September 28, 2009

Reflections on the Origins of Human Rights

The enormous academic interest in human rights is reflected in several excellent histories. Although there has been some disagreement over the origins of human rights, most scholars acknowledge their modern European provenance. In his talk, Talal Asad took it for granted that their origins do not make human rights inappropriate to non-European cultures. Through a discussion of two recent contributions -- John Headley's The Europeanization of the World; On the Origins of Human Rights and Democracy, and Lynn Hunt's Inventing Human Rights-- he explored two concepts generally regarded as central to human rights: "humanity" and "sympathy. This event was co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

A follow-up conversation between Talal Asad and Abdullahi An-Na'im was held the following evening from 7:00-8:30pm in ICC Auditorium. Please see http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/events/1767 for event details.

Talal Asad's work has redefined how we think about religion and secular in modernity. Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the City University of New York Graduate Center, he has published widely on religion and social and political theory, with a particular focus on Islam. His recent books include Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity, On Suicide Bombing; and Genealogies of Religion: Disciplines and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Among Asad's current projects are an exploration of the origins of modern human rights discourse and a study of the transformation of religious law in 19th and 20th century Egypt.

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