Episode 21: Dr. Monisha Bajaj, Part One

Human Rights Education Now!

Dr. Monisha Bajaj is a Professor of International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. She is the editor and author of eight books and numerous articles on issues of peace, human rights, migration, and education, including Humanizing Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth and World Yearbook of Education 2023: Racialization and Educational Inequality in Global Perspective. Dr. Bajaj has developed curriculum and teacher training materials—related to human rights, racial justice, ethnic studies, and sustainability—for non-profit and national advocacy organizations as well as inter-governmental organizations, such as UNICEF and UNESCO. In 2015, she received the Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award (2015) from Division B of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

In Episode 21, Dr. Monisha Bajaj shares her interest in human rights and human rights education, as well as her work at Human Rights Watch. Dr. Bajaj then discusses the work of Paolo Freire and Richard Pierre Claude. Next, she describes her work with Betty Reardon, and the evolution of the field of human rights education (HRE). Dr. Bajaj expounds upon the significance of social media and internet technologies in spreading HRE along with contemporary HRE challenges, including rising fascism. Later, Dr. Bajaj raises questions about the relevance of human rights and her thoughts on the impact of decolonization scholarship. She also explains the linkages between HRE and peace education; the importance of her work with immigrant and refugee communities; and the heightened presence of human rights across university programs. Lastly, Dr. Bajaj shares her thoughts on the reconceptualization of public discourse on human rights, and how the U.S. remains far behind in integrating HRE in mass public education.
Topics discussed:

• Work at Human Rights Watch
• Paolo Freire and Richard Peirre Claude
• Dr. Betty Reardon
• Evolution of the field of human rights education
• Impact of social media and internet technologies in spreading HRE
• Relevance of human rights
• Impact of decolonization scholarship
• Linkages between HRE and peace education
• Work with immigrant and refugee communities
• Reconceptualizing public discourse on human rights

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.

Introduction and Closing Music Credit: “Awakening-Spring” by Ketsa, from the Album Night Vision. Available at the Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/night-vision/awakening-spring/

This music is used in accordance with this Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Information about that license is available here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Human Rights Education Now! is produced and distributed in accordance with Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International. Information about this license is available here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/