The University of Washington, Bothell announced the schedule for the fall 2010 Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) Research Colloquium.

The colloquium begins from 4-5 p.m. Oct. 5 with Dr. Diane Gillespie presenting “Human Rights From the Bottom Up: How Culture Matters.”

In her talk, Gillespie will describe her current research project focused on the non-formal human rights education program of Tostan, a nonprofit working in remote rural areas across North Africa.

Tostan’s approach has led to widespread abandonment of female genital mutilation and early child marriage. Gillespie’s research project is qualitative, exploring how Tostan’s participatory human rights education, as it was implemented in three rural villages in Senegal, West Africa, position participants to become involved in social transformation.

The interdisciplinary research team that she has worked with has collected videotapes of human rights classes and interviews with class participants. She will describe the research process, including some initial analysis of data, and the challenges the research has posed.

The IAS Research Colloquium, part of a one-credit course for graduate students, is a showcase of research-in-progress by IAS faculty members.

This is a unique opportunity to interact with faculty in conversations about their research, gain a sense of how research practices shift as they move across disciplines and sectors and think critically and creatively about the implications of different forms of research design.

Other speakers will be:

• Nov. 2 from 4-5:30 p.m.: Dr. Dan Jacoby and Dr. Keith Nitta on “Teachers Unions and the Current Challenges of Educational Reform”

• Dec. 7 from 4-5:30 p.m.: Dr. Ron Krabill, Dr. Georgia Roberts and Angelica Macklin on “My World Cup”

All talks will be held on the UW-Bothell campus in UW1, room 280 (the Rose Room), and are free and open to the public.