11/06/20259:00 AM CST start timeRobert J. Dole HallView Past Recording

Universal Rights v. Local Realities: Advancing Human Dignity Rights in an Uncertain America

Washburn Law's Robert J. Dole Center for Law and Government in partnership with the Washburn Law Journal is pleased to host "Universal Rights v. Local Realities: Advancing Human Dignity Rights in an Uncertain America" Symposium.

Universal Rights vs. Local Realities: Advancing Human Dignity Rights in an Uncertain Americais a symposium that will address the promise and practice of dignity as a right in present-day America. Amid a shift in political priorities and waning deference to constitutional protections, this symposium will explore dignity’s legal, philosophical, and historical foundations, and its present practice and future potential to shape a more just American legal landscape.

11/06/20259:00 AM CST start timeRobert J. Dole HallView Past Recording

The topic is a timely one and an important one both for the nation and for Washburn Law. The Symposium will consist of a keynote speaker and two panels:

  • Keynote
    • Andrea Pin, Professor of Comparative Public Law 
  • Panels
    • Morning Panel: Philosophical, Historical & Doctrinal Foundations of Dignity
      Our morning panel examines the roots and evolution of dignity as a right by considering its philosophical origins, historical role across the world, and doctrinal interpretations by U.S. and international courts. In a time where rights thought to be fundamental are faced with new challenges, this panel will consider the possibility and ramifications of treating dignity as a distinct, and actionable right.
    • Afternoon Panel: Dignity as a Right in Practice in America
      Turning from theory to practice, the afternoon panel examines how dignity rights are actually pursued and protected. Panelists from diverse legal and social contexts will examine dignity’s role in litigation, policymaking, and other forms of advocacy. Discussion will address opportunities to advance dignity rights, existing and presently-evolving barriers to these opportunities, and on-going domestic and international efforts to secure human dignity rights. 
WASHBURN LAW JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE
Washburn Law Journal, Volume 65, Issue 3 (spring/summer 2026), will be dedicated to the topic of this symposium, and will feature articles written by the participants. Participants are encouraged, but not required, to take advantage of this opportunity for publication by submitting an article or essay. Authors who cannot attend the symposium, but would like to submit, will also be considered for publication in the Journal.

 

Keynote Speaker

Andrea Pin

Professor of Comparative Public Law
University of Padova

Professor Pin has clerked for the Italian Constitutional Court and held visiting positions at several universities including Emory, Notre Dame, and William and Mary (United States); Bar-Ilan and Reichman (Israel); Lomonosov Moscow State (Russia); and Trinity College (Ireland). His academic articles have appeared in American, British, French, German, Israeli, Italian, and Spanish journals. His scholarship has examined the relationship between Catholicism, Islam, and the secular state, religious freedom in the West and the Middle East, the notion of human dignity, and the challenges to freedom posed by artificial intelligence. His latest books are Religious Freedom Without the Rule of Law? The Constitutional Odysseys of Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iraq and the Fate of the Middle East (Brill 2024) and Dignity in Judgment: Constitutional Adjudication in Comparative Perspective (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

Andrea Pin
Morning Panel

Philosophical, Historical & Doctrinal Foundations of Dignity

Our morning panel examines the roots and evolution of dignity as a right by considering its philosophical origins, historical role across the world, and doctrinal interpretations by U.S. and international courts. In a time where rights thought to be fundamental are faced with new challenges, this panel will consider the possibility and ramifications of treating dignity as a distinct, and actionable right.

Rachel BayefskyRachel Bayefsky
Associate Professor of Law
University of Virginia School of Law

Rachel Bayefsky writes about constitutional law, federal courts, civil procedure, and legal theory. Her book Dignity and Judicial Authority was published by Oxford University Press in 2024.

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Joanna KalbJohanna Kalb
Dean
University of San Francisco School of Law

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Peter BayerPeter Bayer
Emeritus Professor of Law
University of Nevada Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law

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Palma StrandPalma Strand
Co-Founder and Research Director
Civity

Palma Strand is the co-founder and research director of Civity, a national nonprofit that supports local leaders in creating a culture in which people engage across social and other differences with respect and empathy. Relational infrastructure, aka civic muscle, is the foundation for community well-being and resilience. Civity trains people to engage in civity conversations, an approach documented to be effective in increasing social trust by the Stanford-based Strengthening Democracy megastudy.

She is also professor emerita of law at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where she taught in the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program. Most recently, she was visiting professor at Marquette University Law School. She also designs and facilitates conversations on race and belonging for teachers and parents in public education. She holds a BS (Civil Engineering) from Stanford University, a JD from Stanford Law School, and an LLM in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Legal Problem-Solving from Georgetown University Law Center.

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Nadia AhmadNadia B. Ahmad
Associate Professor of Law
Barry University

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Afternoon Panel

Dignity as a Right in Practice in America

Turning from theory to practice, the afternoon panel examines how dignity rights are actually pursued and protected. Panelists from diverse legal and social contexts will examine dignity’s role in litigation, policymaking, and other forms of advocacy. Discussion will address opportunities to advance dignity rights, existing and presently-evolving barriers to these opportunities, and on-going domestic and international efforts to secure human dignity rights. 

Sarah CamiscoliEtienne C. Toussaint
Associate Professor of Law
University of South Carolina, Joseph F. Rice School of Law

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Bill PiattBill Piatt
Professor of Law
St. Mary's School of Law

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Barrett PitnerBarrett Holmes Pitner
Author; Founder and Philosopher-in-Chief,
The Sustainable Culture Lab

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Schedule

9:00 a.m. - Welcomes and introductions

9:15 a.m. - Panel 1

11:45 a.m. - Break for box lunch pick up and lunch

12:30 p.m. - Lunch keynote presentation

1:00 p.m. - Break

1:15 p.m. - Panel 2

3:45 p.m. - Program ends