Introductory description

What do we understand by ‘Human Rights’, as well as its associated (sub)categories of ‘human’ and ‘rights’? Are rights absolute or is their provision and protection based on specific historical and political contexts? Is it possible and desirable to identify a core of universal human rights, or should they be considered relative? Are the problems and challenges faced by human rights discourse a consequence of inadequate implementation, or do these issues emerge from the way we understand human rights? And, if it is the latter, are there any other ways to conceptualise human rights?

This module looks at theories and histories of human rights to shed light on these and other such debates. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach and borrowing insights from legal theory, political science, philosophy and socio-legal studies, the module offers a contextual approach to human rights rather than a purely legalistic one. The main aim is to encourage the students to critically analyse the concepts, regimes, instruments, institutions and practices of human rights. The module will also highlight the successes, challenges, possibilities and paradoxes of human rights discourse and the international human rights regime. The module will ground these discussions in important topical phenomena by analysing issues surrounding globalisation, terrorism, humanitarian intervention, and socio-economic inequalities, among others.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module will broadly include the following topics, but changes will be made every year to engage with current debates and topical issues:
Introduction to Human Rights discourse
The foundations of Human Rights Law
Human Rights and Conceptual Precedents
'Histories' of Human Rights
Conceptual and Practical Challenges to Human Rights
Topical Case Studies

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the current debates involving human rights and their theoretical and historical aspects.
• Examine and understand legal, political, philosophical and historical materials on issues of human rights.
• Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in groups to examine specific topics related to the module
• Demonstrate an advanced ability to deliver effective oral presentation.
• Demonstrate an advanced ability to assess critically the current debates involving human rights and the underlying theoretical and historical aspects of these debates.
• Demonstrate high quality research, interpretation and drafting skills in relation to issues involving human rights.

Indicative reading list

James Griffin. "First Steps in an Account of Human Rights", European Journal of Philosophy, 9:3,
pp. 306-327
James Nickel, Human Rights, Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy,
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights-human/
Dembour, Marie-Bénédicte (2010) “What Are Human Rights? Four Schools of Thought” Human
Rights Quarterly 32:1 1-20
Ishay, Micheline (2004) “What are human rights? Six Historical Controversies” Journal of Human
Rights 3:3 359-371
Amartya Sen (2004) “Elements of a Theory of Human Rights” Philosophy & Public Affairs 32:4
315–356
Ronald Dworkin (1977), Taking Rights Seriously (Duckworth: London), chapter 7
Moyn, Samuel (2010) The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History (Princeton University Press:
Princeton), chapter 3
John Tassioulas. Towards a Philosophy of Human Rights, Current Legal Problems (2012)
Ronald Dworkin (1997), In Praise of Theory, 29 Ariz. St. L.J. 353
Norberto Bobbio (1996), The Age of Rights, chapters 1 and 2.
Ishay, Micheline (2004) “What are human rights? Six Historical Controversies” Journal of Human
Rights 3:3, 359-371
Jeremy Waldron, 'Rights in Conflict' Ethics, 99 (1989), 503-19, reprinted in Liberal. Rights:
Collected Papers 1981-91 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Maurice Cranston, Are there any human rights?, Daedalus, 112, v.4, 1983;
Henry Shue, The Interdependence of Duties, in Alston and Tomasevski (eds), The Right to Food,
1985.
David Bilchitz. Giving Socio-Economic Rights Teeth: The Minimum Core and Its Importance
[notes] South African Law Journal, Vol. 119, Issue 3 (2002), pp. 484-501
Ronald, Dworkin. Do Liberty and Equality Conflict?, in Paul Baker (ed), Living as Equals, OUP.
Nagel and Murphy. The Myth of Ownership. Taxes and Justice. OUP, 2002, especially chapter 3.
O. Ferraz. Poverty and Human Rights. Oxford J Legal Studies (2008) 28 (3): 585-603.
Robert Alexy, ‘Balancing, Constitutional Review, and Representation’, Int J Constitutional Law
(October 2005) 3(4): 572-581.
David Luban, "Eight Fallacies about Liberty and Security" in Wilson, Richard. (ed) Human Rights in
the 'War on Terror', Cambridge University Press, 2005
Virgilio A. Silva (2011), "Comparing the Incommensurable: Constitutional Principles, Balancing and Rational Decision", Oxford Journal of Legal Studies Vol.31, No. 2 (2011), pp. 273–301 Kennedy, David W. "The International Human Rights Movement: Part of the Problem?" 15 Harvard Human Rights Journal 99 (2001) Onora O'Neill, The Dark Side of Human Rights, http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/International%20Affairs/Blanket%20File%20Import/inta_459.pdf

Subject specific skills

Subject knowledge and understanding
Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the current
debates involving human rights and their theoretical and
historical aspects.

Examine and understand legal, political, philosophical
and historical materials on issues of human rights.

Cognitive Skills
Demonstrate an advanced ability to assess critically the
current debates involving human rights and the
underlying theoretical and historical aspects of these
debates.

Subject-Specific/Professional Skills
Demonstrate high quality research, interpretation and
drafting skills in relation to issues involving human
rights.

Transferable skills

Key Skills
Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in groups to
examine specific topics related to the module

Demonstrate an advanced ability to deliver effective
oral presentation.