BA (cum laude, Kansas State University, USA); Juris Doctorate (University of Denver, USA); LLM (with distinction, University of Leicester); PhD (De Montfort University)
Sarah Sargent is a qualified lawyer in the United States. Licensed to practice law (Licenses inactive) Colorado, Maryland, Kansas, USA. Her legal practice concentrated on issues of childrenās rights. She worked for several non-profit organisations, including work Ā in the capacity of Managing Attorney and Director of Legal Services. Her legal practice included extensive litigation experience, and filing briefs of amicus curiae with the state appellate court on childrenās rights issues. She is also one of the founders of the non-profit organisation, Kansas Association of Counsel for Children, which is an affiliate of the national organisation, National Association of Counsel for Children, and has served as a Board member and past President of this organisation. Dr Sargent also served a member of the Kansas Judicial Council Juvenile Offender/Child in Need of Care Advisory Committee for seven years. This group was responsible for a review and revision of state laws on juvenile offenders and children in care.
Dr Sargent has previously taught as an adjunct professor at Washburn University, USA on childrenās law and and Comparative Law: Method and Theory. She also taught at De Montfort University. Her on-going research interests include indigenous rights in international law, transnational legal theory, and the intersection of indigenous rights and childrenās rights in both international and domestic law.
Dr Sargent joined The University of 51³Ō¹Ļ’s Law School in 2011.
Dr Sargent has been invited to speak at the Stanford Archaeology Centre, at Stanford University, California on 28 May 2014. She will be speaking on the topic of āThe Horse Culture of the American Indians: Past, Present and Futureā, considering legal aspects of preservation of intangible cultural heritage and international human rights.
Dr Sargent also writes poetry, and had a poem published in the Little Balkans Review 6.1 (Spring 2011), a regional literary magazine that features art, articles and poetry about her home state of Kansas. Her poem is entitled Ā āGlissandoā and was written at the end of a visit home as she was preparing to head back to Englandādealing with the inevitability of change.
Publications: Articles, chapters in books, edited books
Review of Natasha Fijn, Living with Herds: Human-Animal Coexistence in Mongolia,in Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History 3.2 (2023) 208-211.
Sarah Sargent, ‘Telling Tales: Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO and Horse Cultural Heritage in the Twenty-first Century,’, Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History, Volume 3, Issue 2, 184-207 (2023).
Review of Geraldine Brooks, Horse, in Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History 3.1 (2023), 108-110.
Sarah Sargent, ‘Cow Pony’Ā (poetry)Ā ±į¾±±č±č“Ē°ä²¹³¾±č³Ü²õĢżVolume 1, Issue 1 (2023) 12.
Sarah Sargent, ‘Tracing the Legacy of Spanish Medieval Horsemanship: The Texas Cowboy and the California Vaquero’, Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History. Volume 2, Issue 1, 161-185, DOI: 10.22618/TP.Cheiron.20221.1.196008 (2022).
Sarah Sargent, āFoxhunting and Classical Horsemanship as Social Performance of Elitism and Power: A Journey Across Timeāin Anastasija Ropa (ed), Historical Practices in Horsemanship and Equestrian Sports (Trivent Publishing, 2022).
“Fractured Resemblances”: Contested Multinational Heritage and Soft Power” in 27(1) International Journal of Cultural Property 97-123. for more information on the article.
(edited, with Jo Samanta) Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges in the 21st Century (51³Ō¹Ļ: University of 51³Ō¹Ļ Press, 2019
āRights and reparations: An assessment of the UNDRIP to American Indian land claimsā, in S. Sargent & J. Samanta (eds), Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges in the 21st CenturyĀ (2nd edition 51³Ō¹Ļ: University of 51³Ō¹Ļ Press, 2019).
āCharlieās Law: Clarifying the Legal Standard to be Used in Medical Decision-Making for Childrenā in Medical Futility and the Best Interests of the Child, edited by Dr. Kartina A. Choong (Trivent Publishing, 2019). .
