Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative

In 2008, Martha Albertson Fineman established ‘The Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative’ (VHC) as an interdisciplinary theme of Emory University’s Laney Graduate School. The Initiative was initially supported by joint contributions from Emory's Race and Difference Initiative and the Feminism and Legal Theory Project (which Fineman established in 1984 while at the University of Wisconsin). The VHC initiative first public session took the form of a roundtable discussion with Bryan S. Turner and Peadar Kirby (both of whom were already working on concepts of vulnerability in relation to a sociology of human rights and a critical account of globalisation respectively). It was at this event that Fineman distributed her 2008 paper, ‘The Vulnerable Subject’ for early discussion. Various workshops, programs and publications have followed. ''Vulnerability: Reflections on a New Ethical Foundation for Law and Politics'' includes chapters by many workshop participants situating vulnerability in various philosophical traditions, on topics ranging from assisted reproductive technology, animals and economics.

The Initiative draws on the resources of many academic disciplines at Emory, from law to psychiatry to women's studies to environmental science, and also hosts visiting scholars from around the world each year, whose biographies can be found on the Initiative's website. The full Initiative website lists upcoming events, and publishes available resources for parties interested in learning more about vulnerability. Of particular interest to scholars and researchers may be visiting scholar interviews, information on the VHC's global affiliated faculty, and profiles on the VHC's Emory affiliated faculty. Information on news, events, workshops, and seminars is also available on the full website. Provided by Wikipedia