Essay Contest Winners

Columbia University School of General Studies , Undergraduate

"Questioning the 'Collective Good': Techno-Solutionism, Congolese Cobalt, and the Invisibilization of Sacrifice"

Within the discourse on climate change, there is often a perceived binary between the problem before us and the solution(s) at hand. These solutions—developing renewable energy, investing in electric vehicles, and even building entire new hyper-modern “green” cities—often fit into a techno-determinist, techno-solutionist narrative that glosses over the complex set of compromises (moral, political, economic) that they pose. The development of electric vehicles has been central to this narrative, with countless technocrats, policymakers, and businesspeople heralding advances in EV technology as a game changer in the fight against climate change. However, less discussed is the catastrophic effect that EV technology—specifically the mining of elements such as cobalt that are essential components of lithium batteries—has upon marginalized communities. Using the case study of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this paper will seek to challenge the techno-solutionist narrative as articulated by entities like The Breakthrough Institute and key texts like “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” which hold that climate change will be addressed through technology, innovation, and the innate human capacity for progress. In place of this, I will argue that the case of cobalt mining in the DRC poses an undeniable challenge to the triumphalist narrative that portrays EV development as a central pillar of the “solution” to climate change. As examinations of the interrelation between techno-solutionism, capitalism, and (neo)colonialism reveal, techno-solutionism’s reassurance that technological responses to climate change need not entail sacrifices is blatantly incongruent with the stark reality of the systemic sacrifice of certain racially and geographically defined populations for the sake of the “collective.” This “collective,” while defined by techno-solutionism as universal, is predicated on the erasure, exclusion, and legitimization of “collateral damage” in the postcolonial Global South. As the case study of cobalt mining in the Congo reveals, technological “solutions” to climate change do not come without costs. By erasing these costs, which, like the effects of climate change itself, are disproportionately born by Black and Brown populations in the Global South, techno-solutionism represents an insidious narrative that obscures, trivializes, and justifies the mass sacrifice of entire populations along colonial and racial lines. In so doing, techno-solutionism becomes the rhetorical embodiment of necropolitics, serving as a tool by which to delineate colonially and racially defined boundaries that divide the supposedly “universal” collective of beneficiaries from the “expendables” who are to be sacrificed for the “greater good.”

Human Rights Studies M.A. , Graduate

"The Digital Patriarchy: How Tinder Facilitates Gender-Based Violence"

This paper explores the relationship between Tinder, an online dating platform, and gender-based violence. Tinder created a digital space wherein men pursue women with greater ease and more confidence. As a result, men act aggressively on Tinder and engage in unwanted sexually explicit communications. This behavior can transcend the digital space into physical violence. The dynamic between Tinder and gender-based violence underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in social norms as well as Tinder’s policies to ensure the safety and empowerment of women in the online dating space.

Columbia University School of General Studies , Undergraduate

"A Looming Crisis: Does International Human Rights Law Address the Status and Protection of Climate Refugees?"

Amidst the ongoing refugee crisis and the looming threat of a global climate migration catastrophe, a substantial body of legal scholarship has emerged, focusing on the concepts of "climate refugees" and "climate refugee status" within the framework of international and human rights law. This paper explores the ongoing discussion among legal scholars regarding the entitlement of "climate refugees" to statehood in nations that bear responsibility for climate change, the challenges of categorizing climate-induced displacement, and the ability of existing legal frameworks to address forthcoming challenges. Despite advocacy by scholars, activists, and governments for the safeguarding of populations at risk due to climate change, the issue of climate refugee status under international human rights law remains contentious. This essay argues that current international law lacks explicit provisions for the protection or designation of climate refugees. However, it posits that innovative legal and political mechanisms may offer states viable avenues to tackle the complexities of climate migration and internal displacement. The paper advocates for the establishment of more binding regional agreements as the optimal course of action to respond to and prepare for climate displacement, presenting a pathway toward a more comprehensive legal solution that protects human rights.

Human Rights Studies M.A. , Graduate

"Vanishing Women into the Shadows of Saffron"

India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained its political stronghold since Narendra Modi's landslide election as prime minister in 2014. Characterized by its deployment of Hindutva, or the Hindu ethno-nationalist extremist ideology, the BJP is radically reshaping Indian society. This paper explores the profound societal transformations initiated by the BJP, emphasizing its imposition of violence and control on minorities, particularly Muslim, Dalit, and Adivasi women within India's borders. Grounded in the interplay of gender dynamics, nation-building, and necropolitics, the study critically examines the role of minority women in the BJP's Hindutva project, focusing on the conflict-ridden state of Assam.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , Graduate

Evaluation of Coercive Reproductive Policies as a Violation of International Human Rights Law

General Studies, Undergraduate

"Art Therapy with Refugees:Overcoming Processes of Pathologization and Fostering Social Integration"

Refugees’ social integration to their new country is often a complex and laborious process. In addition to the necessity of adapting to a different language and culture and of becoming financially self-sufficient, many of them have to cope with an additional burden: trauma. While physical health is often addressed as a primary concern by local authorities and refugees themselves, mental health is often put on the back burner. Moreover, with refugee populations, finding efficient and successful mental health therapies is all the more challenging, as barriers of language and culture often hinder communication. This paper argues that art therapies, also called creative and non-verbal therapies, are a promising solution in refugee’s journey towards social integration. We argue that it is so for three main reasons. First, because art therapies paradoxically contribute to deconstruct narratives of pathologization of refugees, as they stress the non-deterministic nature of their condition (1). Secondly, because art therapies have already proved to be effective tools to help refugees heal from trauma, allowing the externalization of experiences difficult to verbalize (2). We finally demonstrate that, contrary to other kinds of therapies, that are “provided” to patients, art therapy requires the latter to actively participate. Art therapy thus facilitates refugees’ social integration by empowering them and transforming their status of passive victim into one of individuals with agency (3). Hanna Arendt’s essay We Refugees, in which she describes the struggle faced by refugees in their new country, will keep informing this paper and our understanding of the particular relevancy of art therapies in their case.