(with Kudret Yelden and Jo Samanta) “Understanding the decision-making environment for people in minimally conscious state“, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (2017). Read more in our Publication of the week section (19 April 2017).
“Truth and consequences: Law, myth and metaphor in American Indian contested adoption”, Liverpool Law Review (2017).Ģż Read more in our Publication of the week section (3 May 2017).
(edited, with Jo Samanta) Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges in the 21st Century (51³Ō¹Ļ: University of 51³Ō¹Ļ Press, 2017).Ā .
“Rights and reparations: An assessment of the UNDRIP to American Indian land claims”, in S. Sargent & J. Samanta (eds), Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges in the 21st Century (51³Ō¹Ļ: University of 51³Ō¹Ļ Press, 2017), 88-115.Ā Read more in our Publication of the week section (31 May 2017).
(with Jo Samanta and Kudret Yelden) “A grounded theory analysis of a focus group study”, SAGE Research Methods Cases Part 2 (2017).Ģż .
āClassical horsemanship and the dangers of the emergent intangible cultural heritage authorised discourseā, International Journal of Intangible Heritage 11 (2016), 35-53. Read more about this article in our Publication of the week section (22 August 2016).
(with Jo Samanta and Kudret Yelden) āShould people in the minimally conscious state have a (recognised) right to reassessment?ā, Contemporary Issues in Law 14.1 (2016), 63-83. Read more about this article in our Publication of the week section (11 July 2016).
āLegislating to prevent forced marriage: Time to reassess the legal approach?ā, Diversity & Equality in Health and Care 12.3 (2015), 93-94.
“Transracial adoption in England: a critical race and systems theory analysis”, International Journal of Law in Context 11.4 (2015), 412-425.Ā Read more about this article in our Publication of the week section (7 December 2015).
(with Graham Melling) āThe exercise of external self-determination by indigenous groups: An examination of the Republic of Lakotah and the inherent sovereignty of American indigenous peoplesā, Sri Lanka Journal of International and Comparative Law 1 (2015), 49. Read more about this article in our Publication of the week section (22 July 2015).
āWhatās in a name: The contested meaning of free, prior and informed consent in international financial law and indigenous rightsā, inĀ Valentina Vadi & Bruno de Witte (eds), Culture and International Economic Law (London: Routledge, 2015), 87-103. Read more about this chapter in our Publication of the week section (2 March 2015).
āUnfulfilled promises: Safeguarding the horse culture of American Indiansā, Transnational Dispute Management TDM 2 (March 2014).
(with Graham Melling) āIndigenous self-determination: the root of state resistanceā, Denning Law Journal 24 (2012), 117-137
Review of S. Harris-Short, Aboriginal Child Welfare, Self-Government and the Rights of Indigenous Children, British Yearbook of International Law (2012).
“Transnational networks and United Nations human rights structural change: the future of indigenous and minority rights”,Ā International Journal of Human Rights 16.1 (2012), 123-151.
“Trapped in legal discourse: transracial adoption in the United States and England”, Denning Law Journal 23 (2011), 131-162.
“Towards a constructivist approach in identifying domestic mechanisms for rights protection in an intercountry adoption setting: a Comparison of India, Guatemala and South Africa”,Ā Essex Human Rights Review 7.1 (2010), 50-71.Ā (25 February 2011)
“Indigenous childrenās rights: international law, self-determination and intercountry adoption in Guatemala”,Ā Contemporary Issues in Law 10.1 (2010) , 1-24.
“Intercountry adoption” and “Indigenous childrenās rights”, in T. Buck (ed.), International Child Law (2nd ed., London: Routledge, 2010), 243-261 and 310-330. ISBN: 978-0-415-48716-0.
“Grasping the nettle: the impact of the EUās response to Romanian intercountry adoption during accession negotiations”, in F. Snyder (ed.),Ā L’Ć©largissement et la nouvelle Europe aprĆØs 2004 (French/English ed., Brussels: Bruylant, 2005). ISBN: 2-8027-2129-1.
“Suspended animation: the implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in the United States and Romania”, Texas Wesleyan Law Review 10.2 (2004), 351ff.
