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Cher W Chen

George Mason University, School of Integrative Studies, Faculty Member

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Dr. Cher Weixia Chen is an Associate Professor in the School of Integrative Studies and a Research Fellow in the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, George Mason University. She teaches courses in the International Studies, Legal Studies, and Social Justice and Human Rights concentrations. Her scholarship focuses on the issues of human rights (particularly the rights of marginalized groups such as women’s rights and indigenous rights) and international and comparative legal studies.

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Eric S . Kim (UBC)

University of British Columbia

Central European University

Kansas State University

Ucla

École Normale Supérieure de Lyon

University of Genova

LUISS Guido Carli

The Catholic University of America

Riccarda Flemmer

University of Tübingen

Patience Samson-Akpan

University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.

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Papers by Cher W Chen

International Human Rights

This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of international human rights issues, offering t... more This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of international human rights issues, offering truly international coverage including the Global South. Considering the philosophical foundations of human rights, Chen and Renteln explore the interpretive difficulties associated with identifying what constitute human rights abuses, and evaluate various perspectives on human rights. This book goes on to analyze institutions that strive to promote and enforce human rights standards, including the United Nations system, regional human rights bodies, and domestic courts. It also discusses a wide variety of substantive human rights including genocide, torture, capital punishment, and other cruel and unusual punishments. In particular, the book offers an accessible introduction to key understudied topics within human rights, such as socioeconomic rights, cultural rights, and environmental rights. It also focuses on the rights of marginalized groups, including children's rights, rights o...

The International Instruments on Gender Pay Equity

Ucla Center For the Study of Women, Feb 1, 2008

Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists: Symptoms, Causes and Implications

Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2015

Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vo... more Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vocational burnout, research suggests that social justice and human rights (SJHR) activists, whose activist work is fraught with unique challenges, can be especially susceptible to it. Building on a small but growing body of scholarship on SJHR activist burnout, this study is an attempt to gain insight into SJHR activists' own experiences. In order to deepen the relatively slim present understandings of SJHR activist burnout, we adopted a grounded theory approach to analyse interview data from 22 SJHR activists involved in a wide variety of SJHR movements and organizations in the United States. This analysis revealed patterns in the activists' perceptions of the symptoms, causes, and implications of their burnout and pointed to several dimensions of the internal cultures of United States SJHR movements and organizations, including, in the words of one our participants, a 'culture of martyrdom', that hasten activist burnout and, as a result, render SJHR activism less effective and efficient. We discussed these findings and how they might inform efforts to strengthen SJHR movements by tending to the well-being of SJHR activists.

Compliance and Compromise

Compliance and Compromise examines the status of gender pay equity that has been largely overlook... more

“Frayed All Over:” The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activists

Educational Studies, 2015

Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are working... more Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are working on a variety of issues, from labor rights to queer justice, little attention has been paid to burnout among those whose activism focuses on issues of educational justice. To begin to address this omission and understand what supports might help social justice education activists mitigate burnout and sustain their activism, we analyzed interview data from 14 activists focused on activist burnout and its implications on movements for educational justice.. This analysis identified 3 major symptom categories of activist burnout and we gained insights into the culture of martyrdom in social justice education movements. These symptoms and the culture of martyrdom, by negatively impacting the health and sustainability of activists, threaten the efficiency and effectiveness of educational justice movements. Forty years ago Freudenberger (1974) introduced the notion of vocational burnout to describe, not just a state of temporary fatigue or exasperation, but an ongoing and debilitating condition that threatens its victims' vocational persistence. In the years since, scholars have been studying the nature of burnout and honing its definition. For example, Schaufeli and Buunk (2003) defined burnout as "a state or process of mental exhaustion" (p. 383). Pines (1994) synthesized a variety of conceptions of burnout as "the end result of a process in which idealistic and highly committed people lose their spirit" (p. 381). According to Goodwin and Pfaff (2001), activists, people whose passions and identities are wrapped up in social causes, are especially susceptible to burnout because they tend to invest considerable amounts of what Hochschild (1983) described as emotional labor into their activist work. This emotional investment makes activists vulnerable to feeling hopeless, overwhelmed, and discouraged-feelings that, over time, can culminate in burnout (Kovan & Dirkx, 2003). Scholars who have examined the phenomenon of burnout of activists whose activism is tied to social justice causes, including labor rights, racial justice, gender justice, peace, or queer justice, have suggested that, even when compared with other activists, they are at a particularly high risk of burnout (Maslach & Gomes, 2006; Plyler, 2006).

