Episode 44: Susan Katz, Part One

Susan Roberta Katz is Professor Emerita of International & Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco, where she taught for 27 years and co-founded the graduate program in Human Rights Education in 2008. A former San Francisco public middle school teacher, she received her Ph.D. in Education in Language & Literacy at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education. Since 2010, she has participated in collaborative research and educational projects with Indigenous communities in both Ecuador and Colombia. Her co-edited book, Bringing Human Rights Education to U.S. Classrooms: Exemplary Models from Elementary Grades through University, was published by Palgrave McMillan in Spring 2015. 

In Episode 44, Susan Katz reflects on the origins of her interest in human rights, shaped by the Anti-Vietnam War and civil rights movements, as well as the Black Panther Party and the National Student Strike. She highlights her involvement in the East Oakland Revitalization project, working with students and community groups, and her focus on multicultural teacher training in San Francisco. Susan emphasizes the role of pride and self-esteem in her teaching, particularly with new and immigrant students. Her oral history project on civil wars ties into her academic work and teaching at the University of San Francisco. She also discusses the importance of personal narratives in human rights education and her collaboration with the Voice of Witness project. Susan shares her experiences working with Indigenous Peoples, particularly in Ecuador and Colombia, and her commitment to addressing collective rights, language retention, and cultural sustainability. This led to her development of a human rights education program at the University of San Francisco, which evolved from a field concentration into a master's program. She touches on the challenge of involving public school teachers in higher education and the silo effect in academia, concluding with remarks on the significance of human rights education in fostering broader understanding and action. 

Topics discussed: 

● Influence of the Anti-Vietnam War and civil rights movements on human rights interest.
● Involvement in East Oakland Revitalization and multicultural teacher training.
● Focus on pride and self-esteem in teaching immigrant students.
● Importance of personal narratives in human rights education.
● Work with indigenous peoples on collective rights and cultural sustainability.
● Development of Human Rights Education program at University of San Francisco.

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.

Listen on our HREUSA podcast website HERE.

Introduction and Closing Music Credit: “Awakening-Spring” by Ketsa, from the Album Night Vision. Available at the Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/night-vision/awakening-spring/

This music is used in accordance with this Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Information about that license is available here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Human Rights Education Now! is produced and distributed in accordance with Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International. Information about this license is available here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/