This dissertation examines diverse pedagogic approaches to teaching human rights and citizenship at the university level and how a particular academic community perceives of and engages with human rights and citizenship discourse. Based on fieldwork conducted at Sabanci University in Turkey, I explore how students and educators draw on, modify and sometimes abstain from engaging human rights discourse when discussing their experiences with culture, education and violence. As international initiatives and research on human rights education continue to evolve, students and educators carve their own path when sharing their perceptions of human rights as they relate to their own lives. The global human rights framework is found to be both insufficient in some regards and foundational in others for how university students engage with issues of social justice locally. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]