Patriarchy Prevails: A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of Equal Pay Discourses

Women and Language, 2018

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (2007), the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the pro... more Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (2007), the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the proposed Paycheck Fairness Act, and Walmart v. Dukes (2011) brought renewed attention to pay equity in the policy sphere. Nevertheless, comprehensive pay reform ultimately failed and this essay seeks to explore why. Specifically, the essay offers an in-depth examination of the role of discourse in upholding the status quo. Drawing on feminist rhetorical criticism, the essay analyzes judicial and congressional equal pay discourses in the past decade, contextualizing them in historical views of women's wages. The findings suggest that contemporary debates over equal pay, like their historical counterparts, are framed in terms of a traditional male breadwinner-female homemaker model. This discursive framing, in turn, prevents consideration of progressive ideas around equal pay.

Biocultural Rights: A New Paradigm for Protecting Natural and Cultural Resources of Indigenous Communities

International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2015

ABSTRACT

A Critique of ‘Lost of Face’ Arguments in Cultural Defense Cases: A Comparative Study

Multicultural Jurisprudence: Comparative Perspectives on the Cultural Defense, edited by Marie-Claire Foblets and Alison Dundes Renteln, 2009

Global v. Local: The Issue of Lethal Injection in China

Global Bioethics and Human Rights: Contemporary Issues, edited by Wanda Teays and Alison Dundes Renteln, 2014

indigenous rights in international law.pdf

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, 2017

Biocultural Rights: A New Paradigm to Protect the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.pdf

The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2015

This article proposes a new concept of “biocultural rights” that justly reflects a broader intell... more This article proposes a new concept of “biocultural rights” that justly reflects a broader intellectual and policy trend to holistically address the protection of Indigenous natural and cultural resources. The concept of biocultural rights combines nature with culture; takes into consideration the past, the present, and the future; and values “special” Indigenous elements that are indispensable to the diversity of our universe. It aims at protecting Indigenous resources holistically and more effectively.

“Frayed All Over:” The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activists

by Paul Gorski and Cher W Chen

Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are workin... more Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are working on a variety of issues, from labor rights to queer justice, little attention has been paid to burnout among those whose activism focuses on issues of educational justice. To begin to address this omis- sion and understand what supports might help social justice education activists mitigate burnout and sustain their activism, we analyzed interview data from 14 activists focused on activist burnout and its implications on movements for educational justice.. This analysis identified 3 major symp- tom categories of activist burnout and we gained insights into the culture of martyrdom in social justice education movements. These symptoms and the culture of martyrdom, by negatively impact- ing the health and sustainability of activists, threaten the efficiency and effectiveness of educational justice movements.

Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists: Symptoms, Causes and Implications

by Cher W Chen and Paul Gorski

Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vo... more Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vocational burnout, research suggests that social justice and human rights (SJHR) activists, whose activist work is fraught with unique challenges, can be especially susceptible to it. Building on a small but growing body of scholarship on SJHR activist burnout, this study is an attempt to gain insight into SJHR activists’ own experiences. In order to deepen the relatively slim present understandings of SJHR activist burnout, we adopted a grounded theory approach to analyse interview data from 22 SJHR activists involved in a wide variety of SJHR movements and organizations in the United States. This analysis revealed patterns in the activists’ perceptions
of the symptoms, causes, and implications of their burnout and pointed to several dimensions of the internal cultures of United States SJHR movements and organizations, including, in the words of one our participants, a ‘culture of martyrdom’, that hasten activist burnout and, as a result, render SJHR activism less effective and efficient. We discussed these findings and how they might inform efforts to strengthen SJHR movements by tending to the well-being of SJHR activists.

