Introduction to Human Rights

Catalog description

The course provides a basic introduction to international human rights including conceptual foundations and key theoretical debates with attention paid to current events that are shaping justice and human rights. It provides a variety of disciplinary perspectives on human rights including philosophy, socio-legal studies, political science, law, and criminology. The combination of understanding the conceptual foundations, key theoretical debates, and thematic areas in human rights will enable students to understand the evolution of human rights regimes and their influence in society today. The course is broken into four parts. The first part provides an understanding of the historical underpinnings of international human rights and their evolution in society and law. It examines foundational texts on justice and human rights that have shaped our concepts of rights and justice today. The second part focuses on global and regional mechanisms within human rights. Examining these mechanisms helps us understand the legal application and enforcement of human rights globally. The third section focuses on thematic areas in human rights. These thematic areas include: environmental law, international criminal law, refugee, migrants and asylum seekers, international women’s rights, economic, social & cultural rights, and transitional justice. The course concludes by focusing on critical perspectives and local issues on human rights.