Campus Connection

Around the world societies have confronted their own culture to address human rights from within. Poetry and prose have been used by Muslim women to explore issues of sexuality, gender and religion. A narrative video was used to confront government sponsored rape by indigenous women in Guerrero, Mexico. Romani women — and men — have used local public forums to address the “virginity cult." Shayna Plaut, a doctoral student in Educational Studies at University of British Columbia, will explore these examples and more during a presentation "Culture, Human Rights and Social Change" at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at 102 Wing Technology Center. Plaut's academic work focuses on the use of media as a form of human rights project — particularly for Romani populations in the former Yugoslavia. She has assisted in the designing and researching of an Amnesty research mission focusing on the double discrimination faced by Romani women in Macedonia and has served as the Human Rights Education Coordinator for Amnesty International USA-Midwest region. The event is co-sponsored by the Departments of English, Sociology/Archaeology, Political Science, Educational Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the Women's Studies Student Association, Asian Latina Native American African American Women, and Native American Student Association.