Interview with Kerry Bystrom, scholar of Human Rights and Creativity
Because it is unpredictable how any book or press release will affect any person, as a teacher I try to teach that the way we read can also affect how we interact with the world. We need to think about what was said as well as how things were said. Learning how to read things closely through the examples of novels helps us all become more ethical, concerned citizens.
–Kerry Bystrom
The past five years have seen an explosion in interest in the interplay between creativity and human rights. Kerry Bystrom is on the forefront of this swiftly evolving field. An Assistant Professor in the Foundations of Humanitarianism Program at the University of Connecticut, she also teaches at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s rare to find someone so well versed in human rights and creativity.
I talked with Bystrom about how she got involved in the field, asked her for emerging trends, and picked her brain for some good reads.
–Deji Olukotun
