Hendricks Symposium is Nov. 1-2

The G.E. Hendricks Symposium is Nov. 1-2 at UNL. The conference will include scholars from across the country engaging in public discussions and debates on topics related to the theme, "Human Rights and Human Security in Conversation."

The symposium is hosted by the Department of Political Science. The presentations are free and open to faculty, staff and students.

International human rights expert Rhoda Howard-Hassmann, who is Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights at Ontario’s Wilfrid Laurier University, will present the symposium’s keynote address. Her talk, “The Politics of Food in North Korea,” is 7 p.m. Nov. 1 in the Nebraska Union auditorium.

Three panel discussions are scheduled for Nov. 2 with opening remarks beginning at 9 a.m. All will be held in the Nebraska Union’s Colonial Room and allow time for questions and answers.

The panels are:

9:20 a.m. — “Philosophical Implications of Divorcing Rights from Security" — Papers on this panel will focus on the question of whether or not there is something distinct about the language of human rights that could be lost or damaged by either its close association or by its outright replacement with a language of human security. Alternatively, might something instead be gained by putting the ideas of human rights and human security closer together? Panelists — Brooke Ackerly (Vanderbilt); Michael Goodhart (Pittsburgh); Raymond Duvall (Minnesota).

10:50 a.m. — “Human Security: Claim or Frame?” — Papers on this panel will evaluate human security as a discrete phenomenon in international politics as opposed to a frame used by governments, activists and others to securitize human rights issues. The panelists will ask whether the concept of human security capture something unique, or is it a way of framing human vulnerabilities to make action to stop human suffering more politically palatable? Panelists: Charli Carpenter (UMass-Amherst); Scott Straus (Wisconsin); Taylor Seybolt (Pitt).

1:35 p.m. — “Conceptualization and Measurement of Human Security” — This panel will focus on operationalizing human security in comparable and consistent ways. Building off of the discussions in the day’s first two panel discussions, the participants on this panel will evaluate the effectiveness of traditional human rights measures in operationalizing human security and provide alternatives that better conceptualize and measure human security. Panelists: David Richards (University of Connecticut); Mark Gibney (UNC-Asheville)

UNL’s Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs program and the College of Arts and Sciences co-sponsor the symposium. It is made possible through the University of Nebraska's Hendricks Fund. Alumnus and attorney G.E. Hendricks established it in 1976 to support the exploration of current controversial political questions in a nonpartisan, unbiased manner. Hendricks believed that a more intelligent examination and consideration of political questions would lead to better government.