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Human Rights, An Education Beyond the Classroom Just before this fall semester started, Historian Rick Halperin took several students, one faculty member and one member of the community to visit Rwanda, Africa. This trip was not one meant for vacation. This was a journey to visit the dark side of human behavior, an opportunity to expose his students to the various human rights issues which have been happening for decades and are still happening today. They visited the reality of Rwanda – its genocide sites, its orphanages, the National AIDS Commission – an experience which transformed them all forever.
For 10 years now, Halperin has been traveling with students to various sites across the globe to study and experience human rights issues since his first winter trip to Poland in 1996. “It’s always a powerful, spiritual experience,” he said. “It’s never easy, never repetitive,” and by the end of the trip, Halperin said his students all come away changed in a very real sense. “Everybody has no regrets…and they’re all glad they exposed themselves to something different, something intense.” Kimberly Daniels, a senior history major from Raleigh, N.C., went on the trip to Rwanda this summer. "When I took my first step into Rwanda, it was purposeful, but timid." She said she wanted to go there to try to figure out what could cause such immense and merciless destruction among human beings. "These steps allowed me to witness important truths. Just witnessing the realities of the world makes me feel more prepared to confront the realities of my world in Dallas." “The most rewarding thing is to see students come from all over the campus, who are all over the map with their own interests,” Halperin said. “Everyone, regardless of their major, can link human rights to their own interests. Everyone can find relevance in the material." Halperin has been teaching his undergraduate Human Rights class around the clock to classrooms packed full since 1990. “I’m happy to say there is no shortage of interest.” Clements Department of History at SMU responded to the increasing interest by creating a new interdisciplinary minor, the SMU Human Rights Education Program, made possible by a generous donation from one of Halperin’s former graduate students and her sister. The student, along with her two teenage sons, had traveled to Poland last Christmas with Halperin’s group and decided to make the donation when they returned home. According to Halperin, the formation of this program for undergraduate students is quite significant. SMU joins the ranks of only 12 other universities nationwide to offer such a program at the undergraduate level. As director, his goal for the program is to eliminate what he considers to be the most dangerous phrase in our vocabulary regarding human rights, “I didn’t know.” He wants students to be able to deal with these heavy issues first-hand, and he wants this program to offer students a chance to have a life-altering experience. Travel, internships with local human rights agencies and groups, and seminars will all be an integral part of the program. “I want them to be able to engage in conversation and talk knowledgeably and sensibly about what happened in Rwanda, and how we can make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for anyone interested in social justice, human rights, and human decency. This course is a conduit for students who want to be agents of change in this world.” Regardless of their academic interests, dreams, hopes and passions, these “agents” all possess what Halperin called the common binding thread: the dream, hope, and passion to want a better world for themselves, their families, and their futures. However, this course of study and the travel required to experience the fullness of it is not for the faint of heart. “It’s not an easy class. There’s lots of reading (15 books) and films.” And discussions don’t revolve around “easy” words, Halperin cautions. “The topics are very sensitive topics," he said. "We’re discussing the very dark side of human behavior – torture, mass murder, genocide, hate crimes, crimes against women.” These students have to come to grips with realities and issues that are happening in their world that maybe they didn’t have to think too much about beforehand. "These classes have opened my mind and made me cry- integrating emotionally into what we are learning so that we have the ability to really understand the world," Daniels said.
The coursework within the new program examines certain violations of human
rights within their historical context. Attention is given to the evolution
of both civil and human rights as entities within global political thought
and practice. Students are encouraged to rely on reasonable evidence and
critical thinking when studying historical controversies rather than biased
accounts or emotional arguments. Daniels said she has spoken with many students who also say that the human rights class they took has changed their lives. "It is essential to educate us on human rights like it is essential to educate businessmen about ethics," she added. Halperin said the response he’s received from students and faculty has been overwhelmingly supportive since the announcement of the new program. After speaking at AARO, he’s even had several first-year students excited to sign up right away. Halperin said he’s most excited that human rights will be instituted among the mindset of the University. “There are many people in the community and students who will come to SMU who share a concern for a better world. We now have something in place for them to act on their passions.” Recommended Dedman College courses for the minor may include:
Jeanene Renfro, Dedman College |
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