Joseph Kling

A List
2/22/10

SLU Government Prof To Speak On Human Rights & Ethnic Identity

CANTON - St. Lawrence University Munsil Professor of Government Joseph Kling will give a talk titled "Human Rights and Ethnic Identity: Clashing Imaginaries?" on Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. in Eben Holden. The event, part of the Contemporary Issues Forum, is open to the public, free of charge.

Kling states, "There exists an apparent contradiction between two trends in contemporary global politics. On the one hand, there is bitter, destructive ethnic and communal violence, which seemingly refuses to recede. On the other, there is the growing salience of a human rights narrative, which assumes the right of all persons to be secure in their being, regardless of particular identity. Is it possible to reconcile these different visions of what is happening in the world? How can we grasp the nature of the dilemmas faced by a global society which appears to be unifying and fragmenting at one and the same time?"

A graduate of Rutgers University, Kling holds a master of social work degree from Rutgers and earned the Ph.D. in political science from the City University of New York. He is the author of an entry in the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies, published in 2004, and has edited several books on issues of class, community and political action.

The Contemporary Issues Forum brings experts and participants in the making of news to campus throughout the academic year.

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