Robin Kirk
Professor of the Practice of Cultural Anthropology
The core of my work is to understand and communicate new ideas of human rights, including young people in that conversation. In addition to founding Duke's Human Rights Certificate program for undergraduates, I explore human rights themes in my writing for adults and children. One of my goals for teaching is to ensure that students see human rights in what Eleanor Roosevelt once described as the "small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world ... Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." One of my proudest achievements is to have worked in community to help launch the Pauli Murray Center, which seeks to use the legacy of this Durham daughter to examine the region’s past of slavery, segregation, and continuing economic inequality. My book, Righting Wrongs: 20 Human Rights Heroes from around the World, introduces young readers to some of the people who helped create modern human rights. I also write fantasy and science fiction as a way of exploring human rights themes in story. "The Bond" fantasy trilogy imagines a female-led society determined to win peace though at the cost of the genocide of men.
Current Research Interests
In non-fiction, I'm exploring how the memory of the past can be used to understand challenges to human rights. From Northern Ireland to Hungary, Chile, South Korea, and the United States, communities that have suffered violence engage with the past even as they live with or near former persecutors. Alongside mechanisms like trials and truth commissions, these memory initiatives are cutting-edge human rights work that redraw the map of what we think of as museums, monuments, and how we tell our own story. I'm using my own research and family story to make a compelling case for intentional history-telling at the local, regional, and national levels. I argue that remembering the past is an essential part of building a way out of conflict, be it on the streets of Belfast or in America’s neighborhoods. The past matters because it is so often a factor in unrest and violence that costs thousands of lives and billions in policing and damages form violent protest.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
- Professor of the Practice of Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2021
- Co-Director of the Duke Human Rights Center at FHI, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, University Institutes and Centers 2018
Contact Information
- 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Smith Warehouse B183, Durham, NC 27708
- Box 90403, Durham, NC 27708
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rights@duke.edu
(919) 641-0635
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Talking Rights
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http://humanrights.fhi.duke.edu
- Background
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Education, Training, & Certifications
- M.F.A., Vermont College 2014
- B.A., The University of Chicago 1982
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Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Associate Professor of the Practice of Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2021
- Senior Lecturer of Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2018 - 2020
- Director of the Human Rights Certificate Program of Trinity College, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016 - 2019
- Lecturer in the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2009 - 2018
- Co-Chair of the Executive Committee of the Duke Human Rights Center at FHI, Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2015 - 2018
- Lecturer of International Comparative Studies, International Comparative Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016 - 2018
- Lecturer in the International Comparative Studies Program, International Comparative Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2015 - 2016
- Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Program in International Comparative Studies, International Comparative Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2012 - 2014
- Executive Director of the Duke Human Rights Center, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, University Institutes and Centers 2007 - 2012
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Leadership & Clinical Positions at Duke
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Director, Human Rights Certificate, 2012-present
Member, Curriculum Committee, 2021-present
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Director, Human Rights Certificate, 2012-present
- Recognition
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In the News
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MAY 23, 2023 Duke Today -
SEP 8, 2022 -
JUN 14, 2022 -
APR 8, 2021 -
JAN 20, 2021 -
APR 9, 2019 -
JAN 23, 2019 -
NOV 27, 2017 -
OCT 2, 2016 The Washington Times -
JUN 13, 2016 The News & Observer -
APR 14, 2016 -
APR 13, 2016 The Durham News -
APR 1, 2016 -
MAR 2, 2016 The Durham News -
FEB 8, 2016 The News & Observer -
NOV 30, 2015 -
NOV 20, 2015 The News & Observer -
NOV 19, 2015 Raleigh News & Observer -
NOV 19, 2015 The News & Observer -
NOV 18, 2015 -
NOV 17, 2015 The Charlotte Observer -
OCT 21, 2015 The Durham News -
OCT 1, 2015 -
SEP 10, 2015 -
AUG 10, 2015 The Durham News -
JUL 15, 2015 Dame Magazine -
JUL 15, 2015 Dame -
JUN 25, 2015 the News & Observer -
JUN 2, 2015 News & Observer -
DEC 16, 2014 Dame Magazine
