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Course Description
Course Objectives
Course Requirements
Grading Scale
Required Texts
Human Rights Research Resources
Reading Assignments and Schedule
The basic thematic focus of this course will be on the tension between sovereignty and human rights in world politics. The international legal principle of sovereignty has been a defining element of international relations for centuries. In contrast, the concept of human rights did not enter popular discourse until after WWII when growing awareness of Nazi atrocities generated unprecedented support for the idea that a state's ability to act with impunity within its borders is limited by the basic human rights of individuals living within the state's territory. Growing support for human rights after WWII was manifested in the UN Charter which mandates that the organization promote universal respect for human rights. However, the UN Charter also enshrines the international legal principle of non-intervention in the jurisdiction of member states. Thus, in spite of an emerging human rights regime, state sovereignty remains a fundamental norm shaping world politics. The tension between sovereignty and the promotion and protection of human rights remains one of the primary issues in world politics in the post-Cold War world. Indeed, human rights issues have been central to many of the top international news stories in recent years, including "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo and Bosnia, humanitarian intervention in Somalia, genocide in Rwanda and the Sudan, U.S.-China relations, and "the war on terror", to name only a few. The way in which the international community has responded to each of these examples demonstrates the complex relationship between sovereignty and human rights in world politics. In this course, we will explore many current global problems as we examine the tension between human rights and sovereignty and as we consider the potential for improving the status of global human rights in the post-Cold War era.
The Department of Politics and International Relations seeks to induct students into the community of liberally educated individuals who are capable of understanding government and politics in terms of the theories, concepts, and tools of sophisticated political analysis which characterize the discipline of political science. The liberal-arts dimension of our mission stems from our belief that all people are embedded in a political environment which acts upon them in ways they must understand if they are to function effectively as active participants in a democratic society. Our goal, therefore, is not to train professional political scientists, but rather to produce the liberally educated citizen who is fluent in the language of politics and political analysis and thereby has a foundation for both citizenship in a democratic society and successful training in a job, in a graduate school, or in a professional school. Such a person has the capacity to recognize and evaluate assumptions, implications, and causal relationships pertaining to government and politics and, by extension, to other realms of human experience. Go to the home page of the Department of Politics and International Relations for more information on the basic objectives of the general program and upper-level courses in the department.
Additional course-specific objectives include the following:
1. To explore the philosophical underpinnings of the concept of human rights and various critiques of this concept
2. To understand the potential tension between the protection of state sovereignty and the promotion of human rights
3. To understand the strengths and weaknesses of efforts to promote and protect international human rights by individuals, non-governmental organizations, states, and international organizations
4. To provide students with an opportunity to collaborate with other students and to engage as citizens on important issues involving human rights.
1. Three exams (60%): Students will take two exams during the semester and a final exam at the end of the semester. These exams will consist of essay questions and/ or short answer questions. The exam questions will require students to think analytically about the course material and to integrate information from readings, lectures, classroom discussions, and where relevant, current events in world politics related to human rights. Each exam will be worth 20% of your final grade. Exams will be graded for content, grammar, and style. I also will expect you to incorporate explicit references to the required readings. The final exam will be cumulative.
**Make-up exams will be given only in the case of family emergencies and serious illness, and I will require you to document your illness or emergency. In order to take a make-up exam, you must have a legitimate, verifiable family emergency or illness, and you must contact me in advance of the exam. Make-up exams must be taken within five days of the original exam date unless exceptional circumstances warrant a longer extension.
2. Human Rights Priorities Project (40%): A centerpiece of this course will be a human rights priorities project. The project will consist of two components: a) a paper in which you identify the human rights issue that you believe is the greatest priority in contemporary world politics; and b) in-class deliberations in which we will try to reach consensus on identifying the most important human rights priority in the world today.
a) Human Rights Priorities Paper (40%): The primary requirement of this assignment is to write a paper in which you identify the human rights issue that you believe is the greatest priority in contemporary world politics. You need to explain your reasons for identifying the issue you have chosen as the greatest human rights priority. What criteria did you use in determining that a particular human rights problem should take priority over others? To this end, consideration of the ethical foundations and frameworks for human rights that we covered in the first part of the course will be useful. In short, you need to not only identify a human rights priority but also to defend your choice using concrete ethical reasoning. You should also think of this paper as a persuasive essay. Because we will be participating in deliberations in which we try to reach consensus on a single human rights priority, you will be trying to convince other students that the issue you have chosen is the human rights priority we should identify as a class. Finally, in addition to explaining and defending your position in general, you need to identify a specific human rights organization working on this issue that is worthy of receiving funds for its work.
