I used to think that the abuse of human rights was something that impacted people far away from me. Violations occurred when there were starving children in Ethiopia, human rights were violated during the South African apartheid, and it happened to women on the other side of the world who were victims of female genital mutilation. I viewed these problems as massive and complex. Their solutions must include vast monetary resources and legions of human power to resolve these colossal problems. My coursework impacted my understanding of human rights by showing me that human rights is a much more expansive issue than I had imagined. It’s also very close to home in my neighbourhood, city, and country. Additionally, I learned that the solutions do not necessarily need to be all encompassing and comprehensive; small gains are wins too.
HRSJ 5010 – Foundations of Human Rights and Social Justice provided me with a foundational and theoretical understanding of Human Rights and Social Justice. I was able to take abstract theories and apply them to a case study with a group of my peers. Working together on this project allowed me to get to know some of the intellects in my cohort, while engaging in interdisciplinary knowledge sharing.
Much of the material covered in this class was new to me. I had never taken a political science class. At first, I had a difficult time connecting the theoretical frameworks to the cases we analyzed. Sometimes, I couldn’t even identify what the theory was! It wasn’t until a subsequent semester that everything came together for me, and I started to grasp the content. I had so many “Aha” moments where something that we had read in this class became clear, or a lecture I struggled to contextualize was understandable for me. It was an enormous lesson in patience.
HRSJ 5020 – Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Resurgence of Land Based Pedagogies and Practices provided me with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the traumatic colonial history in Canada and its continued effect on the Indigenous peoples of the land we have settled. I was able to learn from the land, elders, and ceremony.
Visiting sites of suffering, such as the Kamloops Indian Residential School, to see how resistance and healing is emerging was an emotional experience. Hearing an elder speak in his native tongue, a language that is nearly extinct, really helped me to comprehend the scale of the human rights harm done to the first peoples of Canada. When he spoke to the class about his experiences with traditional hunting and nomadic travel, I was transported back in time; but he wasn’t speaking of a time so long ago. Going to the land and being guided on how to learn from it was powerful. Getting to hold traditional hunting and fishing tools and observing a demonstration of how they worked was magical. Holding medicines that were gathered and learning about how they could be used allowed me to recognize the value of non-scientific medicine.
HRSJ 5030 – Problem Solving in the Field: Study Techniques and Methods taught me about the methodology researchers use to study human rights. I had never taken a methodological course before. Learning about the process of this kind of academic research was inspiring. Getting to hear about all the interesting projects my peers were working on opened my eyes to vast areas of opportunity.
HRSJ 5040 – HRSJ Field Experience was where I was able to apply the knowledge I had gained in the classroom to real world experiences. It was so satisfying to use my new understanding of human rights so close to home. I ended up in a placement that I had never considered to be a human rights issue in the past. I now have a deeper understanding of the local impact my studies can have.
The courses and the examples above formed the core of my understanding of human rights. In the elective courses, I was able to deepen my awareness and interpretation by analyzing human rights through an interdisciplinary lens in specific contexts.
HRSJ 5110 – Genocide in the 20th Century expectedly, was one of the darkest classes I have ever taken. The learning experience was, however, one of the most profound and memorable of any class I have taken. Connecting emotionally to the material allowed me to internalize and personalize my learning. I won’t soon forget the lectures, the vulnerability of my classmates, and the contextualization of a genocidal event that began on the other side of the world while taking this class.
This class highlighted for me the most extreme examples of how human rights can be dispossessed under oppressive regimes, authoritative powers, and when governments disregard humanity. I learned more about the Holocaust and Rwanda; I heard my international classmates share about horrors from their own countries and the lasting impact it has on their lives; I discovered a more nuanced understanding of the residential school system in North America, among others. Interestingly, I learned that sites of remembrance, historical markers, and heritage landmarks can all be locations where memory may be distorted, furthering harm.
HRSH 5120 – Settler Colonialism: Decolonization and Responsibility changed me. It changed how I think. It changed how I look at the world, and how I interact with it. It happened slowly throughout the term. I didn’t realize the profound impact it had on me until after I had presented my final project and discovered that I moved through the world differently.
Learning in a decolonized classroom showed me what a gain in human rights could look like. This class allowed me to see the other end of the spectrum. While there were still colonial aspects and assignments within the class, I felt the contrast. Being allowed to express my learning in an unconventional format was extremely uncomfortable, at first. I’m not sure I have quite accepted it, even now. It was such a departure from how I am conditioned to understand what learning is and should be.