01:30 PM to 02:45 PM TR
Section Information for Fall 2019
The story of human rights is often told as one of steady progress, with increased democratization, growing rights awareness, and the establishment of new organizations dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights. Yet, especially in the last few years, it might seem that human rights are on the decline, with increasing authoritarianism in many countries, the persistence of conflicts, and alarming reports of widening inequality.
This course examines this alleged crisis of human rights from a variety of perspectives—the political, legal, social, cultural, and so on—with a particular focus on human rights in times of conflict. Among the topics we will address are genocide and ethnic cleansing; torture, “enhanced interrogation,” and human rights; indigenous peoples and conflicts over land and resources; the rights of refugees; gender and war crime; transitional justice; and so on. We will examine specific cases, such as the crisis in Myanmar, the 1990s civil war in Sierra Leone, and the Troubles in Northern Ireland, to understand not only the human rights impacts of these cases but also their root causes. We will also address what steps international organizations and courts are taking to address such rights concerns and students will get a grounding in the relevant international law alongside knowledge of the specific cases.
View 2 Other Sections of this Course in this Semester »
Credits: 3
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.