Conference presentations
Sarah Sargent, “Horse Cultures in Northern Mexico: A Window into the Communities of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era,” MEMS Festival 2024, University of Canterbury, June 2024.
Sarah Sargent was a participant in the IMT Scuola Alti Studi Lucca Lynx Summer School 2023, Lucca, Italy on “Dissonances: Re-interpreting and Re-assessing Difficult Heritage,” and gave a presentation, “Indigenous Horse Nations and the Decolonisation of Collective Memory Through Cultural Heritage,” July 2023.
Sarah Sargent, “Separate and Unequal: Culture, Narrative and Law in the Creation of Separate and Unequal Territory Within the Southwest United States,” Law and Society Annual Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 3, 2023.
Sarah Sargent, “National Identity, State Boundaries and Intangible Cultural Heritage: Charreria as a Case Study,” SLSA Annual Conference, April 2023, Ulster University.
Sarah Sargent, “States’ Rights and Substantive Due Process” panel presenter for “Constitutional Conversation: How the US Supreme Court Erred inĀ Dobbs v Jackson,” webinar, August 12, 2022.
Sarah Sargent, “Disproportionate Removal ofĀ Ā Indigenous Children to State Child Welfare Systems: The Legacy of Colonial Relationships, ” panel session,Ā Ā Colonialism’s Aftershocks: Law, Imperial Legacies and Indigenous Peoples, Law and Society Global Meeting July 2022 (online presentation).
Sarah Sargent, ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage and Horses: The Making of National Myths’ April 2022, panel speaker on ‘Horses and Horse Riding as Cultural Heritage, Seminar Series, The Cheiron.
Sarah Sargent, ‘Cultural Heritage, Myths and Maelstrom: Tracing the Legacy of Spanish Medieval Horsemanship in United States National Identity and the American Cowboy,’ SLSA Annual Conference,Ā April 2022, University of York.
Invited Panel Member, CEDAW In Law People’s Tribunal Panel Series No 1 A Women’s Bill of Rights, October 2021.
Sarah Sargent presented a paper on “Horses and Intangible Cultural Heritage: Identity, Community and Conflict” on 11 April 2017 at the symposium on Horses, Law and Society: Past, Present and Future, hosted by De Montfort University (Leicester) and of which she was a co-convener.
On 22 April 2016 Dr Sargent was an invited presenter at the University of Lincolnās conference on the theme of Responsibility to Protect, Evaluating the Impact of R2Pā10 Years On, An Idea Whose Time Has Come and Gone?, with her paper entitled āExplaining R2Pās Ineffectiveness: International Norms and Domestic Salienceā.
At the Socio-Legal Scholars Association (SLSA) conference on 5-7 April, hosted this year by Lancaster University, Dr Sargent chaired a session in the Systems Theory Thinking stream, and also presented a paper in this stream, āTime-travel and Structural Coupling: A Luhmannian Analysis of Aboriginal Land Title in the US and Australiaā. She also presented a paper in the Art, Culture and Heritage stream, āThe Alluring Nomad: Law, Sentiment and Heritageā, and a paper in the Law and Literature stream, āTruth and Consequences: Law, Myth and Metaphor in American Indian Contested Adoption.ā She presented a paper in the Research Methodologies and Methods stream, āThe Use of Focus Groups and Constructivist Grounded Theory in Medical-Legal Research,ā based on a collaborative research project with Jo Samanta, Reader in Medical Law, De Montfort University, and Dr Kudret Yeldon, Consultant at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, Putney. This project conducted empirical research on the question of whether patients in a minimally conscious state have a right to Ā formal re-assessment.
Dr Sargent presented a paper on 18 March 2016 as an invited presenter at the Heirs to Luhmann Workshops: Vulnerability Across Bodies and Systems, at the University of Westminster. Dr Sargentās paper was titled āThe Vulnerability of Native Title: A Systems Theory Analysisā.
