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Political Science
Description: The Politics of Human Rights course covers the histories, theories, and events that inform human rights law and practice. After a review of the philosophical underpinnings of human rights discourse, we explore fundamental concepts, debates, and controversies in the human rights canon. We will review the contemporary history of human rights law, focusing primarily on the development of international legal frameworks and institutions since the Second World War. Students will analyze the political motivations involved in drafting, signing, ratifying, abiding by, and monitoring compliance with international law. We will pay special attention to the development and trajectory of rights claims along several categories (civil, political, economic, cultural rights); interrogate the implications of natural rights in the context of power, property, and wealth; investigate the tension between human rights and state sovereignty; problematize the "rules-based order" and global norms in the context of Western hegemony and regional/communitarian diversity; review the problem of human rights and war; and cover several methods of human rights monitoring, accountability, and enforcement. Letter grade only.
Units: 3
No sections currently offered.
Prerequisite: POS 120
Political Science
Term : Fall 2025
Catalog Year : 2025-2026
POS 333 - The Politics Of Human Rights
Description: The Politics of Human Rights course covers the histories, theories, and events that inform human rights law and practice. After a review of the philosophical underpinnings of human rights discourse, we explore fundamental concepts, debates, and controversies in the human rights canon. We will review the contemporary history of human rights law, focusing primarily on the development of international legal frameworks and institutions since the Second World War. Students will analyze the political motivations involved in drafting, signing, ratifying, abiding by, and monitoring compliance with international law. We will pay special attention to the development and trajectory of rights claims along several categories (civil, political, economic, cultural rights); interrogate the implications of natural rights in the context of power, property, and wealth; investigate the tension between human rights and state sovereignty; problematize the "rules-based order" and global norms in the context of Western hegemony and regional/communitarian diversity; review the problem of human rights and war; and cover several methods of human rights monitoring, accountability, and enforcement. Letter grade only.
Units: 3
No sections currently offered.
Prerequisite: POS 120