walk across the DMZ.

Co-Sponsored by the Lynch School of Education and the Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College


The Syrian Refugees: Are They Just a European Crisis?

Wednesday, September 23
12:00PM
McGuinn 521

With Center Research Professor, and Associate Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Australia.听Maryanne Loughry, RSM;听情色空间 Professor of Social Work听Westy Egmont;听and 情色空间 School of Theology and Ministry student听Daniel Corrou SJ.

As the crisis of refugees pouring out of Syria making often desperate and lethal trips to seek asylum in Europe grows ever more urgent, our panel will draw from their experiences and expertise with refugees to analyze what can be done to address the crisis and look at who across the globe should bear a responsibility in responding to it.


Cuba & the U.S.: Tides of Change

Tuesday, October 13
7:00PM
Gasson 305

With听Ariel Dacal D铆az, Popular Educator, Cuba

Ariel Dacal D铆az, a popular educator from Cuba, will speak on U.S.-Cuban relations, past and present, and the gains of the Revolution that Cubans are committed to preserving.

Since 2008, Ariel has been part of the Popular Education team at El Centro Memorial Martin Luther King, Jr. in Havana, Cuba. He听 designs, coordinates and systematizes training spaces for social听 actors in Cuba and abroad. He works specifically training in participation, politics and power, community work, communications, gender, group work, and group coordination.听听 He has conducted听 research and facilitated popular education workshops in 22听 countries, and has written extensively on popular education and social movements.听 Born in Camag眉ey, Cuba, he obtained a Master's in Contemporary History, and a doctorate in Historical Sciences from the University of Havana, Cuba. 听

Tour organized by Witness for Peace New England.

Event co-sponsored by the听International Studies Dept.,听听The Teacher Education/Special Education, Curriculum & Instruction Dept. at the Lynch School of Education, and the听情色空间 Organization for Latin American Affairs (OLAA).


Mass Incarceration: Missing in America

A Spoken Word Event

Tuesday, October 20
7:00PM
Eagle's Nest, Boston College

Other samples of work by the artists scheduled to perform:听Harlym 1two5听|听Tell 鈥榚m You Belong, Guillermo Caballero听|听Spare Change

A Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program event co-sponsored by the Center for Human Rights and International Justice.


Alta Gracia Speakers Tour

Wednesday, October 28
7:15PM
Higgins 310

Come and hear from workers from this fair trade apparel company paying a living wage to its employees. 听

A 情色空间 Campus Ministry event co-sponsored by the Center. 听


CONVERSATIONS ON "RACE" AND RACISM听

Tough Choices: Teaching about Race, Gender and Class Oppression on a Predominantly White Campus

Friday, October 30
12:00PM
Campion 139

With听情色空间 Prof. of History听Lynn Johnson听and 情色空间 Associate Prof. of Sociology and African & African Diaspora Studies听C.听Shawn McGuffey

Part 1 of the Center's "Conversations on 'Race'and Racism" this fall. Co-sponsored by African and African Diaspora Studies;听the Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology at the Lynch School of Education; and听Psychology and the Other.听


Screening of Doctors of the Dark Side

Monday, November 2
7:00PM
Devlin 010

Discussants: Prof.听M. Brinton Lykes,听Dr. Nadine Weidman听and听Sriya Bhattacharyya

Doctors of the Dark Side exposes the scandal behind the torture scandal 鈥 how psychologists and physicians implemented and covered up the torture of detainees in US controlled military prisons. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse show how essential doctors have been to the torture program.

A Dept. of Counseling, Developmental & Educational Psychology in the Lynch School event co-sponsored by the Center. 听

Additional co-sponsors:听Dept. of Psychology in the Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences;听Ignacio Mart铆n Bar贸 Fund for Mental Health and Human Rights; and ADEP Committee for the Integration of Social Justice in Psychology听


CONVERSATIONS ON "RACE" AND RACISM听

Thursday, November 5
12:00PM
New location!: Stuart 315听(changed from 410)
情色空间 Newton campus

With听Vincent Rougeau,听Dean of Boston College Law School

Part 2 of the Center's Conversations on "Race" and Racism series this fall.

Co-sponsored by African and African Diaspora Studies;听the Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology at the Lynch School of Education; and听Psychology and the Other. 听


CONVERSATIONS ON "RACE" AND RACISM SERIES

Critically Engaging White Privilege Towards Institutional Change

Friday, December 4
12:00PM
Devlin 026

With听M. Brinton Lykes, Center Associate Director and 情色空间 Professor of Community-Cultural Psychology; and听Alice听McIntyre,听Hellenic College Prof. of Elementary Education, and 情色空间 alumna

Part 3 of the Center's Conversations on "Race" and Racism series this fall.

