College Pathway Programs - Pathway Program in Human Rights (Session 1)

What are the philosophical and historical approaches to contemporary justice issues? How do laws, treaties, and norms work in practice to protect rights? Through lectures and discussions with affiliated faculty, researchers, and advocates associated with the University of Chicago’s Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, participants will explore these questions through the lens of particular issues in the field. Visits to advocacy organizations, cultural events, and courts and other government institutions will reveal how these questions play out beyond the classroom, and give participants behind-the-scenes access to the rich resources available in Chicago to address human rights on a local, national, and global scale. The program will focus on three issues: The prohibition against torture and striking the balance between human rights and security. In this unit taught by Susan Gzesh (Senior Lecturer and Executive Director of the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights), participants will look back at historical examples of crises when governments resorted to torture and other harsh measures in the name of national security, as well as have an opportunity to meet with law enforcement and civil liberties activists concerned with contemporary problems. Materials will include philosophical essays and historical analyses, contemporary court decisions, as well as film and other artistic representations of human rights issues. The rights of unaccompanied youth: In this unit taught by Andrew Hammond (Senior Lecturer in The College and Lecturer in Law, Associate Director of the Law, Letters, and Society program), participants will discuss international law governing unaccompanied youth, and then consider particular cases such as runaway and homeless youth in Chicago, migrant youth in Mexico and the U.S., and forced migration of youth in the European Union. Participants will work through an eclectic set of materials including scholarly articles, judicial opinions, documentary films, and long-form journalism. The third topic will be labor rights or health and human rights. Check back for more details about this aspect of the program – available soon! This program is ideal for high school students who want to think critically about human rights and the complexity of finding solutions to social justice issues, both at home and abroad. Participants will develop the research, writing, interviewing, and observation skills that will help them to become better global citizens, who are equipped to understand and intervene in the world around them. Session I: Orientation June 17; Classes meet June 18 To July 5, 2018 Eligibility: Current high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, 14 years and older. Admissions: the Priority application deadline is February 2. Students who apply by the Priority application deadline will have their $50 application fee waived. Any applications received after the Priority deadline will be admitted using rolling admission and will require a $50 application fee. For domestic students, rolling admissions will typically close by early May; this may be earlier for specific programs that fill. Application process includes an online application, writing sample, personal profile, and recommendations. Need-based partial scholarships are available, with the completion of a scholarship application.