Documenting Human Rights

Catalog description

This course will teach students about the origins of modern human rights and the evolution of methods to document the extent to which these rights are being upheld or violated. The need to understand and document human rights issues is at the center of the most pressing current events. From threats to democracy and civil rights at home and abroad to work holding perpetrators of mass harm accountable in legal proceedings to efforts to quantify and advance economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights, making human rights violations visible is fundamental to achieving a more just world. We will begin with an overview of the history of human rights, the main philosophical and political debates in the field, and the most relevant organizations, institutions, and agreements. We will then delve into several specific cases that highlight methodological opportunities and challenges in the context of human rights, including: the identification of mass atrocity victims, the disappeared, and missing migrants; efforts to estimate civilian casualties in war in real-time; the documentation of police brutality and other human rights violations (especially against minority groups) with smartphones and the analysis of human rights media; as well as the use of satellite imagery, drones, and GIS for the documentation of genocide, environmental rights violations, and war crimes. We will critically assess the documentation and measurement challenges that arise in each context and how the human rights and scientific communities have responded. After reviewing these cases, we will conclude by reflection on why the documentation of human rights actually matters and what happens to evidence once it is gathered. This course fulfills Dietrich College's "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" GenEd requirement.