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Awards & Honors
- Indie Award for Young Adult fiction . BiblioLabs. 2022
- Bronze Award for Young Adult Fiction. Foreward. 2018
- David L. Paletz Innovative Teaching Funds. Duke. January 2013
- Essayist, Best American Travel Writing for 2012. Mariner Books. October 2012
- Career Development Grant 2012. American Association of University Women. January 2012
- Co-Director, BorderWork(s) Humanities Lab. Franklin Humanities Institute. July 2011
- Winner, 2010 Independent Poetry contest. The Independent Weekly (North Carolina). January 2010
- Expertise
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Subject Headings
- Conflict management
- Creative writing
- Creative writing--Fiction
- Creative writing--Juvenile literature
- Denial of justice
- Fantasy
- Fantasy gamers
- Human Rights
- Human rights advocacy
- Human rights and globalization
- Human rights movements
- Human rights--America
- Human rights--History--20th century
- Human rights--Northern Ireland
- Journalism
- Muser Mentor
- Online journalism
- Science fiction
- Science fiction films
- Truth commissions
- Young adult literature
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Global Scholarship
- Research
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Selected Grants
- Pauli Murray Project-Anti-Oppression/Community Building Programs awarded by Andrus Family Fund 2014 - 2016
- Straight Up Queer Truth LGBTQQ Youth Resource Guide awarded by Alliance For Full Acceptance 2014 - 2015
- Weaving a Net of Accountability: Taking on Extraoridinary Rendition at the State and Regional Level awarded by Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation 2009 - 2010
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Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants
- Reckoning with Race, Racism, and the History of the American South Initiative: Mapping North Carolina Human Rights History awarded by Duke Office of the Provost 2021
- Publications & Artistic Works
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Selected Publications
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Books
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Kirk, Robin. The Mother's Wheel Book Three of the Bond Trilogy, 2022.
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Kirk, Robin. The Hive Queen Book Two of the Bond Trilogy, 2022.
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Kirk, Robin. Righting Wrongs 20 Human Rights Heroes Around the World. Chicago Review Press, 2022.
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Kirk, R. Peculiar Motion (In preparation). Georgetown, KY: Finishing Line Press, 2016.Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. Letter from Belfast. Edited by William T. Vollman. Mariner Books, 2012.
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Kirk, R. More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs and America’s War in Colombia. PublicAffairs, 2003.
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Kirk, R. The Monkey’s Paw: New Chronicles from Peru. University of Massachusetts Press, 1997.
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Stein, R., O. Starn, and C. I. DeGregori, eds. The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press, 1995.
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Academic Articles
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Kirk, R. “Reflections on a silent soldier.” American Scholar 88, no. 4 (September 1, 2019): 30–40.Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. “When the shooting stops: How transitional justice turns knowledge into acknowledgment.” World Policy Journal 33, no. 3 (September 1, 2016): 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1215/07402775-3712993.Full Text Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. “The Quiet Company,” June 2013.Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. “No right to be silent on torture.” Muslim World 103, no. 2 (April 1, 2013): 229–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/muwo.12007.Full Text Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. “Human Rights as a Contest of Meanings,” 2012.Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. “The Body in Pain: What do people of faith have to say about torture,” June 2011.Open Access Copy
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Kirk, Robin. “The Lessons of Mapiripán: A Response to Lesley Gill.” Transforming Anthropology 13, no. 2 (October 2005): 116–18. https://doi.org/10.1525/tran.2005.13.2.116.Full Text
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Kirk, R. “The Lessons of Mapiripán: A response to Lesley Gill.” Transforming Anthropology 13, no. 2 (Fall) (2005): 116–18.Link to Item
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Book Sections
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Kirk, R. “The Quiet Company.” In Tomorrow, edited by Karen Henderson. Kayelle Press, 2013.
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Kirk, R. “Letter From Belfast.” In Best American Travel Writing 2012, edited by William T. Vollman. Mariner Books, 2011.
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Kirk, R. “Colombia: Human rights in the midst of conflict.” In Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Context, 23–45, 2009.
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Other Articles
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Kirk, R. “The Dark Army.” Edited by Leslee Goodman. The Moon Magazine, 2013.
