This exploratory seminar seeks to engage students with the many dimensions through which human rights, a disputed and yet predominant discourse often related to notions of “democracy”, “rule of law” or “social justice”, intersects with society. It has three specific aims. The first is to examine the concept of human rights, by exploring its philosophical foundations and its history, and by discussing the various critiques which have been addressed to both the concept of human rights and its application in practice. The second is to explore four key contemporary human rights issues, and the way they play out in law and societies. The first relates to the relationship between human rights and sustainable development, and raises the question of whether human rights can be harnessed to generate “better”, and more sustainable, forms of development, and if so how. The second focuses on the rights of cultural minorities, and raises questions about the relationship between human rights and citizenship. The third examines the relationship between human rights and feminist approaches, through the lens of women's sexual and reproductive rights. The fourth addresses the rights of the LGBT community, and raises broader questions about how human rights claims relate to identity. Finally, the course seeks to engage students in exploring and reflecting on the practical dimensions of the “field” of human rights, through a semester-long human rights strategy design project.
Bastien CHARAUDEAU,Jeremy PERELMAN,Helena ALVIAR
Séminaire
English
No prerequired courses
Spring 2021-2022
The course will adopt a resolutely interactive methodology, by mixing both the “Socratic” method based on prior readings and oral discussions with the instructors, and small group debates and role-plays. Most sessions will begin by interactive “prompts” meant to engage all the participants in a collective reflection and discussion about the issue(s) at stake. Regular attendance and active class participation are fundamental for the course's success. Students are expected to read all assigned readings before class.
Evaluation will be based on a semester-long group project, in which teams students will be required to identify one issue and to design a strategy to mobilize human rights to address this issue. Teams will submit a mid-semester report of your progress, and present their strategy in the last class session. Consistent oral participation in class discussions during the semester may be awarded extra points.
- Jack Donelly, Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice, Cornell University Press, 2003, Chps. 1-3.
- Mutua, Makau W., Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights (2001). Harvard International Law Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 201-245, 2001.
- Lucie White and Jeremy Perelman, Essay: Can Human Rights Practice Be a Critical Project - A View from the Ground, 44 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 157 (2010). Available at: http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol44.
- César Rodriguez-Garavito, A human right to a healthy environment? Moral, legal and empirical considerations in The Human Right to a Healthy Environment, John H. Knox & Ramin Pejan, eds. Cambridge University Press
- Bonilla, Daniel, La Constitución Multicultural, Siglo del Hombre Editores – Instituto Pensar – Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 2006, Chps. 2 and 3 (Excerpts -English translation).