2007-08 Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Doenges Visiting Artist/Scholar
Judith Blau’s official title at University of North Carolina is professor of sociology, but if “human rights activist” were part of an academic identification, it would suit her even better. President of the U.S. chapter of Sociologists Without Borders and co-editor of that organization’s journal, Societies Without Borders, Blau is Mary Baldwin’s 2007–08 Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Doenges Artist/Scholar.
“By its very nature, human rights is interdisciplinary,” reads Blau’s Web page at University of North Carolina. As chair of the undergraduate minor in social and economic justice at UNC and in her previous professional appointments Blau has examined sociological trends from unique angles in a variety of environments. The titles of books she has authored and edited number in the dozens — not to mention articles, chapters, presentations, and invited talks — and demonstrate her range, from early works in architecture, such as Professions and Urban Form, to Human Rights: Beyond the Liberal Vision, published in 2005.
Blau could easily add that human rights and sociological study are international. In the last decade, she traveled to Puerto Rico via a grant from UNC’s center for international studies, worked on a study of rural black women in Peru through a grant from the National Science Foundation, and participated in World Social Forum Workshops in Nairobi, among other international experiences.
As part of the Doenges program, Blau will be in Staunton October 17–20 and give a public talk, “Human Rights and the U.S. Constitution,” October 18 in Francis Auditorium. She will return to campus for a May Term course that examines constitutional protections of human rights.
The Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Doenges Visiting Artist/Scholar brings distinguished professionals and scholars to Mary Baldwin, providing learning opportunities for the college and the community. The program was created by friends and family of Elizabeth K. “Liddy” Doenges ’63.