Books by Cher W Chen

Compliance and Compromise: The Jurisprudence of Gender Pay Equity

Brill/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2011

International Human Rights

This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of international human rights issues, offering t... more This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of international human rights issues, offering truly international coverage including the Global South. Considering the philosophical foundations of human rights, Chen and Renteln explore the interpretive difficulties associated with identifying what constitute human rights abuses, and evaluate various perspectives on human rights. This book goes on to analyze institutions that strive to promote and enforce human rights standards, including the United Nations system, regional human rights bodies, and domestic courts. It also discusses a wide variety of substantive human rights including genocide, torture, capital punishment, and other cruel and unusual punishments. In particular, the book offers an accessible introduction to key understudied topics within human rights, such as socioeconomic rights, cultural rights, and environmental rights. It also focuses on the rights of marginalized groups, including children's rights, rights o...

The International Instruments on Gender Pay Equity

Ucla Center For the Study of Women, Feb 1, 2008

Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists: Symptoms, Causes and Implications

Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2015

Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vo... more Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vocational burnout, research suggests that social justice and human rights (SJHR) activists, whose activist work is fraught with unique challenges, can be especially susceptible to it. Building on a small but growing body of scholarship on SJHR activist burnout, this study is an attempt to gain insight into SJHR activists' own experiences. In order to deepen the relatively slim present understandings of SJHR activist burnout, we adopted a grounded theory approach to analyse interview data from 22 SJHR activists involved in a wide variety of SJHR movements and organizations in the United States. This analysis revealed patterns in the activists' perceptions of the symptoms, causes, and implications of their burnout and pointed to several dimensions of the internal cultures of United States SJHR movements and organizations, including, in the words of one our participants, a 'culture of martyrdom', that hasten activist burnout and, as a result, render SJHR activism less effective and efficient. We discussed these findings and how they might inform efforts to strengthen SJHR movements by tending to the well-being of SJHR activists.

Compliance and Compromise

Compliance and Compromise examines the status of gender pay equity that has been largely overlook... more

“Frayed All Over:” The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activists

Educational Studies, 2015

Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are working... more Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are working on a variety of issues, from labor rights to queer justice, little attention has been paid to burnout among those whose activism focuses on issues of educational justice. To begin to address this omission and understand what supports might help social justice education activists mitigate burnout and sustain their activism, we analyzed interview data from 14 activists focused on activist burnout and its implications on movements for educational justice.. This analysis identified 3 major symptom categories of activist burnout and we gained insights into the culture of martyrdom in social justice education movements. These symptoms and the culture of martyrdom, by negatively impacting the health and sustainability of activists, threaten the efficiency and effectiveness of educational justice movements. Forty years ago Freudenberger (1974) introduced the notion of vocational burnout to describe, not just a state of temporary fatigue or exasperation, but an ongoing and debilitating condition that threatens its victims' vocational persistence. In the years since, scholars have been studying the nature of burnout and honing its definition. For example, Schaufeli and Buunk (2003) defined burnout as "a state or process of mental exhaustion" (p. 383). Pines (1994) synthesized a variety of conceptions of burnout as "the end result of a process in which idealistic and highly committed people lose their spirit" (p. 381). According to Goodwin and Pfaff (2001), activists, people whose passions and identities are wrapped up in social causes, are especially susceptible to burnout because they tend to invest considerable amounts of what Hochschild (1983) described as emotional labor into their activist work. This emotional investment makes activists vulnerable to feeling hopeless, overwhelmed, and discouraged-feelings that, over time, can culminate in burnout (Kovan & Dirkx, 2003). Scholars who have examined the phenomenon of burnout of activists whose activism is tied to social justice causes, including labor rights, racial justice, gender justice, peace, or queer justice, have suggested that, even when compared with other activists, they are at a particularly high risk of burnout (Maslach & Gomes, 2006; Plyler, 2006).

