Felisa Tibbitts served as co-editor for a new book titled “Disciplinary Frontiers of Human Rights in Higher Education” (Cambridge University Press, August 2026) alongside Cher Weixia Chen and Jonathan Liljeblad.
The book recognizes that human rights centers established in higher education institutions bring together law as well as other disciplines. The intermingling of disciplines within human rights studies is not only an academic development but a practical one, as human rights call for research, teaching and practices that can address challenges that are complex, messy and interconnected. Human rights teaching and research is explored across 13 disciplines and professional studies areas to explore how higher education is and might engage in human rights scholarship and teaching.
Felisa notes that the book was inspired by her experience teaching the multidisciplinary Human Rights Senior Seminar for the undergraduate Human Rights Major, offered by ISHR. “When I began teaching the course a few years ago, I was struck by how fascinating it is to bring different disciplinary perspectives to human rights issues—and, conversely, how a human rights framework can introduce an ethical and critically self-reflective dimension into traditional disciplines. Multidisciplinary human rights research and teaching are already well established at Columbia, yet I couldn’t find literature that brought these different approaches together. My hope is that this book will help fill that gap and inspire further exploration of the many ways in which human rights can enrich teaching and research across higher education.”
Additionally, the online book launch will take place on Friday, 9 October at 9 EDT/15 CET. Please register here to receive a link.
