Focus on Human Rights

Professor Green served as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme on integrating human rights into needs-assessment models used to implement the Millennium Development Goals.

Maria Green

Assistant Professor of Human Rights and Development, Heller School
M.A., Harvard University
J.D., Harvard Law School

Current research
My work focuses on human rights and poverty, particularly the international human rights laws and standards that are used by governments, nongovernmental organizations and international agencies to shape development practices. My field of specialization is international economic, social and cultural rights (rights related to food, health, housing, education and clean drinking water, among other things), and at the moment, I am especially interested in the role of “process rights” — rights having to do with, for instance, access to information and legal remedies for violations — in protecting the substantive rights and reducing poverty.       

Favorite classroom experience
With students from as many as 40 countries who bring all sorts of backgrounds and experiences to the classroom, conversations are generally varied and fascinating from the beginning. My favorite moments come when students ask tough questions or make comments that show they are critically examining the readings and discussions in the light of their own experiences.  

What makes Brandeis special
The people. Conversations are the lifeblood of any university, and I feel fortunate in the conversations I have with colleagues and students, both in my own field and in the broader Brandeis community. At the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, where I teach, faculty and students generally assume that the principal goal of intellectual pursuit is the public good, and this creates an extraordinary atmosphere for social-policy work. There is also a remarkable amount of kindness around the place, among the students and faculty and especially the staff. I find myself learning at odd moments of small, generous things that one or another person has done, usually for a student.

Last book read for pleasure
"First Among Sequels," one of Jasper Fforde’s hilarious lit-crit parody mysteries; and "The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin."

Favorite world city to visit
New York for fun, Geneva for work and Stockholm for civilized discussion. But a house by the sea, on any continent, is best.