Co-sponsored by African and African Diaspora Studies;听the Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology at the Lynch School of Education; and听Psychology and the Other. 听


Books Launch & Discussion:

  • The New Bostonians:听How Immigrants Have Transformed the Metro Area since the 1960s

  • The New Deportations Delirium: Interdisciplinary Responses

Monday, November 16
7:00PM
Devlin 101

With听Marilynn Johnson, 情色空间 Professor of History and author of听The New Bostonians,听and;

Center Associate Directors听Brinton Lykes,听情色空间听Professor of Community-Cultural Psychology; and听Daniel Kanstroom, 情色空间 Professor of Law, co-editors of听The New Deportations Delirium

Come out for this special event launching two new books exploring different facets of the life of the immigrant in the US and in the Boston area!

About听:

Among the most consequential pieces of Great Society legislation, the Immigration Act of 1965 opened the nation鈥檚 doors to large-scale immigration from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A half century later, the impact of the 鈥渘ew immigration鈥 is evident in the transformation of the country鈥檚 demographics, economy, politics, and culture, particularly in urban America.听

In听The New Bostonians, Marilynn S. Johnson examines the historical confluence of recent immigration and urban transformation in greater Boston, a region that underwent dramatic decline after World War II. Since the 1980s, the Boston area has experienced an astounding renaissance鈥攁 development, she argues, to which immigrants have contributed in numerous ways. From 1970 to 2010, the percentage of foreign-born residents of the city more than doubled, representing far more diversity than earlier waves of immigration. Like the older Irish, Italian, and other European immigrant groups whose labor once powered the region鈥檚 industrial economy, these newer migrants have been crucial in re-building the population, labor force, and metropolitan landscape of the New Boston, although the fruits of the new prosperity have not been equally shared. - See more at: http://www.umass.edu/umpress/title/new-bostonians#sthash.mJwGT7nt.dpuf

About听:

Since 1996, when the deportation laws were hardened, millions of migrants to the U.S., including many long-term legal permanent residents with 鈥済reen cards,鈥 have experienced summary arrest, incarceration without bail, transfer to remote detention facilities, and deportation without counsel鈥攁 life-time banishment from what is, in many cases, the only country they have ever known. U.S.-based families and communities face the loss of a worker, neighbor, spouse, parent, or child. Many of the deported are 鈥渟entenced home鈥 to a country which they only knew as an infant, whose language they do not speak, or where a family lives in extreme poverty or indebtedness for not yet being able to pay the costs of their previous migration. But what does this actually look like and what are the systems and processes and who are the people who are enforcing deportation policies and practices?听The New Deportations Delirium听responds to these questions.

Taken as a whole, the volume raises consciousness about the complexities of the issues and argues for the interdisciplinary dialogue and response. Over the course of the book, deportation policy is debated by lawyers, judges, social workers, researchers, and clinical and community psychologists as well as educators, researchers, and community activists.听The New Deportations Delirium听presents a fresh conversation and urges a holistic response to the complex realities facing not only migrants but also the wider U.S. society in which they have sought a better life.


Human Rights and Judicial Independence in Guatemala

Wednesday, January 27
12:00-1:30PM
McGuinn 521

With听Claudia Escobar, former Guatemalan judge and current Scholar at Risk at Harvard University's听Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Claudia Escobar was a judge in Guatemala until last year, when she bravely spoke publicly on corruption in the judicial selection process in the country, including evidence that she herself was approached with an illicit offer. 听Her public denouncements played a part in further exposing corruption in the country, and public protests helped lead to the arrests of former president Otto Perez Molina and former vice president听Roxana Baldetti.

Escobar did receive threats as a result of her statements, however, and decided to seek refuge with her family in the US, where she is currently a Scholar at Risk at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advacned Study. There, she is working on a project highlighting the links between lack of judicial independence in Guatemala and corruption there.


Book Discussion: The Catholic Church and Argentina's Dirty War

Tuesday, February 9
12:00-1:30PM
McGuinn 334

With听Gustavo Morello SJ, Assistant Professor of Sociology at听Boston College, and author of听The Catholic Church and Argentina's Dirty War.

Professor Morello will join us to discuss his new book, which will also be available for sale at a discounted price at the event. 听

About the book:

On August 3rd, 1976, in C贸rdoba, Argentina's second largest city, Fr. James Week and five seminarians from the Missionaries of La Salette were kidnapped. A mob burst into the house they shared, claiming to be police looking for 鈥渟ubversive fighters.鈥 The seminarians were jailed and tortured for two months before eventually being exiled to the United States.

