Kali Wright-Smith

For the last fifteen years, studying human rights has been a huge part of my life. In Political Science, human rights is often considered a “feminine” or “soft” part of the field. When I was in graduate school I decided that I would not be branded the political scientist who studied “women’s issues.” I also had the crazy notion that my comfortable upbringing in a progressive family with great role models left me unqualified to teach about female oppression. The global human rights challenges facing women are immense, but what finally brought me to the study of women’s rights was the other side of the story: the activists who push for change. Groups like the Madres of the Plaza de Mayo or the Liberian Peace Movement: women who risked their lives each day to push for solutions to seemingly impossible situations. I may not be out on the streets facing these dangers, but I can definitely teach about the causes being fought for. In the end, what could be better than studying people who inspire you to see the possibility of a better world?