Helfer says, “These courts are similar in many ways: They are located in Africa, they exercise jurisdiction over countries in various stages of transition to democracy, and they were initially created to advance economic integration and trade in their respective sub-regions. Perhaps most remarkably, the dockets of all three courts expanded to include human rights cases at around the same time.” Further information may be found at Duke Law.

Call for Work

The Icon Industry:
The Visual Economy of Human Rights

Deadline for Submissions:  October 16, 2013
Opening: November 4, 2013

The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University is seeking works of art—in all visual mediums—for a fall exhibit: The Icon Industry: The Visual Economy of Human Rights. The call for work is open to all graduate and undergraduate students.

The term “visual economy” in art is commonly defined as a minimalist approach. But, what happens when this search for simplicity becomes a standard for representation of human rights? Often one iconic image comes to define events, groups or issues, boiling down the complexity into a singular representation that we grab onto as the “right” image. For example, how has the 1984 National Geographic cover image photographed by Steve McCurry of then-refugee Sharbat Gula, known as “the Afghan girl” come to represent—even today in Western culture—a population of Afghan women? It is arguably one of the iconic images of the 20^th century, forever referential.

This exhibit asks artists to explore, critique, and/or celebrate the notion of the iconic image in human rights issues as seen in our news media. Artists are encouraged to approach the work through a sense of awareness, examining the role of the image, creation of icons, the role of the image subject as a human rights agent and as a symbol, the use of simplicity in visual communication and/or our image obsession. Repurposing iconic and other images depicting human rights subjects/issues is allowed and encouraged in the debate, but respect must be given to the subject of the image. Further, artists are asked to consider how their work contributes to the continued dialog overall. This exhibit aims to call awareness, and in doing so create a space for reflection on our current state of visual rhetoric, but also look forward to a more engaged public in the ethics of representation.

Submissions and questions should be emailed to:
caitlin.kelly@duke.edu
Caitlin Margaret Kelly
2013-2014 Kenan Graduate Arts Fellow

• Watch students perform monologues based on life stories of the Bhutanese and Iraqi interviewed.
• Read student essays based on field research and community engagement.

RSVP to amber.diaz@duke.edu by Sunday, September 22.

Religious Freedom and Persecution
Tuesday, September 24, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
101 West Duke Building

Panelists: Carolyn Warner, Arizona State University, Anthony Gill, University of Washington
Discussant/Moderator: Michael Gillespie, Duke University

Check out the new hub for student engagement journals for easy access to current and past journals kept by students in various KIE programs, and stay tuned for incoming updates from our far-flung correspondents!

If you’re having a hard time keeping up with all of the student travels and engagement throughout the summer, bookmark our student engagement journals hub for links to all of the past and current journals exploring ethical quandaries the world over.

Together with a faculty mentor, the two undergraduates formulated projects that incorporate research and personal reflection. Cece is a Korean adoptee exploring the culture of adoption, both through interviewing other adoptees in the U.S. and through traveling to Korea to understand how the adoption process is viewed from the other side. Christine will be in Greenland, exploring the ways in which changing environmental and economic climates are affecting the lives of indigenous Inuit communities.

The fellowship will allow freedom to pursue the student’s interests and deepen his/her own work in addition to broadening KIE’s relationship with the visual arts.  The chosen fellow will receive a $5,000 yearly stipend and access to additional resources. For further information and application instructions, visit the Graduate Awards page.

All applications must be received by 5pm on June 30th, 2013. 

Please register if you plan to attend.

This initiative represents a partnership of the Duke Human Rights Center at KIE, the Franklin Humanities Institute, and the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, with funding from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation.

Friday, September 13, 10:00am – 2:00pm
Smith Warehouse
Garage C105 Bay 4
Lunch provided