In brief

Nominations are sought for Scholars at Risk fellowsThe Scholars at Risk program connects Harvard to a national network that defends the human rights of scholars worldwide. Each year, the program awards one or more fellowships at the University to scholars facing persecution. Faculty members, staff, and students are eligible to submit nominations. The deadline is Dec. 16. For details, visit http://www.humanrights.harvard.edu/scholarsatrisk, or call (617) 496-4950.Additionally, the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies is sponsoring an informal conversation with new United Nations High Commissioner Louise Arbour Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held at Wiener Auditorium in the Taubman Building, Kennedy School of Government. Committee Executive Director Jacqueline Bhabha, who is also the Jeremiah Smith Jr. Lecturer at Law, and Carr Professor of Human Rights Practice Michael Ignatieff, will be on hand to discuss the UN and human rights issues. Dharma show, auction to aid earthquake victims Harvard’s Hindu student association, Dharma, is hosting a Dec. 4 benefit art show and auction for victims of the earthquake that rocked the region of Kashmir in South Asia this past October. The show will be held at the Sackler Museum from noon to 3 p.m. The auction, featuring professional paintings and photographs from Sehr Jalal, Walter Crump, Mira Nair, and others, will follow immediately at Harvard’s Center for Government and International Studies, South Building. Safra Center’s lecture series welcomes MIT’s Rae LangtonAs part of its 2005-06 public lecture series, Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics will sponsor “Speaker’s Freedom and Maker’s Knowledge: The Case of Pornography” with Rae Langton, professor of moral philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), on Dec. 8 at 4:30 p.m. The talk will be held in Starr Auditorium, Kennedy School of Government, and is free and open to the public. Visit http://www.ethics.harvard.edu for more information.  –  Compiled by Andrew Brooks