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Gorriti, Gustavo. “The Shining Path: History of Peru’s Millennial War.” University of North Carolina Press, 1999.
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Book Reviews
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Kirk, R. “Drugs, Thugs and Diplomats: US Policymaking in Colombia.” Anthropological Quarterly. Institute for Ethnographic Research, n.d.Open Access Copy
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Kirk, R. “Drugs, Thugs and Diplomats: US Policy in Colombia.” Anthropological Quarterly. Institute for Ethnographic Research, n.d.
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Book Series
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Kirk, Robin. “The Bond.” Durham, NC: Far Eek Books, June 2022.Link to Item
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Artistic Works & Non-Print Media
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New Media
- Sugar Pop. Writer. 2014
- The Quiet Company. Writer. 2012
- The Dark Army. Writer. 2011
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- Teaching & Mentoring
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Recent Courses
- CULANTH 104: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2023
- CULANTH 245S: Human Rights in the Americas 2023
- CULANTH 291: Independent Study 2023
- CULANTH 293: Research Independent Study 2023
- HISTORY 116: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2023
- HISTORY 242S: Human Rights in the Americas 2023
- ICS 113: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2023
- LATAMER 246S: Human Rights in the Americas 2023
- LS 780: Selected Topics 2023
- LS 890: Special Readings 2023
- PUBPOL 162: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2023
- RIGHTS 104: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2023
- RIGHTS 245S: Human Rights in the Americas 2023
- CULANTH 104: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2022
- CULANTH 291: Independent Study 2022
- CULANTH 293: Research Independent Study 2022
- CULANTH 470S: Capstone: Research in Human Rights 2022
- CULANTH 791: Special Readings 2022
- ENVIRON 470S: Capstone: Research in Human Rights 2022
- HISTORY 116: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2022
- HISTORY 488S: Capstone: Research in Human Rights 2022
- ICS 113: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2022
- PUBPOL 162: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2022
- RIGHTS 104: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2022
- RIGHTS 470S: Capstone: Research in Human Rights 2022
- CULANTH 103FS: Human Rights: Back to the Future, looking at roots and current reality of human rights 2021
- CULANTH 104: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2021
- CULANTH 291: Independent Study 2021
- CULANTH 293: Research Independent Study 2021
- CULANTH 308S: Imagining Human Rights: Science Fiction, Culture, and the Creation of Rights 2021
- CULANTH 791: Special Readings 2021
- ENGLISH 301S: Imagining Human Rights: Science Fiction, Culture, and the Creation of Rights 2021
- FOCUS 195FS: Special Topics in Focus 2021
- HISTORY 116: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2021
- HISTORY 196S: Imagining Human Rights: Science Fiction, Culture, and the Creation of Rights 2021
- ICS 113: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2021
- ICS 119FS: Human Rights: Back to the Future, looking at roots and current reality of human rights 2021
- ICS 310S: Imagining Human Rights: Science Fiction, Culture, and the Creation of Rights 2021
- PUBPOL 115FS: Human Rights: Back to the Future, looking at roots and current reality of human rights 2021
- PUBPOL 162: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2021
- RIGHTS 103FS: Human Rights: Back to the Future, looking at roots and current reality of human rights 2021
- RIGHTS 104: Introduction to Human Rights: Gateway for the Human Rights Certificate 2021
- RIGHTS 314S: Imagining Human Rights: Science Fiction, Culture, and the Creation of Rights 2021
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Advising & Mentoring
- I advise undergraduates, both before and after they declare a major. I advise 8 undergraduates who are International Comparative Studies majors and one Cultural Anthropology major. In addition, I advise Program II and ICS thesis students writing on topics related to human rights.
- Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
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Presentations & Appearances
- “Durham and Belfast: segregated cities in comparison”. The Shared History Group. May 2014 2014
- Memory Bandits: the past, human rights and social justice. October 24, 2012 2012
- Memory Bandits: the past, human rights and social justice. October 1, 2012 2012
- Human Rights and Wrongs: A DUCIS Summer Symposia. January 5, 2009 2009
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Outreach & Engaged Scholarship
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Service to the Profession
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