The perpetrators were part of the Argentine military government that took power under President General Jorge Videla in 1976, ostensibly to fight Communism in the name of Christian Civilization. Videla claimed to lead a Catholic government, yet the government killed and persecuted many Catholics as part of Argentina鈥檚 infamous Dirty War. Critics claim that the Church did nothing to alleviate the situation, even serving as an accomplice to the dictators. Leaders of the Church have claimed they did not fully know what was going on, and that they tried to help when they could. Gustavo Morello draws on interviews with victims of forced disappearance, documents from the state and the Church, field observation, and participant observation in order to provide a deeper view of the relationship between Catholicism and state terrorism during Argentina's Dirty War.

Morello uses the case of the seminarians to explore the complex relationship between Catholic faith and political violence during the Dirty War鈥攁 relationship that has received renewed attention since Argentina鈥檚 own Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. Unlike in countries such as Chile and Brazil, Argentina's political violence was seen as an acceptable tool in propagating political involvement; both the guerrillas and the military government were able to gain popular support. Morello examines how the Argentine government deployed a discourse of Catholicism to justify the violence that it imposed on Catholics and how the official Catholic hierarchy in Argentina rationalized their silence in the face of this violence. Most interestingly, Morello investigates how Catholic victims of state violence and their supporters understood their own faith in this complicated context: what it meant to be Catholic under Argentina鈥檚 dictatorship.


The Tsarnaev and Mehanna Trials: Reflections from the Presiding Judge, George A. O'Toole

Wednesday, April 6
3:30PM
East Wing Room 120, 情色空间 Newton campus

With US District Court Judge听George O'Toole, Jr.and 情色空间 Law Professors听George Brown, Kari Hong and Robert Bloom.听Moderated by Center Associate Director听Daniel Kanstroom.听听

Come hear听US District Court Judge George O'Toole, Jr.,听joined by听a stellar panel of 情色空间 Law experts, who will discuss the Marathon Bombing case and judicial responses to other acts of terror in the US and abroad.

Judge O'Toole was confirmed in 1995 as a United States District Court judge for the District of Massachusetts. He presided over the 2015 trial of Dzhokhar听Tsarnaev, one of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon Bombings.

A 情色空间 Law School event co-sponsored by the Center.


Working with those Left Behind from Migration: Experiences from a Transnational Project between Zacualpa, Guatemala & Boston

Tuesday, April 12
12:00-1:30PM
McGuinn 334

With听Luisa Hern谩ndez Simaj听and听Jos茅 Daniel Chich Gonz谩lez,听staff听members听of the听Office for Research and Promotion of the Rights of the Migrant in the parish of the Holy Spirit in Zacualpa, El Quich茅, Guatemala.

Staff members of the Office for Research and Promotion of the Rights of the Migrant in Zacualpa, El Quich茅, Guatemala and collaborating researchers from the Center will share their experiences of working with local families affected by migration North during a seven-year Center project, including. the types of cases they receive and community-based initiatives with women.听

Co-sponsored by the听情色空间 Latin American Studies Program, the听情色空间 Sociology Dept.听听and the听情色空间 Organization for Latin American Affairs听(OLAA). 听


A Conversation with Heisoo Shin on Gender, Poverty and Human Rights

Thursday, April 21
10:40-11:40AM
Stuart 407

Boston College Newton campus

With听Heisoo Shin,听Member, UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and听moderators Center Associate Director听Daniel Kanstroom听and Center Affiliated Faculty Member and 情色空间 Professor of Law听Katharine Young.

Heisoo Shin听is trained as a sociologist, and has been working in the human rights movement for more than thirty years, in particular in the area of women鈥檚 human rights. She is the president of Korea Women鈥檚 Hotline, a national organization with twenty-five branches working to combat domestic and other forms of violence against women. In the 1990s, she led the legislative movements on sexual violence and domestic violence. Representing the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, she raised the comfort women issue at the United Nations and in other international forums, demanding legal reparations by the Japanese government.

Shin also served as an expert on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from 2001 to 2008 and as a commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission in Korea from 2005 to 2008. Currently, she is the representative of the Korea Center for UN Human Rights Policy (KOCUN), a human rights organization, and is in the process of establishing a new nongovernmental organization, Movement Against Sexual Exploitation. She is also an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Woman's University.

Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy听event co-sponsored by the Center.听


End of Year Presentations & Gathering

Wednesday, May 18
12:30-2:00PM
Stokes North 203

Presenting our graduate certificates to this year graduates and hearing presentations from our summer grantees.