Category: Human Rights

21st Century: Genocide and the state of international activism

August 15, 2017

To millions of people across the world, the term genocide refers to the systematic decimation of a group of people. Yet genocide in and of itself refers to a much broader sense of subjection, one which is explained through the roots of holocaust that generally lies in interwar periods and sinks back into the history of rising tension between two distinct groups. … More 21st Century: Genocide and the state of international activism

Humans and Human Rights through Documentary

July 26, 2017

I have always been a fervent advocate of human rights. During the Armenian Genocide of 1915, my great-grandparents were of the few who survived the terrible atrocities. I’ve read countless first-hand accounts of genocide survivors and actively studied contemporary genocide (Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Rwandan Genocide, etc) through other means like film. As such, I was … More Humans and Human Rights through Documentary

Citizen Four: Effectiveness of Documentary

June 8, 2017

As a human rights activist, I was incredibly fascinated by Laura Poitras’ 2014 film Citizen Four and especially drawn to the content and how it’s displayed. The narrative, though taking place mostly in Edward Snowden’s Hong Kong hotel room, played out swiftly and enabled the viewer to understand Snowden’s choices in how he ‘blew the … More Citizen Four: Effectiveness of Documentary

1933 Convention and Interwar Humanitarianism

May 30, 2017

The 1933 “Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees” was the first real commitment to build a legal framework on behalf of refugees, specifically Russian and Armenian refugees (Article 1), and was ratified by nine nations in which France and the United Kingdom were included. The primary strength of the 1933 convention was the establishment … More 1933 Convention and Interwar Humanitarianism

“Torrents of Emotion” in Pamela and Pilgrim’s Progress

May 2, 2017

In “Torrents of Emotion,” Historian Lynn Hunt argues that eighteenth century literature endorsed the modern human rights movement by developing personable characters with whom readers could empathize. Taking Hunt’s ideas into consideration, the opening of Pamela by Samuel Richardson allows the reader to directly relate to characters by drawing on techniques of the epistolary novel … More “Torrents of Emotion” in Pamela and Pilgrim’s Progress

Holocaust: The Perpetrator’s Psych

March 7, 2017

The question in Christopher Browning’s Ordinary Men posed towards the beginning, when the author questions how a group of normal/sane policemen could “[shoot] some 1,500 Jews in the Polish village of Jozefow in the summer of 1942,” encompasses much of Browning’s analysis within his work. He investigates the motivation of the Holocaust perpetrators and attributes … More Holocaust: The Perpetrator’s Psych