This summer, a small group of OSU students, including several of our own WGSS students, took a trip to New York City to attend the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which is hosted in different cities throughout each year. Facilitated by affiliate English Professors Wendy Hesford and Amy Shuman, and WGSS Professor Jennifer Suchland, the group attended film screenings, discussions, and talk-backs with directors of the films. They also visited a number of relevant locations while visiting, including Ground Zero, the African Burial Ground National Monument, the Stonewall National Monument, and several sites in Harlem.

On this five-day trip, the students were able to connect and consider what it means to be at the intersection of human rights issues and art, as well as understand the complexity of playing witness to injustices in addition to acting to address them.

Several students are preparing to apply what they have learned to upcoming projects this school year, but all were inspired by this trip, and they are ready to bring these critical conversations about human rights back to campus.

To read more about their experiences and see direct quotes from the students, visit the OSU Human Rights in Transit blog.