Tag Archives: Human Rights

Scholars’ Circle – Capital Punishment in USA and reasons why it faces increased opposition – October 17, 2021

October 16, 2021 host

The death penalty in the United States has faced increased opposition based on ethical, political, and legal concerns. Several states have outlawed it, but the federal government has returned to its use with a feverish wave of state executions last year. We discuss the implications of the use of the death penalty in the US and examine additional forms of extreme sentencing, such as life without parole. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Frank R. Baumgartner is the Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is the co-author of The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence and Deadly Justice: A Statistical Portrait of the Death Penalty.
Lee Kovarsky is Bryant Smith Chair in Law and Co-Director of the Capital Punishment Center at The University of Texas in Austin School of Law. He is the author of The Trump Executions and Muscle Memory and the Local Concentration of Capital Punishment.
Jenny-Brooke Condon is a Professor of Law in the Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall Law School. She directs the Equal Justice Clinic. She is the author of When Cruelty is the Point: Constitutional Restraints and Remedies for Family Separation and Denialism and the Death Penalty.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Examining Disability and Ableism – October 10, 2021

October 10, 2021 host

The rights of persons with disabilities is a growing and important area of human rights. But what does it mean to ensure equal treatment under the law? What exactly is a disability, and who makes the judgment? And what do we mean by ableism? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Lydia X. Z. Brown is Core Faculty in the Disabilities Studies Program at Georgetown University as well as Adjunct Professional Lecturer in the Critical Race, Gender and Culture Studies Program at American University. Lydia is the author of Ableist Shame and Disruptive Bodies: Survivorship at the Intersection of Queer, Trans, and Disabled Existence.
Michael Ashley Stein is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School. He is the editor of the book Mental Health, Legal Capacity and Human Rights.
Joel Michael Reynolds is a senior advisor to The Hastings Center and an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Disability Studies at Georgetown University. He is the co-author of The Harm of Ableism: Medical Error and Epistemic Injustice and the author of Three Things Clinicians Should Know about Disability.

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Scholars’ Circle – Impact of American Lawyers on International Human Right Cases ; One Year after Armenia and Azerbaijan war – October 3, 2021

October 2, 2021 host

We interview Maria Armoudian who has published a book on international human rights and the role that lawyers have played at advancing cases against human rights abusers. Maria Armoudian is the author of Lawyers Beyond Borders : Advancing International Human Rights Through Local Laws and Courts. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

Maria Armoudian is a lecturer at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is the author of the books Reporting from the Danger Zone: Frontline Journalists, Their Jobs and an Increasingly Perilous Future, Kill the Messenger: The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World, and her most recent Lawyers Beyond Borders : Advancing International Human Rights Through Local Laws and Courts . Maria is a host and anchor of this show, the Scholars’ Circle.

Then, we explore the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan a year after the war over the disputed region of Ngoro-Karabagh. What is the current status of the region following the cease-fire? Is there possibility of lasting peace? [ dur: 26 mins. ]

Anna Ohanyan is the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, and a two-times Fulbright Scholar in the South Caucasus. She is the editor of Russia Abroad: Driving Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia and Beyond, and her latest book “The Neighborhood Effect: The Imperial Roots of Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia“. Professor Ohanyan is also a nonresident senior scholar in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Scholars’ Circle – Afghanistan, US ends 20 year stay and Taliban Takeover – August 29, 2021

August 28, 2021 host

The conflict in Afghanistan has transformed with the US withdrawal. We examine why the government fell and the impact on the country and the region.

What are the security threats within the country and the potential for increased violence with the fall of the government in Afghanistan? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Thomas H. Johnson is a Research Professor of the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School as well the Director of the Program for Culture & Conflict Studies. He is the author of Taliban Narratives: The Uses and Power of Stories in the Afghanistan Conflict.
Amin Tarzi is the Director of Middle East Studies at the Marine Corps University. He is the co-editor of Taliban and the Crisis in Afghanistan with Professor Robert D. Crews. He is the author of Iran, Russia, and the Taliban: Reassessing the Future of the Afghan State.
Robert Crews is Professor of History at Stanford University. He is the author of Afghan Modern: The History of a Global Nation and co-editor of Under the Drones: Modern Lives in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Borderlands.
Steve Swerdlow is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. He has conducted extensive field work internationally with a particular focus on Central Asia and the Caucuses.