Dr Sargent made a presentation on 3 December 2015 as part of the Aston Law Group Research Seminar Series at Aston University, Birmingham. She spoke on the subject of āWhatās in a name? The contested meaning of free, prior and informed consent in international financial law and indigenous rights.ā Her presentation was based on her recently published book chapter of the same name (see above).
Dr Sargent gave a presentation to The University of 51³Ō¹Ļ Amnesty International Group on the topic of Sexual Violence Against Indigenous Women in the USA and Canada on 13 November 2013.
Dr Sargent presented a paper on the protection of the rights of minority and indigenous children in intercountry adoption at the University of London, at the UK Network on Minority Groups and Human Rights Annual Conference on 28 October 2013.
On June 20 2013 Dr Sargent gave a presentation at a conference hosted by Maastricht University on Culture and International Economic Law: “Whatās in a Name? The Contested Meaning of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in International Financial Law and Indigenous Rights”.
Dr Sargent was invited to give a presentation in one of a series of seminars that are part of the David Price Memorial Seminar Series: Faith, Belief and Healthcare Law. She spoke at a seminar whose theme was The Influence of Faith and Belief on the Formulation, Content and Operation of Health Law in the United Kingdom, held 29-30 April 2013 Ā at Nottingham Trent University. Dr Sargentās paper āTraditions and Challenges: Healthcare for Indigenous and Minority Children in the 21st centuryā focused on the need for health care delivery to develop an integrative approach that is cognisant of differing cultural meanings and contexts of health and health care.
Dr Sargent was the stream convenor for the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Indigenous and Minority Rights stream at the annual conference held in York at the end of March 2013. This is the fifth year for the stream within the SLSA conference. Dr Sargent was the originator of the stream whilst undertaking her PhD studies at De Montfort University. She chaired panel sessions and also presented a paper that focused on current indigenous social movements called “Saving Pe Sla: Sustainable Self-determination and Indigenous Activism in a post-UNDRIP World”.
Dr Sargent gave a presentation on 24 March 2013 Ā as part of the Maastricht University seminar on Art and Heritage Dispute. She was invited to be part of the opening panel of speakers. Her presentation focused on elements of intangible cultural heritage and dispute resolution mechanisms through an examination of the horse culture of the indigenous peoples of the American Plains. She examined dispute resolution mechanisms of the Inter-American system of human rights and the UN system of human rights.
āThe Republic of Lakotah: International legal personality and sovereignty after the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoplesā, Roundtable Conference on Indigenous RIGHTS: The Emerging Landscape of Indigenous Rights (Centre for Multicultural Studies in Law and the Family, University of 51³Ō¹Ļ, October 2011).
āIndigenous children in international law: conflicting norms and the consequences of international legal system changesā Second Multidisciplinary Meeting on Indigenous Peoples (University of Deusto Pedro Arrupe, Institute of Human Rights, Bilbao, May 2011).
Plenary Panel Speaker: āChanging norms and international organisation structural change: the future of indigenous rights, minority rights and international lawā, Workshop on Minority and Indigenous Rights: Emerging Themes and Challenges (UK Network on Minority Rights and Human Rights and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London, November 2010).
āTheorising rights in the new millennium: indigenous children and international human rightsā Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference (University of Sussex, April 2011).
āThe rights of indigenous children at international law following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoplesā Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference (Bristol, March 2010).
āRoundtable: Indigeneity in law and society pedagogyā, Law and Society 2009 annual meeting (Denver, Colorado, May 2009).
āCultural trauma, national identity and social exclusion in Guatemala inter-country adoptionā and “Brazil as a country of origin in intercountry adoption”, Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference (Leicester, April 2009).
āCultural trauma, national identity and social exclusion in Guatemala inter-country adoptionā, 12th Annual ASLCH (Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities) Conference (Boston, Massachusetts, March 2009).
āDomestic mechanisms for rights access in an intercountry adoption settingā,Ā Realising Childrenās Rights: Comparative and Socio-Legal Perspectives Conference (University of Essex, April 2008).
āSocial marginalisation of children and children’s rights: implications in an intercountry adoption settingā , Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference (Manchester, March 2008).
