GOVT 3887 - Int’l Human Rights in Theory & Practice

(GB) (SBA-AS)

Summer. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

E. Brundige.

This course will introduce students to the law, theory, and practice of international human rights. It will also give you the opportunity to think critically about the effectiveness of the international human rights system by examining its successes, failures, and dilemmas in preventing and responding to human rights abuse. Topics covered will include the origins and foundations of international human rights; the role of international, regional and domestic institutions and actors in enforcing human rights; critiques of the human rights movement; economic and social rights; and human rights responses to mass atrocities. The course will also explore some of the emerging issues in the human rights field, including in topical areas such as the death penalty, women’s human rights, human trafficking refugee crises, and the tensions between human rights and efforts to counter terrorism. Students will also consider the relationship of the United States to the international system for the protection of human rights. (IR)