Interested in human rights advocacy? Scholars at Risk? We invite you to read two recent publications on Dr. Melanie Adrian‘s research and teaching at the Department of Law and Legal Studies. Dr. Adrian teaches a fourth-year course “Academia and Activism: Seminar in Advanced Human Rights Advocacy” (LAWS 4903A).
Educating with Impact
“For Melanie Adrian, advocating for human rights is second nature. As the chair of both the Canadian section of Scholars at Risk and Carleton University’s Scholars at Risk Committee, Adrian has spent the last five years fighting for social justice and academic freedom. She believes in doing the right thing: standing up and speaking out for oppressed groups and individuals.
Now, as an Associate Professor of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University, she hopes to instill this same mindset in her students.
That’s why, in 2018, she launched a new course called ‘Academia and Activism: Seminar in Advanced Human Rights Advocacy.’ Through a partnership with Scholars at Risk (SAR), an international network that promotes academic freedom and protects scholars from unjust prosecution and imprisonment, the course marries theory with case studies to empower students to make a positive difference in the lives of real people.”
SAR Spotlight on Dr. Melanie Adrian
“How did you become involved with the SAR Canada Section and what is your current role?
Melanie Adrian (MA): When Carleton was thinking of establishing a SAR program, then-Provost Peter Ricketts facilitated my attendance at the Global Congress in Amsterdam. That’s where I began to hear about the national sections and started to understand what SAR was all about. I wanted to see how we could start a SAR program at Carleton. After Amsterdam, we started putting together a SAR committee. We worked closely with Ottawa University and hosted our first scholars jointly with them, starting in 2015.”