Call for Proposals: Approaches to Human Rights Pedagogy

The American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Teaching and Learning Program, in partnership with Human Rights Review, is pleased to announce a call for proposals for a small cohort of scholars to participate in a three-day symposium focused on human rights pedagogy to be held on June 19-21, 2025 at APSA’s headquarters in Washington, DC.

The purpose of this symposium is to share approaches to the teaching of human rights and to develop pedagogical materials for the discipline. The symposium will be led by the Editor-in-Chief of Human Rights Review, George Andreopoulos (CUNY John Jay and Graduate Center), and the Pedagogical Section Editor for Human Rights Review, Steven D. Roper (Florida Atlantic University).

APSA Teaching & Learning Symposium: Approaches to Human Rights Pedagogy 
Date: Thursday, June 19 – Saturday, June 21, 2025
Location: APSA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

The goals of this symposium are three-fold:

1. To present novel techniques in which human rights pedagogy can be advanced.
2. To create materials that can assist colleagues in developing and/or revising human rights courses.
3. To provide a forum for in-depth exchanges among colleagues interested in human rights pedagogy which can serve to build community and promote an ongoing conversation on this critical issue.

During the first two days, participants will present their symposium papers (approximately 7,500-8000 word count) as well as serve as discussants for other papers. Presentations will be short, allowing for significant discussion among the participants in a workshop-style atmosphere. We anticipate that the papers will be in a draft publication stage. Human Rights Review will dedicate a special issue to human rights pedagogy, in which papers selected from this symposium will be sent out for a double-blind review. All papers accepted following the double-blind review will appear in the special issue.

We encourage a broad range of topics on human rights pedagogy, including, but not limited to:

• Approaches to teaching human rights in various disciplinary subfields.
• Experiential and active learning approaches to human rights pedagogy.
• Incorporation of advocacy into human rights courses.
• Exploring different approaches to graded assignments.
• Consideration of ethical issues in the teaching of human rights.
• Linkage between undergraduate and graduate human rights courses.
• Examining human rights courses within the broader curriculum.
• Re-thinking human rights within the discipline.
• Advancing interdisciplinary perspectives in human rights pedagogy

The final day will be devoted to discussing materials to teach human rights, which will be disseminated to colleagues via the APSA Educate.

Application Deadline: February 24, 2025. Proposals should be submitted online and include:

• Recent c.v., including detailed information on teaching experience.
• 250-word abstract summarizing your paper presentation.
• 250-word description of the current state of the paper indicating what needs to be accomplished for the paper to be in draft publication form.
• 250-word description of your teaching philosophy and goals for participating in the symposium.

Successful applicants will be notified by March 15, 2025. The symposium will be held in-person. APSA and the publisher of Human Rights Review, Springer, will provide travel grants. For more information, see our FAQs and/or contact [email protected] or Michelle Allendoerfer at [email protected] with any questions.

George Andreopoulos is Professor of Political Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and the founding Director of the Center for International Human Rights at John Jay College. Before coming to CUNY, he taught for several years at Yale University, where he was also the Founding Associate Director of the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights. He has written extensively on international organizations, international human rights, and international humanitarian law issues. Over the years, he has participated in several human rights missions and has been a consultant for International Organizations and NGOs. He is past President of the Interdisciplinary Studies Section (IDSS) of the International Studies Association (ISA) and past President of the Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA). He is the recipient of many grants and fellowships, including the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Alexander Onassis Foundation and the German Research Foundation. He is currently completing a book on the United Nations Security Council and Counter-Terrorism. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Human Rights Review.

Steven D. Roper is a Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University. His research explores the design and the implementation of transitional justice with a focus on conflict resolution mechanisms. He has held grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the International Research & Exchanges Board, and the Social Science Research Council. He was a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Specialist. Dr. Roper has served as a consultant to the US Agency for International Development, US Department of State and the World Bank. In addition to his work in the area of human rights, Dr. Roper has an extensive experience in international education and has served as a consultant on the Bologna process and models of national accreditation. He is the author of five books and over fifty articles and book chapters.

Visit APSA’s Teaching Symposia page for information about this program and to view past events.