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Scholars’ Circle – First 100 days of US President Biden in office and Official Acknowledgement of Armenian Genocide by USA – May 2, 2021

May 1, 2021 host

Presidents are often historically judged based on the accomplishments of their first 100 days in office. US President Joe Biden just passed his 100 day mark. How does his record compare to historical records? How likely are President Biden’s proposals to be adopted? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at University of Texas, Austin. He holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and Foreign Policy Breakthroughs: Cases in Successful Diplomacy

Last week, to commemorate the start of the Ottoman genocide against Armenians, US President Joe Biden officially acknowledged the genocide. He was the first US President to do so. Typically cited as the reason why US Presidents were reluctant to acknowledge the genocide is that future of US/Turkish relations, as Turkey continues to deny the genocide. We explore why a nation denies committing genocides and mass atrocities, and what forms this denial takes. What is the implications of President Biden’s acknowledgment for US-Turkish relations? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 31mins. ]

Fatma Müge Göçek is a Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at University of Michigan. Her publications include Social Constructions of Nationalism in the Middle East, The Transformation of Turkey: Redefining State and Society from the Ottoman Empire to the Modern Era, and her latest book Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present, and Collective Violence against the Armenians, 1789-2009

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Scholars’ Circle – Acknowledgement and commemoration mean for Genocide Survivors – April 25, 2021

April 25, 2021 host

After the genocide event, there are voices of remembrance by generations of past survivor. The victims live with trauma of the experience which is passed on to following generations of survivors. In this hour we discuss with scholars how these events affect individuals, groups, nation states and all of humanity. What does acknowledgement and commemoration mean for Genocide Awareness and Justice? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Dr. Stephen D. Smith, Finci-Viterbi Endowed Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, is committed to making the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust and of other crimes against humanity a compelling voice for education and action. He has authored many articles including The Memory Generation: Sidney Bernstein is the reason we know what the Nazi concentration camps looked like. He is the producer of Shoah Foundation’s podcast called the Memory Generation.

Maria Armoudian is Senior Lecturer on Political Science at University of Auckland. She is the author of Reporting from the Danger Zone: Frontline Journalists, Their Jobs, and an Increasingly Perilous Future and Kill the Messenger : The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World. Her recent article The big lie about the Armenian Genocide published by New Zealand Herald.

Dovile Budryte, Ph.D, is a professor of political science at Georgia Gwinnett College. Her areas of interest include gender studies, trauma and memory in international relations and nationalism. She is the author of Taming Nationalism? Political Community Building in the Post-Soviet Baltic States and co-editor of Memory and Trauma in International Relations: Theories, Cases and Debates.

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Scholars’ Circle – Survey of historical and current Practices to Redress Crimes Against Humanity – April 18, 2021

April 17, 2021 host

After mass atrocities and crimes against humanity, how can societies reconcile? How is justice performed and how should we recognize these crimes? And what of the clash between international interests and local needs when dealing with the punishment and acknowledgment of atrocities? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Elazar Barkan is Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and Director of Columbia’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. He is founding Director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (IHJR) in The Hague. He is the author of Guilt of Nations: Restitution and Negotiating Historical Injustices and co-author of Taking Wrongs Seriously: Apologies and Reconciliation.
Mark Drumbl is Professor at Washington and Lee University, School of Law, and Director of the University’s Transnational Law Institute. He is the author of Reimagining Child Soldiers In International Law and Policy and Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law.
Jeremy Sarkin is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and member of CEDIS at Nova University Law School in Lisbon, Portugal. He is the author of The Global Impact and Legacy of Truth Commissions, Reparations for Colonial Genocides and co-editor of Africa’s Role and Contribution to International Criminal Justice.

