“Reflections on Human Dignity” - Friday

On Friday, April 19^th, the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace will hold, in conjunction with Franklin & Marshall College, an all-day conference entitled, “Reflections on Human Dignity” in the Special Events Room (6137) of McKeldin Library. This promises to be a very energizing and useful conference and is the first one on campus to feature all three University of Maryland Peace Chairs—Hoda Mahmoudi, Suheil Bushrui, and Shibley Telhami—along with other scholars and specialists in the field of human rights and human dignity, including Jack Donnelly, Barbara Finkelstein, Michael Karlberg, Sania Anwar, and Michael Penn.

It’s free and open to the public, so all are welcome.

Morning Session
9:00 - 9:10 Dance Prelude - One Billion Rising: Girls Run the World
University of Maryland Dance Troupe
9:10 - 9:15 Welcoming Remarks
Hoda Mahmoudi
Wayne McIntosh, Assistant Dean, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland
Michael Penn
9:15 - 10:00 Universal Consciousness of Human Dignity
Hoda Mahmoudi
10:00 - 10:45 How Does Human Dignity Ground Human Rights?
Jack Donnelly
10:45 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 11:45 Dignifying Education: The Emergence of Teachers as Transcultural Messengers
Barbara Finkelstein
11:45 - 12:30 Towards a Principle of Human Dignity
Suheil Bushrui

12:30 - 1:30 Lunch


Afternoon Session
1:30 - 1:40 Turandot, “Nessun Dorma,” Giacomo Puccini
David Cerpa, Lyrical Tenor
1:40 - 2:25 Unpacking 'Dignity' in the Arab Uprisings
Shibley Telhami
2:25 - 3:10 The Two Faces of Human Dignity: Honor-based
Violence and Personal Autonomy
Sania Anwar
3:10 - 3:25 Break
3:25 - 4:10 Reframing the Concept of Human Dignity
Michael Karlberg
4:10 - 4:55 Protecting Human Rights and Human Dignity in an
Axial Age
Michael Penn
4:55 - 5:15 Closing Remarks