Media and Human Rights is an innovative course bringing together the study of traditional human rights concerns regarding the media and current debates regarding the role played by the media within the field of human rights. It aims to consider the protections offered to the media by human rights law, the role played by the media within human rights and the mediatization of human rights - its turn to advocacy, representation and communication. The course will consider topics such as free speech, hate speech, privacy, the protection of journalists in conflict, human rights reportage, fact-finding and witnessing, the internet, social media and human rights. Case studies will include: Wikileaks, online advocacy such as Kony 2012, the role of social media in the Arab Spring and debates regarding 'clicktivism'. There will also be consideration of the resilience of human rights concepts in terms of internet regulation and internet freedom. This course will be of interest to students in the human rights and social justice, international law and media law streams. It will offer a balance of theoretical and practical insights and provide the opportunity for students to engage in research in a new and dynamic field.

This course assumes a general knowledge of human rights and international law. Human rights principles as they relate to the media will be covered in the course, but students would benefit from earlier familiarity with human rights in their undergraduate or postgraduate studies.

Media and Human Rights aims to critically consider traditional human rights concerns regarding the media and current debates regarding the role played by the media within the field of human rights. To do so the course considers both the relevant human rights protections for and limits placed upon the media, along with examination of the mediatization of human rights. It will offer a balance of theoretical and practical insights and provide the opportunity for students to engage in research in a new and dynamic field. The course will equip students with a human rights framework with which to assess the challenges and possibilities posed by the rise of digital media and the internet. This course will provide coverage of both core principles such as free speech, privacy and the protection of journalists, along with an engagement with detailed case studies and the emerging scholarship in this developing area.

At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to: