The Ideal of a Human Rights Campus

Abstract

Lindsey N. Kingston believes that educators have a responsibility to provide students with the knowledge and critical reasoning skills necessary for human rights advocacy—and that university HRE ought to take place on campuses where commitment to social justice is a defining characteristic. Her calls to include HRE in undergraduate programs and throughout campus life have taken on new urgency in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in an age of increasingly polarized politics and growing rhetoric against fundamental freedoms. Reflecting on her experiences directing the undergraduate International Human Rights (HRTS) program at Webster University—one of only a handful of human rights degree programs in the United States—she offers advice for building HRE foundations based on critical thinking and social engagement, for fostering inclusiveness on campus, and for supporting social justice every day.