Monday/Wednesday, 2.15-3.35pm, 214 Hall of Languages
This seminar provides an introduction to theory and global practice of human rights. Human rights claims play an increasingly central role in political and social struggles across the world. The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 signaled a proliferation of international human rights law and transnational non-governmental activism. While the promotion of human rights has become global, adherence to those standards remains highly uneven and gross violations and atrocities continue to occur. In the first section of the seminar, we will discuss the role of states, intergovernmental organizations, and transnational networks in the global promotion of human rights. We will also discuss political, socio-psychological, and other explanations for gross violations and explore the limits of human rights language in effectively addressing injustices around the world. The second half of the seminar will be organized around specific human rights issues, including the death penalty, women's rights, torture, the right to food, genocide, and racial discrimination.
Download: abridged course syllabus (.pdf)
Required readings:
Donnelly, Jack: Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice, 2nd edition, Cornell UP 2002, 0801487765
O'Byrne, Darren J.: Human Rights. An Introduction, Prentice Hall 2002, 0582438241
Hatzfeld, Jean: Machete Season. The Killers in Rwanda Speak, Picador 2006, 031242503