The Politics of Human Rights: Theory and Critique - JURD7417
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: 3
Enrolment Requirements:
Pre-requisite: Any of Legal Theory (LAWS2320/JURD7223/LAWS3331/JURD7431), Law & Social Theory (LAWS2820/JURD7222/LAWS3332/JURD7632), or Theories of Law & Justice (LAWS2326/JURD7236/LAWS3326/JURD7336).
Equivalent: LAWS3017
CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
View course information for previous years.
Description
Course Objectives
- Understand the basic history, philosophy and justification of human rights;
- Understand and be able to critically engage with selected critical approaches towards human rights;
- Demonstrate the ability to apply theoretical knowledge of human rights to particular contemporary political situations (eg/ development, counter-terrorism); and
- Critically assess the legacy, operation and possibilities of human rights discourse for global politics and social justice.
Main Topics
- Introduction: Human Rights Today
- A Brief History of HR: Natural Rights, Revolutionary Declarations, Post-WWII Global Instruments
- Normative Philosophical Justifications for HR
- Classical Critiques: Bentham, Marx and Burke
- The Refugee and the Nation-State: Arendt and Agamben
- Human Rights and Biopolitics: Foucault and Agamben
- Feminist Critiques of HR
- Critical Race and Postcolonial Critiques of HR
- Theorizing Contemporary Political Deployments of HR
- Futures of Human Rights?
Assessment
The course will be assessed on the following basis:
3 x short reflective notes incorporating responses to particular weeks’ readings (10%)
Class Participation (20%)
Long Research Essay of 5-6,000 words (70%).
Study Levels
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