Professor George Kent
Background
I was born and grew up in New York City. I spent my undergraduate days studying electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where I got my bachelor's degree in 1960. An interest in communication led me to shift fields, and the following year I received a Master of Science in Communications degree from Boston University's School of Public Relations and Communications. From there I went to the Univeristy of Illinois, where I was awarded a Ph.D. in Communications in 1965. After that I spent a year doing post–doctoral work at Ohio State University.
I have worked as a consultant with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund, and several civil society organizations, and I am part of the Working Group on Nutrition, Ethics, and Human Rights of the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition. I am Co–Convener of the Commission on International Human Rights of the International Peace Research Association.
Research Interests
My professional work is addressed to finding remedies for social problems, especially finding ways to strengthen the weak in the face of the strong. I work on human rights, international relations, peace, development, and environmental issues, with a special focus on nutrition and children.
Courses Taught
In Spring 2010, I will teach two undergraduate courses at the Univeristy of Hawai'i:
- POLS 120 Introduction to World Politics
- POLS 316 International Relations, with a focus on human rights
Both of these courses will be on–line and writing intensive.