16. Justice, Freedom, and Human RIghts: Shirin Ebadi's Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar Presents: Rhetorician's Nook

Abstract

When the Nobel Prize Committee announced its selection of Shirin Ebadi in 2003 it emphasized Ebadi's human rights work as predominantly political, suggesting she could be a role model for the world and a unifying figure between East and West. However, Ebadi used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to redefine prized terms and cultural boundaries in ways that help explain the assumptions that have created the cultural and political rift between Iran and America.

Author

• Kathryn Margaret Johnston, Northwestern University