Author: Branzell, Alex

Human Rights & Cultural Resistance through Theatre

Wednesday, April 19, 2023
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Nafe Katter Theatre
UConn Fine Arts Complex

4-19-23 Event: Human Rights & Cultural Resistance through Theatre

About this Event:

Nabil Al-Raee, a prominent director and playwright from the West Bank, will be visiting UConn Storrs April 17 - 19.  On Wednesday, April 19, Al-Raee joins us in the Katter Theatre for a presentation entitled Human Rights and Cultural Resistance through Theatre. Al-Raee will present images and speak about several Palestinian productions including, The Siege, The Caretaker, by Harold Pinter, I Am My Own Enemy, a deconstruction of the Medusa Myth, and Suicide Note, based on Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis.

The presentation will also include a public interview with Distinguished Professor Gary M. English in which he will discuss the cultural and political situation in the West Bank, the function of theatre as resistance, and the theatre methods and techniques used in theatre training within a conflict zone. Additional topics will include the use of personal narrative as dramaturgy and the development of theatre based on devised theatre practices.

This event and Nabil's residency are co-sponsored by Theatre Studies, Middle East Studies, and the Research Program on Arts & Human Rights.

Nabil Al-Raee

About Nabil Al-Raee:

Nabil Al-Raee served on the artistic staff of The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, West Bank, Palestine for over a decade and as artistic director from 2013 - 2019. He led the creation of a three-year curriculum in acting that, still in place, focuses on the development of he and colleague Micaela Miranda refer to as an "actor of resistance." The approach focuses on the development and performance of personal narrative within a clear political, social and personal context. Al-Raee also developed and wrote several plays including The Siege, that toured extensively in the U.K. and played at the Skirball Center at NYU. Other productions include Suicide Note, (based on 4.48 Psychosis) I Am My Own Enemy, (a deconstruction of the Medusa Myth) and an adaption of Animal Farm by George Orwell. As an actor he appeared most recently in the film 200 Meters, starring Ali Suliman, and directed by Ameen Nayfeh.

Nabil studied theatre and music in Palestine and Tunisia, is an accomplished musician, actor, director and playwright. He is also an expert on Palestinian arts, culture and politics, cultural resistance, political drama and grew up as a refugee in the Aroub Refugee Camp near Bethlehem.

Health in Ruins: The Capitalist Destruction of Medical Care at a Colombian Maternity Hospital

Tuesday, April 11, 2023
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Humanities Institute Conference Room
In-Person & Online

About This Event:

Join us for a panel celebrating Professor César Ernesto Abadía-Barrero’s new book, Health in Ruins, which chronicles the story of El Materno—Colombia’s oldest maternity and neonatal health center and teaching hospital—over several decades as it faced constant threats of government shutdown.

This team-based and collaborative ethnography analyzes the social life of neoliberal health policy. The book shows that health care privatization is not only about defunding public hospitals; it also ruins rich traditions of medical care by denying or destroying ways of practicing medicine that challenge Western medicine.

Our panel will include an overview of the book by Prof. Abadía-Barrero, followed by comments from three internationally renowned experts in medical anthropology and global health. The electronic version of the book is available from the UConn Library or Duke University Press.

Join us!

We kindly ask that you register to attend regardless of the modality you will join.

In-person:
Humanities Institute Conference Room,
4th Floor of Homer Babbidge Library
Reception from 3:30 - 4:00 pm.

Online:
Register for Zoom details

Reception

Those joining us in-person are encouraged to join us for a reception ahead of the event at 3:30 pm in the same room. Refreshments will be served.

César E. Abadía-Barrero

About César Abadía-Barrero:

César E. Abadía-Barrero is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut. A medical anthropologist, his research integrates different critical perspectives in the study of how for-profit interests transform access, continuity, and quality of health care. He has conducted activist-oriented research in Brazil and Colombia, focusing on healthcare policies and programs, human rights judicialization and advocacy, and social movements in health. He is the author of I Have AIDS but I am Happy: Children’s Subjectivities, AIDS, and Social Responses in Brazil (2011, English and Portuguese editions) and Health in Ruins: The Capitalist Destruction of Medical Care (2022, English and Spanish editions). His current collaborative research follows decolonial proposals in health and wellbeing after Colombia’s 2016 peace accord.  

Our Panel:

Alejandro Cerón

Alejandro Cerón
Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Denver

Omar Dewachi

Omar Dewachi
Radcliffe Fellow, Harvard University
Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology and Global Health, Rutgers University

Carolyn Smith-Morris

Carolyn Smith-Morris
Professor, School of Public Health, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Sarah Willen

Sarah Willen (Moderator)
Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Connecticut
Co-Director, Research Program on Global Health & Human Rights

The Research Program on Global Health and Human Rights serves as a forum for UConn’s scholarly community interested in global health, human rights, and health inequities. This program is an integral part of the Human Rights Institute, seeking to understand human rights based approaches to health challenges.

