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.:Resource Guides:Interviews-Tommy Yeh.
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Interviews
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Advice
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What books, magazines, periodicals, websites or other materials should people read to learn more about this field? |
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www.zmag.org, www.democracynow.org, www.hrw.org, www.globalexchange.org, the Institute for
Policy Studies at www.ips-dc.org, www.aclu.org, www.oxfam.org, and, on the radio, Counterspin, Free Speech Radio News, and Pacifica Radio.
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What questions would you ask of someone who wants to do this work? |
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Whom are you working for? Are you trying to advance your own notion of social justice or open to learning from the people who suffer oppression? Is working in the social justice movement an act of charity or gesture of solidarity and
a way of living?
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In what kinds of jobs can recent college graduates have the most impact in your field? |
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College grads can work in administrative functions at larger organizations, and can work as community organizers, educators, research assistants, charity workers, etc.
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What are the major trends and/or key issues in your field? |
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Patriarchy (again, no surprise, women suffer the majority of human rights abuses; AIDS especially is fueled by sexual violence and women's disempowerment), global trade, and destruction of democracy (pharmaceutical companies develop
drugs with public money and refuse to provide life-saving medicines to victims of AIDS).
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What forms of support and/or advice have you found most valuable (mentoring, trainings, professional development, attending conferences, etc.)? |
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Working with the activists, lawyers, and researchers at Human Rights Watch.
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What is a common or tough interview question a candidate in your field should be prepared to answer? |
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Why do you want to work in this field? Anyone can say, I really believe in the cause, etc., but the devil is in the details, as they say.
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What other advice would you give people who want to do this work? |
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The NGO movement risks (if it isn't already) becoming a bureaucratic nightmare. What's supposedly different about the movement from the establishment is the revolutionary character of human rights, of the environmental movement, etc.
But this novelty/revolutionary edge is only possible through our individual efforts to work with the goal (collective human liberation) always in mind, not individual success, petty politics, etc. When we succeed in improving conditions, we're all winners.
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Career Center Resource Guides
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