Global Human Rights

Global human rights discussions are based on the premise that human rights are not simply universal, but that they are also inalienable, indivisible and interdependent.  This course is an introduction to the study of global human rights through the lens of political science. The course will examine the theoretical, historical and political foundations of contemporary human rights debates. The course will cover not only broad conceptual debates, but also focus on specific issue areas (e.g., civil rights, economic rights, women’s rights, human trafficking).  It will also deal with the tricky questions of how new rights norms emerge and diffuse in international relations, what to do when there is disagreement about what rights are at stake in a given issue area, and how to respond to human rights crises in situations of limited resources or state capacity.