Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
The Human Rights Film & Digital Media Initiative is a collaboration between the Department of Digital Media & Design, Dodd Impact Programs, and the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. By supporting innovative projects, providing hands-on learning experiences, and hosting dynamic, engaging events, the initiative seeks to foster the creation of and engagement with the next generation of human rights and social justice advocates and analysts through digital media.
The Human Rights Film+ Series
The Human Rights Film+ Series presents new and classic works of documentary, feature, and journalistic film, as well as video games and other digital media, that address key human rights issues and themes. A cornerstone of the Human Rights Film & Digital Media Initiative, it is presented by the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, Dodd Impact Programs, and the School of Fine Art’s Department of Digital Media & Design.
The Human Rights Film+ Series was initiated in 2005 and has foregrounded critical human rights issues spanning local to global levels through the medium of film. The Series has featured experienced and emerging filmmakers in conversations about their films, engaging students, faculty, staff and community members through post-show discussions. The Series organizers have partnered with varied units on campus to address themes such as civil rights as human rights, economic and social rights, and art and activism. In 2020, we expanded the Series to “Film+” to include other forms of digital media, including games and animation.
Upcoming Events
https://events.uconn.edu/live/json/v2/events/response_fields/location,summary/date_format/%25F%20%25j,%20%25Y/group/Human Rights Institute/category/Online Events/category/Academic Support/category/Art & Performance/category/Athletics & Recreation/category/Awards, Receptions & Celebrations/category/Career & Professional Development/category/Community Outreach/category/Conferences & Speakers/category/Cultural Centers & Programs/category/Health & Wellness/category/Important Dates & Deadlines/category/Student Activities/category/Training & Workshops/category_audience/Faculty/category_audience/General Public/category_audience/Graduate Students/category_audience/Prospective Students/category_audience/Staff/category_audience/Undergraduate Students/category_campus/Avery Point/category_campus/Hartford/category_campus/Stamford/category_campus/Storrs/category_campus/UConn Health/category_campus/UConn Law/category_campus/Waterbury/tag/human rights film series/max/4/start_date/today/end_date/6 months/
Our initiative develops student learning opportunities across a range of courses designed to foster knowledge, skills, and creativity through cross-listed courses and in-class collaborations in the human rights and social justice space.
"Working with Professor Masud and the rest of the class was one of the most fulfilling projects I've worked on to date. The breadth and variety of work that myself and the team completed, supplemented by hands-on learning opportunities, came together into an incredibly robust understanding of the issue, as well as a quality piece of media that will have an impact that lasts beyond my time as an undergraduate. This course has almost directly led to my interest in archival sciences, and further solidified my desire to continue working in the human rights sphere."
- Aiden Bruecker, DMD 3998 Visual Representations of Armenian Memory, Spring 2019
Course Highlights
Digital Storytelling through Human Rights Archives
DMD / HRTS 3640 & 3641
Instructor: Catherine Masud
A two-semester course sequence that introduces students to oral history interviewing, digital archive curation, and visual storytelling, working with survivors of genocide and their descendants.
Motion Graphics I
DMD 2200
Instructor: Anna Lindemann
Students in this course will bring to life archival photographs of student protests in the 1960s and 1970s held by Archives & Special Collections.
Power Privilege and Public Education
EDCI 2100
Instructors: Mark Kohan and Patricia O'Rourke
Students in this course will create collaborative short videos with community education partners using the WITNESS - Video for Change model of human rights advocacy.
Past Projects
Armenian Memory Project
Under the guidance of filmmaker Catherine Masud, students enrolled in DMD 2200 Motion Graphics 1 (spring 2019) created an animated motion graphics video based on archival photographs from Dr. Armen T. Marsoobian's Dildilian Photography Collection depicting early 20th Century Armenian life in Turkey, prior to the genocide that erased the Armenian community. Students from DMD 3998/5998 Visual Representation of Armenian Memory (fall 2019) created a second video called The Dildilians: A Story of Photography and Survival. Watch a panel discussion with Catherine Masud, Dr. Armen T. Marsoobian, and some of the student producers on YouTube. Learn more about the project via the Norian Armenian Project.
Courtroom 600: Virtual Reality Encounter with Evidence of the Holocaust
This 3D interactive virtual reality (VR) experience explores histories of the Holocaust through archival materials. Read more about the project through Greenhouse Studios and on UConn Today.
As part of the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Provost’s funded project “The 21st-Century Poll - Making UConn the Leader in Gathering, Analyzing, and Disseminating Social Media Data and Sentiment Around the 2020 Election Cycle and Other Topics,” we conducted research on the culture wars, fake news, and Black Lives Matter. We also streamed an election night broadcast on YouTube with analysis of social media activity and predictions.
Social Media, Hate Speech, and Human Rights Defenders
Social media provides a platform for human rights defenders to share information and express opinions. At the same time, it is increasingly being used to target and harass human rights defenders, including journalists, environmental activists and lawyers. Read more about the project of Molly Land and Richard A. Wilson through the American Bar Association, SSRN, and Just Security.
The film tells the story of attorney Stephen Bingham, a Connecticut native who became a fugitive after being accused of helping spark a 1971 prison uprising
Arts|Business & Human Rights|Economic & Social Rights|Engineering for Human Rights|Film & Digital Media|Global Health & Human Rights|Human Rights Close to Home|Research Hub