Resources & Funding Opportunities
Every spring the Human Rights Institute sponsors a Graduate Human Rights Research Grant Competition. The objective of the competition is to support and promote research projects on human rights related questions. The funding competition is open to all masters and doctoral students in all disciplines from Storrs and the regional campuses. Awards are in the range of $2,000 per project.
For a detailed explanation of our funding for graduate students see our Research Funds page.
2011-2012 Grad Student Research Funding Recipients
Isaac Ampofo, International Studies
"The Formulation and Implementation of Policies in the Maternal Health Sector of Ghana,"
This project will address how public policies on health are formulated in Ghana, such that there is fair allocation of resources to the maternal health sector. Additionally, it will look into whether health care during maternity in Ghana is considered a basic right of a woman and if so, whether there are special concessions for such women to access health care.
Robert Allen Booth, Anthropology
"War Remembered: Museums and the Contestations of World War II Narratives."
This project examines how past societal traumas are contested within four museums in Slovenia through addressing questions of how these museums address deeply divisive, traumatic topics in a manner that is not also divisive and potentially harmful.
Cathy Buerger, Anthropology
"The Impact of Religious and Political Identities on Legal Strategies in Ghana"
This study aims to consider the impact of religious and political identity on the process of claiming rights within a plural legal system. The study will be organized around two main themes: what influences where individuals choose to settle disputes and how individuals prioritize their multiple identity based group memberships in the context of justice.
Michele Eggers, Social Work
"Reproductive Health and Human Rights in Chile"
This project investigates the criminalization of abortion in Chile as a violation of the human rights of women. The study will focus on the nature of community-based responses to the economic, political, social, and legal inequalities that exist within the context of restrictive reproductive health policies.
Maria Fernanda Enriquez, Political Science
"The Right to Nature in Ecuador"
In 2008, Ecuadorians endorsed a new constitution, the first in the world that grants rights to nature. This study asks why the environmental movement developed a right to nature frame, and whether environmental human rights and rights to nature are inherently compatible or not.
Melissa Skye Kerr, Anthropology
"Assessing the Economic and Social Benefits of Carpet Weaving for Repatriated Afghan Refugee Women"
This project will determine whether repatriated refugee women working as carpet weaver achieve an increase in status due to carpet weaving activity. Additionally, it will consider whether there is the potential for negative outcomes for women when international programs encourage women to behave in ways that are not culturally legitimate in the eyes of the community.
Jennifer Willett, Social Work
"Environmental Injustice in Mombasa, Kenya"
The following study proposes continued development of knowledge on the intersection of human rights and environmental harm in Mombasa, Kenya. This study aims to tell the stories of individuals seeking environmental justice, allowing for fusion with their completed environmental science studies to enable a better understanding of the complex dynamics of environmental inequality.