90-763, Human Rights Policy

12 units

Prerequisites: None

Delivery Format: On-Campus

Description:

This course will address both the origins of international human rights law and policy and contemporary human rights issues. Case studies will cover domestic and global policy, with students developing projects across a range of contemporary topics. A special focus will be given to global human rights issues in the wake of 9/11 and the war on terror.

This course will begin with an exploration of the origins of the international human rights framework and international human rights movement- the history of the development of international treaties, how they have been implemented, and the growth of a global movement that has rendered governments accountable to international rights norms. Attention will be paid to challenges to the human rights framework- from sovereignty, cultural relativism, and the shortcomings of the United Nations enforcement system.

The relationship of contemporary global problems and human rights will be the basis of student research and projects- from terrorism, the power of economic actors and the call for economic rights, and women's human rights. While ground in international law, the course will be oriented to domestic and foreign policy analysis.

Last modified on June 1, 2006