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Scholars’ Circle -Discerning facts from fiction on the internet; Forces and means of preventing Genocide – April 11, 2021

April 10, 2021 host

The great promise of the internet to provide interconnectedness and the spread of great ideas has brought great challenges in discerning facts from fiction. Our guest discusses ways we can identify misinformation and disinformation. [ dur: 26 mins. ]

Damaso Reyes is a freelance journalist and a researcher, speaker and trainer in the field of media and information literacy.

Then, April is a notorious month for genocide and mass human rights abuses. We will analyze the forces of genocide and the means of preventing genocide. [ dur: 32mins. ]

Ben Kiernan is Whitney Griswold Professor of History and Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University. He is the author of, Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, and The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79.
Alex Hinton is Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide, Conflict Resolution, and Human Rights, and Professor of Anthropology and Global Affairs at Rutgers University. He is the co-author of, Why Did They Kill?: Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide, and is the editor of Genocide: Truth, Memory, and Representation (The Cultures and Practice of Violence), and Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide.
Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is the author of, Zero Degrees of Empathy, and he is the editor of Understanding Other Minds: Perspectives from developmental social neuroscience, and The Maladapted Mind: Classic Readings in Evolutionary Psychopathology.

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Scholars’ Circle – Rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes and Leading the US Department of Justice – March 21, 2021

March 20, 2021 host

Anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise since the outbreak of Covid. What is at its root? [ dur: 29mins. ]

Brian Levin is Director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism and Professor of Criminal Justice at California State University, San Bernardino. He is co-author of the book The Limits of Dissent and co-author of the publications Report to the nation: hate crimes rise in US cities and counties in time of division and foreign interference, Posing the Why Question: Understanding the perpetration of racially motivated violence and harassment, and Fact Sheet: Anti-Asian Prejudice 2020 (March 2, 2021).

To report a hate incident and for more information visit https://stopaapihate.org/

A new Attorney General will lead to new priorities. How should Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice confront hate crimes and terrorism? [ dur: 27mins. ]

Chuck Rosenberg is a senior counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group. He served as the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (2015 to 2017) and as the Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to FBI Director Jim Comey (2013 to 2015). He is the host of the podcast on MSNBC called The Oath.

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Scholars’ Circle – Addressing Institutional Racism and Genocide – March 7, 2021

March 6, 2021 host

With the world facing multiple crises, we speak with three preeminent scholars from psychology, anthropology and philosophy about the crossroads before us and ways that we can navigate them for the betterment of humanity. [ dur: 58mins. ]

David Livingstone Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others, and his latest On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist it.
Ervin Staub is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His numerous publications include Overcoming evil: Genocide, violent conflict and terrorism, The roots of evil: The origins of genocide and other group violence, and The roots of goodness: Inclusive caring, moral courage, altruism born of suffering, active bystandership and heroism.
Doug Fry is Professor & Chairperson in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. With Riane Eisler he has co-authored, Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Minds, Lives, and Future. He is also the author of ,Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace and the editor of War, Peace, and Human Nature: The Convergence of Evolutionary and Cultural Views.

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Tag Archives: Human Rights

Scholars’ Circle – Capital Punishment in USA and reasons why it faces increased opposition – October 17, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Examining Disability and Ableism – October 10, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Impact of American Lawyers on International Human Right Cases ; One Year after Armenia and Azerbaijan war – October 3, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Afghanistan, US ends 20 year stay and Taliban Takeover – August 29, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – First 100 days of US President Biden in office and Official Acknowledgement of Armenian Genocide by USA – May 2, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Acknowledgement and commemoration mean for Genocide Survivors – April 25, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Survey of historical and current Practices to Redress Crimes Against Humanity – April 18, 2021

Scholars’ Circle -Discerning facts from fiction on the internet; Forces and means of preventing Genocide – April 11, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes and Leading the US Department of Justice – March 21, 2021

To report a hate incident and for more information visit https://stopaapihate.org/

Scholars’ Circle – Addressing Institutional Racism and Genocide – March 7, 2021

By Maria Armoudian