Patriarchy Prevails: A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of Equal Pay Discourses

Women and Language, 2018

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (2007), the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the pro... more Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (2007), the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the proposed Paycheck Fairness Act, and Walmart v. Dukes (2011) brought renewed attention to pay equity in the policy sphere. Nevertheless, comprehensive pay reform ultimately failed and this essay seeks to explore why. Specifically, the essay offers an in-depth examination of the role of discourse in upholding the status quo. Drawing on feminist rhetorical criticism, the essay analyzes judicial and congressional equal pay discourses in the past decade, contextualizing them in historical views of women's wages. The findings suggest that contemporary debates over equal pay, like their historical counterparts, are framed in terms of a traditional male breadwinner-female homemaker model. This discursive framing, in turn, prevents consideration of progressive ideas around equal pay.

Biocultural Rights: A New Paradigm for Protecting Natural and Cultural Resources of Indigenous Communities

International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2015

ABSTRACT

A Critique of ‘Lost of Face’ Arguments in Cultural Defense Cases: A Comparative Study

Multicultural Jurisprudence: Comparative Perspectives on the Cultural Defense, edited by Marie-Claire Foblets and Alison Dundes Renteln, 2009

Global v. Local: The Issue of Lethal Injection in China

Global Bioethics and Human Rights: Contemporary Issues, edited by Wanda Teays and Alison Dundes Renteln, 2014

indigenous rights in international law.pdf

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, 2017

Biocultural Rights: A New Paradigm to Protect the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.pdf

The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2015

This article proposes a new concept of “biocultural rights” that justly reflects a broader intell... more This article proposes a new concept of “biocultural rights” that justly reflects a broader intellectual and policy trend to holistically address the protection of Indigenous natural and cultural resources. The concept of biocultural rights combines nature with culture; takes into consideration the past, the present, and the future; and values “special” Indigenous elements that are indispensable to the diversity of our universe. It aims at protecting Indigenous resources holistically and more effectively.

“Frayed All Over:” The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activists

by Paul Gorski and Cher W Chen

Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are workin... more Despite the growing body of scholarship on burnout among social justice activists who are working on a variety of issues, from labor rights to queer justice, little attention has been paid to burnout among those whose activism focuses on issues of educational justice. To begin to address this omis- sion and understand what supports might help social justice education activists mitigate burnout and sustain their activism, we analyzed interview data from 14 activists focused on activist burnout and its implications on movements for educational justice.. This analysis identified 3 major symp- tom categories of activist burnout and we gained insights into the culture of martyrdom in social justice education movements. These symptoms and the culture of martyrdom, by negatively impact- ing the health and sustainability of activists, threaten the efficiency and effectiveness of educational justice movements.

Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists: Symptoms, Causes and Implications

by Cher W Chen and Paul Gorski

Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vo... more Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vocational burnout, research suggests that social justice and human rights (SJHR) activists, whose activist work is fraught with unique challenges, can be especially susceptible to it. Building on a small but growing body of scholarship on SJHR activist burnout, this study is an attempt to gain insight into SJHR activists’ own experiences. In order to deepen the relatively slim present understandings of SJHR activist burnout, we adopted a grounded theory approach to analyse interview data from 22 SJHR activists involved in a wide variety of SJHR movements and organizations in the United States. This analysis revealed patterns in the activists’ perceptions
of the symptoms, causes, and implications of their burnout and pointed to several dimensions of the internal cultures of United States SJHR movements and organizations, including, in the words of one our participants, a ‘culture of martyrdom’, that hasten activist burnout and, as a result, render SJHR activism less effective and efficient. We discussed these findings and how they might inform efforts to strengthen SJHR movements by tending to the well-being of SJHR activists.

Compliance and Compromise: The Jurisprudence of Gender Pay Equity

Brill/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2011