THINKING WITHOUT BANISTERS: TOWARD A COMPASSIONATE INQUIRY INTO HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

摘要

In this essay I focus on a peculiar tension in human rights education. Generally speaking, human rights education seeks to instill a sense of dignity and ethical responsibility by teaching students about universally accepted principles and standards of conduct. Yet, paradoxically, human rights abuses are precisely those events that mark the breakdown of such standards. It may be too much to expect human rights education to respond directly to the horrific violence we call human rights abuses, but perhaps human rights education can acknowledge how it is touched by this conflict — or at least acknowledge that this "difficult knowledge" is a significant feature of learning about human rights. Such an acknowledgement could change human rights education from a rigid preventative measure toward a compassionate response to those moments in which human dignity was lost. At present, however, human rights education does not stray from the straightforward promotion of the values and standards contained in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document written in the shadow of the horrors of the Second World War. Closely paired with moral and democratic education, human rights education seeks to teach students about the universal principles at work in the Universal Declaration as a way to protect society against future inhumanity. Scattered throughout its literature are assurances that learning about human rights will lead to more just societies by drawing attention to human dignity. In this way, human rights education relies heavily on the belief that social and political progress can be achieved through the personal development of students — a kind of dream of liberation from the violence and aggression that has ruined the present world.