University of Chicago Human Rights Program Distinguished Lecturer Series

A talk by Jorge Fernandez-Souza, Magistrate Judge, Professor of Law and former Dean of Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, former Delegado of Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, and lawyer for Bishop Samuel Ruiz in the Chiapas negotiations (1994 – 1997). From the Human Rights in Mexico Series. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

A talk by Mariclaire Acosta. Acosta is affiliated with the Organization of American States, co-founder of the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos; founder, Comision Mexicana para la Promocion y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, and former director of Human Rights in the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. From the Human Rights in Mexico Series. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

A talk by Bertha Lujan, Secretaria del Trabajo, Gobierno "Legitimo" de México (de Andrés Manuel López Obrador), former Controlora, Cd. de México (2000-2006), and lead organizer of Frente Auténtico del Trabajo. From the Human Rights in Mexico Series. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

Sara Paretsky is the author of the bestselling V. I. Warshawski novels, including, most recently, Fire Sale and Blacklist. She is the winner of many awards, including the Cartier Diamond Dagger award for lifetime achievement from the British Crime Writers’ Association. This lecture series honors the life and work of Dr. Robert Kirschner, noted forensic pathologist and international human rights activist, who was a founder of the University of Chicago Human Rights Program. From the Human Rights Program's Robert H. Kirschner Memorial Lecture Series.

Lecture by Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Samantha Power's book, A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. She was the founding executive director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, and covered the wars in the former Yugoslavia as a reporter for U.S. News and World Report, The Boston Globe and The Economist. From the Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series; co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies and Students for Global Public Health.

A talk by Gillian Slovo, co-author of the play "Guantanamo: 'Honor-Bound to Defend Freedom.'" South African-born Gillian Slovo has published a family memoir and ten novels, including Ice Road, which was short-listed for the Orange Prize. From the Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series; co-sponsored by the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

David Cole is the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation and a commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Moderated by Susan Gzesh, Director, University of Chicago Human Rights Program. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series and Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series. Cosponsored by the Human Rights Program.

John Comaroff is Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series and Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series.

A talk by Zackie Achmat, a South African activist most widely known as founder and chairman of Treatment Action Campaign. Presented in collaboration with Students for Global Public Health and the Human Rights Program. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series and Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series.

Lecture by Justice Albie Sachs. Introductions by George Chauncey (Professor, Dept. of History and the College) and Martha Nussbaum (Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, Dept. of Philosophy, Law School, Divinity School). Co-sponsored by the Center for Comparative Constitutionalism, Center for Gender Studies, and the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory. From the Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series.