Liza Grandia, associate professor of Native American studies, and Keith David Watenpaugh, professor and director of human rights studies, have been honored by the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) for research and partnerships with a tangible impact on the daily lives of people in countries such as Guatemala and Syria.
When Shant Garabedian was a student at UC Davis, he and a few others founded the Armenian Student Association to draw attention to the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century. Garabedian and his wife, Robin, recently made a donation to establish a lecture series as part of the Human Rights Studies program. “This is a way to continue what I started 30 years ago,” said Garabedian.
Through a rich and interwoven mix of the humanities — literature, human rights, ethnic studies, art — UC Davis faculty and students are deepening the world’s understanding of climate change and its lasting grip on the human experience.
Recent graduate Jumana Esau (B.A., English, ’20) combined her passions for literary scholarship and human rights to explore climate change and its impact on overlooked and vulnerable populations. Her honors thesis examines African futuristic works in climate fiction.
An English major — who aims to use fiction to address climate change and help its refugees — will be honored as the top graduating senior at the University of California, Davis, during its online graduation celebration Friday, June 12. Jumana Esau is being awarded the University Medal, which recognizes excellence in undergraduate studies, outstanding community service, and the promise of future scholarship and contributions to society.
Many college-age refugees around the world have been denied access to higher education, often because they have no way to document their academic background. Article 26 Backpack, which uses face-to-face counseling and cloud-based technology to help refugees document and share their educational accomplishments, has been created to assist them. The international consortium behind the project is led by Keith David Watenpaugh, a professor and director of Human Rights Studies in the College of Letters and Science.
Margaret Jacobs, a UC Davis graduate and an award-winning scholar who studies the forced removal of indigenous children from their families in Australia, Canada and the U.S., gave the talk “Indigenous Children’s Rights and Settler Colonial Wrongs,” as part of the Human Rights Studies Program lecture series.
