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Angelina Jolie Pitt To Teach Master’s Course In London On ‘Women, Peace And Security’

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 09:56 PST, May 24, 2016

Brad and Angelina Jolie Pitt are making full use of their stay in the U.K. As Brad films the WWII movie, Allied, Angelina also has some worthy projects on the go. She will be teaching a Master’s course on “Women, Peace and Security” in London.

While the tabloids say she is “fading away” and allegedly “losing weight” over a so-called “impending divorce” from Brad, Brangelina are actually doing just fine.

Brad has been involved recently in the filming of the World War II movie, Allied, after which he will be filming the sequel to his popular zombie film, World War Z. Meanwhile, their six children, Shiloh, Vivienne, Knox, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, are continuing their education in the U.K. school system.

As reported by the Inquisitr, Angelina recently spoke of her role as the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at an event in London, offering an impassioned plea for the world to unite in a coordinated response to the refugee crisis.

She outlined the problems that exist in the world related to the migrant issue and offered up possible solutions. In the process, Jolie Pitt also slammed presidential hopeful Donald Trump for his anti-Muslim sentiments.

Now, Jolie Pitt is continuing her humanitarian role in a different sphere. Besides being a Hollywood actress, writer, director, humanitarian, wife, and mother, Angelina has now added yet another impressive string to her already accomplished bow.

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was happy to report on their website Monday that Jolie Pitt will be appointed as one of four new Visiting Professors in Practice later this year.

LSE confers the title of Visiting Professor in Practice on “persons who have appropriate distinction within their area of (non-academic) practice.”

According to their website, this includes, among other things, individuals who have achieved prominence in public service and through their practical experience, of which Angelina has plenty.

Speaking of the Visiting Professorships, Professor Christine Chinkin, Director of the Center for Women, Peace and Security said, “Bringing practitioners, policy makers and activists together with scholars is essential in advancing knowledge and influencing global and local policy-making.”

“I am delighted to welcome these four leaders in their respective fields to the Center for Women, Peace and Security and look forward to their active involvement in our innovative educational programs.”

Of the four Visiting Professors, Angelina Jolie Pitt is there due to her role as the special envoy UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and she is among good company.

The other three Visiting Professors are Jane Connors, the Director of International Advocacy at Amnesty International Geneva; Madeleine Rees OBE, the Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; and Rt. Hon The Lord William Hague, former U.K. Foreign Secretary.

While Visiting Professorships in the Center for Women, Peace and Security are unpaid, the four Visiting Professors join other LSE Fellows, activists, practitioners, and scholars, all dedicated to developing strategies to promote gender equality in the world, as well as enhancing women’s economic, social and political participation and security.

Jolie Pitt will be working in her role as a Visiting Professor from Autumn 2016 and will play an active part in the center, not only undertaking her own work but also giving guest lectures to students and participating in various expert workshops and public events.

Following her appointment as a Visiting Professor, Jolie Pitt said, “I am very encouraged by the creation of this master’s program. I hope other academic institutions will follow this example, as it is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women’s rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict.”

“I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations.”

For his part, Lord Hague said, “I am delighted to become a visiting professor at the LSE with Angelina Jolie Pitt, Jane Connors and Madeleine Rees. This course will help underpin our work in preventing sexual violence in conflict, developing expertise and research to assist us in tackling the culture of impunity. I look forward to working with the LSE students and my fellow visiting professors.”

As reported by the Independent, there has been criticism of Jolie Pitt’s appointment, with many saying the move has been made to further enhance the school itself.

However, the newspaper spoke to Joel Pearce, 19, a second-year BSc Government student who said, “People have criticized Angelina Jolie’s appointment for being a ‘cynical move’ to attract students and publicity to the university, but I think that’s missing the point.”

He went on to say that as an ambassador and special envoy for the UN, Jolie Pitt has years of “experience of activism, research in the field, and has played a big role in drawing attention to the issue of sexual violence in conflict.”

“I think she’s exactly the kind of person LSE students should be learning from.”

Pearce continued by saying that appointments like this are “the antidote to detached and elitist academia,” saying it has nothing to do with her having won an Oscar, but is because she has an insight into the issues that is not available in any textbooks.

[Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images]

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