Renowned Speakers, Theatrical Artists to Appear
at Human Rights and Global Citizenship Symposium

Pat JaCoby | November 10, 2008

Jacqueline Bhabha

Luis Valdez

Gregory Nava

Seema Sueko

A powerful and timely week-long symposium of free public events on the interlocking themes of Human Rights and Global Citizenship will be sponsored Nov. 17-21 on the UC San Diego campus by Eleanor Roosevelt and Thurgood Marshall colleges.

Keynote speakers include playwright, filmmaker and activist Luis Valdez, and Harvard Law School scholar and human rights activist Jacqueline Bhabha. Cinematic and artistic areas are represented by Oscar nominated filmmaker Greg Nava, and acclaimed actor Seema Sueko.

The events are designed to mark the 20th anniversary of Eleanor Roosevelt College, Thurgood Marshall College Week and International Education Week.

Valdez will discuss the problems of citizenship in the U.S. and the blending of cultures in the dynamic California landscape at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 in the Price Center Ballroom, followed by a panel discussion at 8:30 p.m. A member of the National Endowment for the Arts Council, he is best known for his Broadway production, Zoot Suit; the international hit film, La Bamba; and as the founder and artistic director of the internationally known El Teatro Campesino, formed during the Delano grape strike of 1965. A film version of Zoot Suit received the Golden Globe Award nomination for “Best Musical Picture,” and the film La Bamba won a Peabody Award for excellence in television.

Bhabha will speak about the rights of asylum seekers and victims of trafficking, especially emphasizing the plight of children, at 5 p.m. Nov. 21 at The Hojel Auditorium.  An international authority on women and child immigrants, she has practiced before the European Court on Human Rights. In 2000 Bhaba launched “Scholars at Risk”, a program that helps academics facing persecution find temporary safe haven in American universities. She is currently working on a book that explores the plight of children who cross international borders without parents or guardians.

The powerful themes of the week will be covered from a cinematic and artistic view by Oscar nominated filmmaker Nava, who will speak and also present his groundbreaking feature film, El Norte, at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Price Theatre. In context of El Norte’s emotional narrative, Nava will discuss conditions of citizenship and migration in our hemisphere and how they have changed in a generation—and how conditions have remained paradoxically unmoved. Other Nava film credits include My Family, Mi Familia, Selena and Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

Rounding out the week’s programming is a solo performance by Sueko, 2008/09 resident artist of La Jolla Playhouse and Marshall College, in 9 Parts of Desire, a play about women in Iraq on the brink of war. Written by Iraqi author Heather Raffo, the play highlights the existential crisis of women in the Middle East. 9 Parts of Desire will be performed Nov. 18 and 19. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Reservations must be made on the symposium website http://provost.ucsd.edu/humanrights.

Panelists who will discuss the Valdez presentation include moderator Christine Hunefeldt, professor of history, UC San Diego; Dennis Childs, professor of literature, UC San Diego; Ruben Garcia, professor, California Western School of Law; and Jesus Perez Varela, Ph.D. candidate, Mexican history.

Panelists following the Bhabha lecture include moderator Gershon Shafir, professor of sociology, UC San Diego; Carmen Chavez, executive director of Casa Cornelia; Everard Meade, professor of history, UC San Diego; and Travis Nelson, student.

Symposium co-chair and Thurgood Marshall College provost Allan Havis notes that “the symposium touches on the morally essential changes in human rights here and abroad that are an evolving compact between society and government. Thurgood Marshall once remarked that the framers of the Constitution ‘could not have imagined, nor would they have accepted, that the document they were drafting would be construed by a Supreme Court to which had been appointed a woman and the descent of an African slave’.”

Eleanor Roosevelt College provost and symposium co-chair Ann Craig said “as the college celebrates its 20th anniversary, the universal Declaration of Human Rights will guide our exploration of how human rights are currently respected (or not) around the globe. In an era of massive migration due to war and economic distress, examining the rights of refugees and immigrants in this symposium brings the human rights debates close to home.”

Sponsors for the event include Eleanor Roosevelt College, Thurgood Marshall College, International Education Week and the Helen Edison Lecture Series.

For further information visit http://provost.ucsd.edu/humanrights or contact Julie Morris, 858 534-4004 or jmorris@ucsd.edu.