Human Rights Film+ Series: After Zero Tolerance

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
5:00pm - 6:30pm
In-Person Event
Konover Auditorium, The Dodd Center for Human Rights

About ‘After Zero Tolerance’

Directed by Emmy™ Award-winning filmmaker and UConn DMD Associate Professor Oscar Guerra, After Zero Tolerance brings a compelling and intimate perspective to the ongoing debate around US immigration policy and the treatment of families and children at the border. The film follows the story of Anavelis, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with her then-six-year-old daughter, Genesis, in 2018. They were forcibly separated by law enforcement at a border camp, and Anavelis was deported back to Honduras without Genesis – kicking off a years-long quest to reunite with her daughter. 

This event will feature a full screening of After Zero Tolerance (2022, 29 minutes), followed by a discussion with Oscar Guerra, Ann Garcia, Nan Schivone, and Anavelis.

Our Guests:

  • Prof. Oscar GuerraAfter Zero Tolerance filmmaker and Associate Professor, UConn Department of Digital Media & Design
  • Ann Garcia, Attorney, National Immigration Project
  • Nan Schivone, Legal Director, Justice in Motion
  • AnavelisAfter Zero Tolerance film protagonist

Moderator:

  • Prof. Catherine Masud, Assistant Professor in Residence, UConn Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and Department of Digital Media & Design

For a preview of the film, watch the above excerpt (3 minutes).

After Zero Tolerance is a FRONTLINE production with Five O’Clock Films in association with Guerra Productions, the Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the University of Connecticut. The writer, producer and director is Oscar Guerra. The senior producer is Frank Koughan.

This event is sponsored by the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, Dodd Impact, and the Department of Digital Media & Design. We kindly ask you register to join us.

Rwanda’s Restorative Journey: Living Alongside Your Enemy

Tuesday, January 24, 2023
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Konover Auditorium
The Dodd Center for Human Rights 

About This Event:

Three days into the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi, Carl and Teresa Wilkens made the heart wrenching decision that she would take their young children to safety, and he would stay at their home in Kigali and try to help. Neither had any idea that during the next 100 days more than a million people would be slaughtered, often by their neighbors.

Through the sharing of first-hand accounts of the catastrophic 1994 genocide and the country’s rebuilding journey that followed, Carl will discuss restorative justice and practices and engage us in guided conversations about what those practices mean today, particularly in the realm of rebuilding trust.

Join Us:

This event is in-person only in the Konover Auditorium of The Dodd Center for Human Rights. All are welcome!
Register Here.

It is co-sponsored by UConn Global Affairs, the Center for Judaic Studies & Contemporary Jewish Life, and Dodd Human Rights Impact.

About Carl Wilkens

As a humanitarian aid worker, Carl Wilkens was one of two Americans who refused to leave Rwanda as thousands of expatriates and UN soldiers fled the country in the face of what is now known as the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi. Working together with Rwandan colleagues they brought food, water, and medicine to orphans trapped around the city.

These days Wilkens travels around the globe using the transformative process of storytelling and restorative practices to explore topics such as polarization, harmful conflict, and belonging. He is the Co-founder and Director of World Outside My Shoes.

"I'm Not Leaving"

In advance of the event, we encourage you to watch the 40-minute documentary, I'm Not Leaving, available in full & free on YouTube.

This 40-minute documentary shares snapshots of the genocide through the eyes of Carl and his wife Teresa along with: Gasigwa, a courageous Rwandan colleague whose home became a safe-house, Laura from the US Embassy who wrestled with Washington, DC to not abandon their mission, and Phil, one of the handful of UN peacekeepers who volunteered to stay in Rwanda and were tenuously hanging on to save lives. Their gut-wrenching choices and unexpected alliances formed during the 100 days of slaughter leave us with a surprising sense of hope and agency.

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact humanrights@uconn.edu.

Exhibition Closing Reception: Madeline Baird on ‘Embodied Borders’

Wednesday, February 1, 2023
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Dodd Lounge
The Dodd Center for Human Rights 

About This Event:

We welcome you to join us for a closing reception to celebrate and discuss the most recent exhibition in the hall of The Dodd Center for Human Rights with the photographer. Madeline Baird's 'Embodied Borders' reveals the human toll of the exportation of U.S. border enforcement through a series of captivating photographs.

Madeline Baird is a PhD student in Anthropology at UConn. Prior to enrolling at UConn, Madeline earned an MSc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and worked for a decade supporting public health program design and community-based research. Her current research employs ethnographic methods to explore constructions of health inequity, human rights, and healing in Latin America.

Join Us:

This event is in-person only in the lounge of The Dodd Center for Human Rights.

Light snacks & refreshments will be served.

No registration is necessary. All are welcome!

About the Exhibition:

In recent decades, the extension of U.S. immigration and border enforcement policies to countries in Central America increasingly pressures migrant populations seeking refuge in the U.S. to travel the most remote and dangerous passages to the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2022, more than 200,000 migrants traversed the Darien Gap known to be one of the most dangerous sections of the journey through Central America. This series of photographs documents the embodied impact of the exportation of U.S. border enforcement 2,500 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border for migrants in transit through Panama.

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact humanrights@uconn.edu.