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Int'l Law, Human Rights & Cultural Identity - JURD7367

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: 36 UOC of JURD courses for students enrolled prior to 2013. For students enrolled after 2013, pre-requisite: 72 UOC of JURD courses.

Excluded: LAWS8067

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This class examines the relationships between domestic and international law, the international/global arena, and the politics of cultural formation and identity. What will be stressed is that these relationships are constitutive and highly politicized. An underlying theme will be that law does not operate in a contextual vacuum, and cultural meanings and values play a significant role in shaping the positive and negative dimensions of international law and development as it impacts individuals and communities in localized settings. At the same time, how does culture and cultural identity get defined in the context of international law, particularly in connection to the production, mobilization and implementation of human rights and development practices? Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives and recent scholarship in cultural studies, anthropology and sociology, the class will engage in contemporary debates informing the cultural dimensions of the international as constituted through national, regional and local legal systems of meaning.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

You should have a basic knowledge of international law. If you have not studied public international law, you should familiarize yourself with its principles through reading a textbook. Examples include:

•Antonio Cassese (2005) International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

•Gillian Triggs (2006) International Law: Contemporary Principles and Practices. Lexis Nexis/Butterworths.

Course Objectives

A candidate who has successfully completed the subject should:

Understand and be able to critically interrogate the concept of “culture”
Understand the historical links between cultural constructions of others and practices of law and politics in domestic and international jurisdictions
Understand how discourses of human rights, international policy and development practices operate as cultural processes
Integrate recent scholarship in the area of cultural studies within the existing frameworks of international law
Have the capacity to articulate his/her knowledge and understanding in oral and written presentations

Main Topics