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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.

Research projects

Essex Autonomy Project

The Essex Autonomy Project is a research and knowledge-exchange initiative funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Human Rights, Big Data and Technology

Human Rights, Big Data and Technology

The ESRC-funded ‘Human Rights, Big Data and Technology’ project maps and analyses the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of information and communications technology (ICT) and big data from a human rights perspective.

International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy

Established in 2009, the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy is dedicated to developing and promoting innovative and high quality legal and human rights research and teaching on issues related to drug laws, policy and enforcement.

UN Mandate on the Right to Health

This research project enhances civil society engagement and the research capacity of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health.

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

Dr Katya Al Khateeb
Senior Research Officer, Essex Law School
Research interests: Human Rights Law; International Humanitarian Law (IHL); Law & Culture (including art & literature)
Caroline Bald
Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care
Postgraduate Research Student, School of Health and Social Care
Research interests: Generative AI and Social Work Histories
Dr Koldo Casla
Senior Lecturer, Essex Law School
Research interests: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Critique of Human Rights; Spanish Politics; UK Politics; International Relations and Human Rights; Activism, social movements and human rights
Dr Andrew Fagan
Senior Lecturer, Essex Law School
Professor Fabian Freyenhagen
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
Dr Nikhil Gokani
Lecturer, Essex Law School
Research interests: Public Health Law; Consumer Protection; Food, Nutrition and Alcohol Labelling; Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention; Health Inequalities; Human Rights; Food, Tobacco, Alcohol, Physical Activity, Air Pollution
Julie Hannah
Lecturer, Essex Law School
Professor Anuj Kapilashrami
Professor, School of Health and Social Care
Professor Noam Lubell
Professor, Essex Law School
Research interests: International Humanitarian Law / Law of Armed Conflict; Conduct of Hostilities; Military Occupation; New Military and Law Enforcement Technologies, including Cyber Operations, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Human Enhancement; The Use of Force by States; Self-Defence; the UN Collective Security Framework; Counter-Terrorism.
Professor Wayne Martin
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 Linsey McGoey
Head of Department - Professor (R), Department of Sociology and Criminology
Research interests: Social theories of knowledge and ignorance; Economic sociology; Global health governance; Human rights-based approaches to health and development
Professor Sabine Michalowski
Professor, Essex Law School
Research interests: Medical Law; Business and human rights; Transitional Justice, with a particular focus on the Colombian peace process, socio-economic dimensions of TJ and the inclusion of economic actors in TJ processes; Health Care Law and Human Rights
Professor Renos Papadopoulos
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.
Professor Ewen Speed
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 Maurice Sunkin
Professor, Essex Law School
Research interests: ERSC Peer Review College; Director of the UK Administrative Justice Institute; Constitutional and Administrative Justice Initiative
Dr Tara Van Ho
Senior Lecturer, Essex Law School
Research interests: Business and human rights; International investment law and human rights; Economic, social and cultural rights; Transitional justice; International human rights law; Business and human rights in armed conflict
Human rights research
Explore the cutting-edge academic and policy research from the Human Rights Centre.
Postgraduate Research Degrees
Our PhD programme draws upon the expertise of over 80 Human Rights Centre members from different academic disciplines. Explore our subject area further.
Covid-19: Key human rights questions for the UK
On the 23rd March 2020, Judith Bueno de Mesquita published Covid-19: Key human rights questions for the UK.
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Judith Bueno De Mesquita Cluster Lead
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