Women's studies lecturer advocates human rights

December 9, 2005

Growing up in Stuart, Fla., University of Wisconsin – Whitewater women’s studies lecturer Ellie Schemenauer became interested in human rights at a young age thanks to her close childhood friend who was born in Guatemala, but lived in the U.S. Her friend’s father was an indigenous rights activist, which did not sit well with the Guatemalan military. He was blacklisted and fled to the U.S. in the 1980s to avoid becoming a casualty of the civil war. Schemenauer was intrigued by her friend’s experience, which she cites as the beginning of her interest in human rights and what led to her subsequent education and teaching career.

“We live in a world of our making and should all participate in what happens in it,” said Schemenauer.

Schemenauer moved to Wisconsin in 2004 to teach political science at UW-Whitewater and is currently a faculty member in the women’s studies department where she teaches “Introduction to Women’s Studies” and “Individual and Society” courses.

Schemenauer is the faculty advisor of the UW-Whitewater chapter of Amnesty International, which she helped found, as well as the Wisconsin state coordinator for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign. Founded in 1961, Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally-recognized human rights. Amnesty International USA and the UW-Whitewater chapter are currently working toward the release of Ma Khin Khin Leh, a Myanmar woman arrested for attempting to organize a peaceful demonstration in the town of Bago to protest government policies and to show support for the National League for Democracy.

Schemenauer has made a career out of teaching college students about human rights, specifically women’s rights. She has taught courses at Vassar College in New York and Wake Forest University in North Carolina in international relations, human rights and women militarism and war.

“I try to provide my students with the skills to be socially-conscious individuals,” said Schemenauer.

Schemenauer is working toward a Ph.D. in international relations at Florida International University in Miami and plans to graduate in spring 2006.

For more information, contact Schemenauer at (262) 473-2872 or schemene@uww.edu.