Unsettling the Familiar: Experiential Human Rights Learning through Civic Monuments at the University of Winnipeg

Abstract Research shows that experiential learning improves student learning, engagement and retention and yet, despite growth in university undergraduate human rights programmes, relatively little is known about experiential learning in the human rights classroom. This article examines a low-cost and online-adaptable experiential learning assignment focused on civic statues and monuments in Winnipeg, Canada. The assignment and supporting activities, speakers and resources were implemented in thirteen sections (online and in-person) of a prerequisite-free undergraduate human rights course over two academic years. Surveys were circulated to students before and after the assignment examining their perspective on key concepts and their own skill and capacity. As a result of the activity students indicated a heightened understanding of the role of monuments and representation as human rights issues, a broadened interpretation of expertise in relation to monuments, and an increased self-perception of skills and capacity related to monument analysis. This article contributes to the emerging literature on human rights education in higher education and to the need for accessible, scalable, and online-adaptable forms of experiential learning. Human Rights is a growing field at the undergraduate level, and our project can usefully contribute to the literature and practice of human rights pedagogy.