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Center for Economic and Social Rights Posts US Status Report

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Dinah

From this week’s AAAS Science and Human Rights newsletter:

Rating the US Record on Economic and Social Rights
“It’s rare that the United States’ record on economic and social rights faces official international scrutiny. One such opportunity comes later this year, when the country must appear before the UN Human Rights Council, as part of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. In advance of that, CESR analyzed the rights to health, education, work, housing and an adequate standard of living in the United States. The results can be found in a just-published fact sheet, part of our “Visualizing Rights” series. We also filed an official submission to the UPR based on the data collected in the fact sheet, in coordination with US human rights groups who have been working as a coalition in the run up to the UPR session in November 2010.”

Read more about the report or access the full PDF with compelling data visualizations. Interested in getting involved in human rights volunteer opportunities? See the AAAS On-Call Scientists Program.

Filed under: Advocacy, Public Affairs, Resources | Tagged: , , | Comments Off

Columbia Human Rights Seminar Accepting Applicants

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Dinah

For 2010-11, the Columbia University Human Rights Seminar will be held under the theme “Human Rights in Conflict: Exploring the Issues, Assessing the Challenges.” Organizers welcome scholars and advocates who wish to explore factors that lead to conflicts in specific human rights issue areas, and examine their philosophical, sociological, political and legal underpinnings. Seminars consist of dinner, 15-minute paper presentations and discussion.

To participate, send an abstract of 500-700 words detailing your research question, thesis and methodology, the human rights conflict addressed, and dates that you’d be available to present, by August 15, to George Andreopoulos (chrights [at] jjay.cuny.edu), Zehra Arat (zehra.arat [at] purchase.edu), and Yasmine Ergas (ye36 [at] columbia.edu). Modest travel and lodging expenses will be covered.

Filed under: Events and Exhibits, Public Affairs | Comments Off

Federal Grants & Launch of Ntl. Heritage Areas Caucus

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Dinah

The National Humanities Alliance has informed us of the following June news:

  • On June 1, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission awarded 88 grants totaling $7,038,063 for projects in 36 states, Puerto Rico and DC. See the press release for a list of awardees.
  • On June 10, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced $20 million in grant awards and offers for 120 humanities projects in 43 states and DC. The funding supports a wide variety of projects, including traveling exhibitions, collaborative research, scholarly editions, advanced scholarly training in digital humanities, digitization of historic newspapers, programming offered by state humanities councils, and preservation of cultural heritage collections. See the press release for details.
  • On June 15, Congressmen Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Charlie Dent (R-PA) announced the launch of the National Heritage Areas Caucus.

Filed under: Career/Funding/Awards, Public Affairs | Comments Off

AAA Challenges Questions on US Census

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Damon

On May 27, AAA President Virginia Dominguez sent a letter to the Census Bureau suggesting alternatives to the label “linguistically isolated’ which it uses to classify people who live in households where no one over the age of 14 speaks English “very well.” See http://blog.aaanet.org/2010/05/27/aaa-challenges-questions-on-us-census/

Or AAA homepage link : http://www.aaanet.org/.

The letter was written by the newly constituted SLA Committee on Language and Social Justice, which partners with the AAA Committee on Human Rights (CfHR).  This is a follow up to the AAA¹s  2007 AAA resolution (see http://www.aaanet.org/issues/policy-advocacy/Language-in-US-Census-Resolution.cfm

<http://www.aaanet.org/issues/policy-advocacy/Language-in-US-Census-Resolution.cfm&gt; ), and previous correspondence with the Census Bureau. Those letters, which can be viewed at www.aaanet.org/cmtes/cfhr/index.cfm, <http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/cfhr/index.cfm>, <http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/cfhr/index.cfm> , reveal the unwillingness of the Census Bureau to change the language questions, but a willingness to re-consider their use of ³Linguistically Isolated.²  The Committee is hopeful that their efforts over the last four years will finally result in critical changes in the way the Census 2010 data are reported, and we will continue to press for changes in the language questions themselves.

Filed under: Advocacy, Public Affairs | 4 Comments »

Professors Beyond Borders Grows after April Launch

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Dinah

The new non-profit Professors Beyond Borders reports that is has expanded by nearly 200 members since its April 26 launch. The group was conceptualized by US Dept. of State-sponsored Fulbright New Century Scholars with the goal “to create a network of highly-trained, academically oriented volunteers available to assist with specific projects related to sustainable development… around the world.” Initial projects are scheduled in Thailand and Haiti. You can learn more about the PBB team and join the initiative through their website.

Filed under: Public Affairs | Comments Off

AAUP Releases 2009-10 Report on Faculty Salaries

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Dinah

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has announced the release of No Refuge: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2009-10. The AAUP website notes,

This year’s report discusses faculty salaries in the context of turbulent financial times and suggests that faculty salaries are concrete indicators of institutional priorities. Mandatory furloughs, hiring and salary freezes, and reductions in retirement-fund contributions are all symptoms of a continuing disinvestment in the faculty.

For highlights and links, see the report webpage.

Filed under: Public Affairs, Resources | Comments Off

AAA Delivers Hill Testimony on NSF Funding

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Brian

On April 10, AAA Executive Director William Davis appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to offer formal testimony in support of the Obama Administration’s request for an appropriation of $7.4 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Davis noted that while NSF provides only 21 percent of the total federal budget for basic research conducted in U.S. colleges and universities, the agency supports over half, or 57 percent, of all federal support committed for research in the social sciences.  For disciplines like anthropology, this support has tremendous significance.

Davis also noted that the NSF has, in the past, provided support to the American Anthropological Association for the development of a museum exhibit (RACE: Are We So Different?) currently traveling the country which stimulates public discussion and public education on the science, history and lived experience of race.

Filed under: Public Affairs | Comments Off

AAAS Adopts Statement “On the Human Right to the Benefits of Scientific Progress”

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Dinah

On Friday, April 16, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Board of Directors adopted a statement “On the human right to the benefits of scientific progress.” To read the full statement, please click on the “read more” link below. Information about current AAAS activities in this area is available online, via their Science and Human Rights Program website. (more…)

Filed under: Public Affairs | Comments Off

Foreign Scholars Regain Entry to US

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Brian

Last year, the AAA joined a number of organizations in urging the State Dept. and Homeland Security to stop denying visas to foreign scholars, writers, and activists based upon their political views, associations, and ideas. This practice of “ideological exclusion,” a legacy of the Bush administration, has slowly been showing signs of change. In January, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reversed a decision to deny entry to Adam Habib and Tariq Ramadan, two prominent Muslim scholars. Ramadan recently made his first public appearance since the ban to discuss building bridges with the Islamic world. The AAA continues to work with its partners to ensure that this practice is brought to an end.

Click here to view a copy (.pdf) of the letter addressed to the US Attorney General, Dept. of Homeland Security, and Dept. of State.

Filed under: Advocacy, Public Affairs | Comments Off

AAA Members Vote to Support Honduras Resolution

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Brian

The following is a message from AAA Secretary Debra Martin:

Dear AAA Member:

As the Secretary of the American Anthropological Association, I am pleased to report to you the results of our latest ballot initiative. At the most recent annual meeting, a resolution was adopted at the business meeting by a quorum of members. This resolution, in short, asks that the AAA denounce the current human rights violations and support Hondurans that have resisted and continue to resist the June 28, 2009 military coup in their country. The resolution also calls for the support of efforts by progressive forces to facilitate a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis. (more…)

Filed under: Association Business, Public Affairs | 2 Comments »

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