Professor will present 'Human Trafficking in the Heartland'

LAWRENCE — Hannah Britton, associate professor of political science/women, gender & sexuality studies, will speak at 7:30 p.m. March 22 in The Commons, Spooner Hall, as part of the Hall Center for the Humanities' 2015-2016 Humanities Lecture Series.

"Human Trafficking in the Heartland" is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will occur after the lecture. This event is supported by the Friends of the Hall Center. Seating is limited, so please register to attend.

Britton is the director of the Center for the Study of Injustice at the Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas. In this role, she coordinates KU's Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Initiative (ASHTI), which is a working group of faculty and students engaged in teaching and research about slavery and trafficking. In her lecture, Britton will discuss the broad goals ASHTI, with a specific focus on the anti-trafficking research and advocacy happening in the heartland. While most people think of human trafficking as an international phenomenon, trafficking crosses borders and occurs regionally.

Britton’s current research focuses on the risk factors that may be driving trafficking. She and the ASHTI team are interested in finding ways to create trafficking-resistant communities, specifically through the use of policies, networks and structural resources that could be used to prevent exploitation before it occurs.

Britton is continuing her own research projects in the Southern African region on how states, communities and individual leaders combat gender-based violence. She also coordinates a working group of faculty and graduate students using qualitative research methods in their teaching and scholarship.

Founded in 1947, the Humanities Lecture Series is the oldest continuing series at KU. More than 150 eminent scholars from around the world have participated in the program, including author Salman Rushdie, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Recent speakers have included Junot Diaz, Jeffrey Toobin, and Sarah Vowell. Shortly after the program’s inception, a lecture by one outstanding KU faculty member was added to the schedule. For information on the series, visit the Hall Center website.