Human Rights Centre

Health, Human Rights, and Social Justice

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The Health, Human Rights and Social Justice Research Cluster brings together our leading team of academic experts who are members of the Human Rights Centre from Schools of Health and Social Care; Law; Philosophy and Art History; and Sociology.

Approaching health from the perspective of human rights and social justice, our interdisciplinary research and practice embrace themes including health data and technology; COVID-19; global health and human rights governance; health inequalities and intersectionality; gender-based violence; social determinants of health; privatisation in the health sector; mental health; sexual and reproductive health; drug policy; non-communicable diseases; and medical ethics.

Our members are national and international leaders in their field, regularly called on to advise international organisations including the World Health Organisation and other UN agencies; governments; local authorities; healthcare institutions; national human rights institutions; and civil society organisations and activists. Through our research and public engagements, we work with a commitment to improving human rights in public health governance internationally, nationally and locally.

If you're interested in postgraduate research surrounding health, human rights, and social justice, there are supervision opportunities within the Human Rights Centre.

Our research

The Cluster brings together colleagues including those working on several health-related Human Rights Centre projects. See below for more information on these projects. Our members also work closely with the Human Rights Centre Clinic, which conducts key research to protect human rights globally, and runs projects that enable students to apply their human rights knowledge to practical situations and further develop their professional skills.

Postgraduate research education

There are a number of ways to look for research degree opportunities.

  • To find a supervisor, you can browse our members' staff profiles. If they're open to supervision, they'll display the topics which they are open to supervising on. You can contact members directly to discuss research supervision.
  • You can also search for research opportunities via our research finder tool. Simply enter your topic of interest, and you'll see any related research funding opportunities, supervision opportunities, and insights into related research at Essex.
  • Essex is a member of The Consortium for Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE) which provides funding and training opportunities to students.
  • For general PhD enquiries, please contact Co-Director of Postgraduate Education, Dr Stephen Turner at s.j.turner@essex.ac.uk.

Undergraduate and Masters

Do you have a commitment to public health, human rights and social justice? At Essex, we have a range of related degrees and modules, and with our interdisciplinary approach to teaching, we are confident that we have the right course for you.

Visit our subject areas to find out more about the degrees and modules that Essex has to offer. If you're not sure which subject is right for you, or there's a particular course you're interested, you can always search for a course

 

Our members

Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care
Postgraduate Research Student, School of Health and Social Care
Professor, School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies
Research interests: Philosophy of Psychiatry; Phenomenology (esp Hume, Husserl, Heidegger, Th Lipps, L&oslashgstrup); Kant and post-Kantian idealism (esp Fichte); The history and philosophy of logic; Philosophy and painting; Self-Consciousness; Autonomy and the Regulation of Care; Political Philosophy; Will, Agency and Contract
Professor, School of Health and Social Care
Professor, School of Health and Social Care
Research interests: Governance and citizenship in context of health and healthcare; Neoliberalism, the third sector and health care provision; Discourse analysis, interpretive policy analysis
Professor, School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies
Research interests: Theory, history and practice of autonomy; Frankfurt School (especially Adorno); Ethics (particularly critique of Kant's and Kantian ethics); Political Philosophy
Professor, Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Research interests: Involuntary dislocation (forced migration), trauma and refugees; Working with survivors of violence (torture) and disasters; Psychosocial humanitarian interventions; Psychosocial perspectives on Human Rights; The interface between Analytical Psychology and systems, family therapy, and culture; Epistemology of therapeutic endeavours; Academic and professional interface with Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
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Get in touch
Judith Bueno De Mesquita Cluster Lead