āAdoption and the Indian Child Welfare Act,” Kansas Bar Association Super CLE Telephone Seminar (Topeka, December 2007).
“Indian Child Welfare Act in Kansas,” Kansas Appellate Courts Judicial In-House CLE Program (Topeka, November 2007) [co-presented with Aliza Organick].
āChildrenās rights and parental responsibility: a general overview of the US experienceā, I diritti dei figli e le responsabilitĆ dei genitori nella crisi della famiglia: dal conflitto alla mediazione? (University of Florence, May 2007).
āThe place of race and culturein childwelfare decision making,ā Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Annual Adoption Training Conference (Beverly Hills, November 2004).
āThe big stick: How EU accession negotiations with Romania have impacted childrenās rights,ā Third International Workshop for Young Scholars, Enlargement and the New Europe After 2004 Conference (Aix-en-Provence, September 2004).
āSuspended animation: The implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in the United States and Romania,ā Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference (Glasgow, April 2004).
āReport on the Topeka pilot project for foster care services,ā Privatization of Child Welfare: Reflections on Change and Prospects for the Future (Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, March 2004).
āThe adoption option: considerations and consequences for children in need of care,āKansas Bar Association, Annual Family Law Institute (Topeka, February 2004).
āSuspended animation: The implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in the United States and Romania,ā Symposium on International Adoption and Cultural Transformation (Texas Wesleyan Law School, November 2003).
āAdoption 2002 – A review of the strategies to increase adoption under the US Adoption and Safe Families Act,ā Association of Childrenās Welfare Agencies (Sydney, September 2002).
Selected Publications
- Sarah Sargent, “Trapped in legal discourse: transracial adoption in the United States and England”
- Sarah Sargent, “Identifying domestic mechanisms for rights protection in an intercountry adoption setting: A comparison of India, Guatemala and South Africa”
- Sarah Sargent, āTransnational networks and United Nations human rights structural change: the future of indigenous and minority rightsā
- Sarah Sargent & Graham Melling, “Indigenous self-determination: the root of state resistance”
- Sarah Sargent, review of Aboriginal Child Welfare
- Sarah Sargent, āUnfulfilled promises: Safeguarding the horse culture of American Indiansā, Transnational Dispute Management TDM 2 (March 2014)
- Sarah Sargent, āWhatās in a name: The contested meaning of free, prior and informed consent in international financial law and indigenous rightsā, in Valentina Vadi & Bruno de Witte (eds), Culture and International Economic Law (London: Routledge, 2015), 87-103
- Sarah Sargent & Graham Melling, “The exercise of external self-determination by indigenous groups: An examination of the Republic of Lakotah and the inherent sovereignty of American indigenous peoples”, Sri Lanka Journal of International and Comparative Law 1 (2015), 49
- Sarah Sargent, āTransracial adoption in England: a critical race and systems theory analysisā, International Journal of Law in Context 11.4 (2015)
- Sarah Sargent, āLegislating to prevent forced marriage: Time to reassess the legal approach?ā, Diversity & Equality in Health and Care 12.3 (2015), 93-94
- Sarah Sargent et al., āShould People in the Minimally Conscious State have a (Recognised) Right to Reassessment?ā, Contemporary Issues in Law 14.1 (2016), 63-83
- Sarah Sargent, āClassical horsemanship and the dangers of the emergent intangible cultural heritage authorised discourseā, International Journal of Intangible Heritage (2016) 11, 35-53
- K. Yelden, S. Sargent & J. Samanta, āUnderstanding the decision-making environment for people in minimally conscious stateā, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (2017)
- Sarah Sargent, āTruth and Consequences: Law, Myth and Metaphor in American Indian Contested Adoptionā, Liverpool Law Review (2017) 38: 47.
- Sarah Sargent, āRights and reparation: An assessment of the UNDRIPās contribution to American Indian land claimsā, in S. Sargent & J. Samanta (eds), Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges for the 21st Century (51³Ō¹Ļ: University of 51³Ō¹Ļ Press, 2017), pp.88-115