These papers should be 15-20 double-spaced pages with standard margins and font. Essays will be graded for content, grammar, and style and are worth 40% of your final course grade. Grades on late papers will be lowered by 1% of your final course grade per day. I will require students to post your papers on Blackboard and to read the papers of other students. Additional guidelines for this paper are posted on Blackboard.
b) Human Rights Priorities Deliberations: At the end of the course, we will devote two class sessions to an exercise in which we will deliberate about human rights priorities in class and will try to reach consensus on a particular issue/ organization deserving of funding. Students will be required to read each other's papers in advance of these class sessions. Students will briefly identify the human rights priority they have selected and will explain their reasoning. We will spend the remainder of the sessions deliberating and trying to reach consensus on a single human rights priority and an organization working on that priority that would be deserving of funding. I will apply to the Center for Global Citizenship for funding, and I also will donate the royalties from the sales of my book for this course. Assuming we reach agreement, we will make a contribution to the organization receiving the greatest degree of support (at least a two-thirds majority) of the class. As with class participation, I will not formally grade your participation in these deliberations. However, I will factor in the quality of your contributions to this discussion in making final judgements about your grade on the paper. Particularly excellent contributions to the deliberations may improve your final grade on this project. A failure to attend and participate constructively in these deliberations will result in a lowering of your grade on the project. Note: my desire for constructive participation does not mean I will discourage disagreement. Students likely will have strong-- and differing-- opinions about human rights priorities. I want to encourage students to express disagreements and concerns freely, though I expect you to be civil in doing so. Moreover, I want to stress that your grades will not depend on our reaching consensus or a two-thirds majority. Although I sincerely hope we reach an agreement because I would like us to make a contribution as a class, your grades will not be lowered if we fail to reach agreement. Additional guidelines for the deliberations are posted on Blackboard.
c) Optional Fundraising Project: If there are students interested in increasing the amount of funding we have available for our course donation, I will supervise an independent study involving a fundraising effort for the Human Rights Priorities Project. Students can register for a one-credit hour independent study and can collaborate on putting together a fundraising project that will increase the amount of money we have available for a class donation. Interested students should see me as soon as possible.
3. Class Attendance and Participation: Class attendance and participation will not be formally graded. Nevertheless, active student participation is an essential part of this course. I will use class attendance and participation in making judgements about final grades when students are on the border between letter grades. Students should come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings in a thoughtful, productive, and civil manner. You should be ready to ask and answer questions on the assigned readings. You need to participate actively in the class, but you should not attempt to dominate class discussion. I expect that students often will disagree with each other and with me. I will encourage an atmosphere in which we are free to challenge and criticize each other's arguments, but I expect all of us to be respectful and civil in our disagreements.
This course will stress active student learning. I expect that your consistent attendance and participation will facilitate your understanding of the course material. Moreover, because you will be required to integrate information from readings, lectures, and classroom discussions on the midterm and the final, and in the essays, your performance in the course should benefit from consistent attendance and participation.
5. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the act of trying to pass off someone else's ideas, words, thoughts or inventions as one's own. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional, but it is a violation of academic integrity in either case. You must acknowledge your use of other's work when you quote them word for word (you must use quotation marks in the case of direct quotations), paraphrase, borrow ideas, incorporate factual information from someone else's work, or rely on another person's organization of material. You do not need to provide citations for common knowledge, but it is better to err on the side of caution if you have any doubts. If your paper includes uncited information and/or I suspect plagiarism, I will not grade your paper until you provide satisfactory documentation of your sources. If I discover a case of cheating or plagiarism, I will impose the most serious penalty allowed under university regulations and contingent on the nature of the violation. In cases of egregious plagiarism or cheating, I will give you a failing grade for the course and may recommend additional penalties at the college or university level, including suspension or expulsion. See the statement on Academic Honesty and Integrity at the Department of Politics and IR homepage for further details. Also, see me if you still have questions about academic dishonesty.
A 90-100 (Excellent)
B 80-89 (Good)
C 70-79 (Satisfactory)
D 60-69 (Poor)
F 0-59 (Failure)
See my statement on Basic Grading Standards in the Course Documents folder on the Blackboard course website.
1. Debra DeLaet, The Global Struggle for Human Rights: Universal Principles in World Politics (Wadsworth Publishers, 2005).
2. Kevin Bales, Understanding Global Slavery: a Reader (University of California Press, 2005).
3. Adam Jones, Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction (Routledge, 2006).
4. Course Packet available at Copycat.
5. Your understanding of international human rights issues will be enhanced if you keep abreast of current world politics. I will not require you to subscribe to a specific newspaper. However, you should follow current international events through the media of your choice. Note: certain choices are likely to be wiser than others. National daily newspapers, such as The New York Times or The Christian Science Monitor, provide far more thorough international coverage than local dailes. You also can obtain at least basic information in some weekly newsmagazines or by following CNN. In addition to these examples, most national newspapers and television networks maintain on-line sources of news. Finally, you can access a variety of resources on world politics, including full text newspaper articles, legal resources, and reference information on specific countries, on the Resources and Reference Page of Cowles Library.
HUMAN RIGHTS RESEARCH RESOURCES
1. Online research resources:
Human
Rights Quarterly
Human Rights
Dialogue
UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights
UN Human Development
Report
Minnesota Human Rights
Library
Project DIANA at Yale University
University of Cincinnati
College of Law
Women's Human Rights
Resources
Amnesty International homepage
United Nations homepage
U.S.
State Department Country Reports on Human Rights
UN page
for the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights
5 Year Review of the
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights
Foreign
Affairs Online (links to sites in international law, human rights,
and the UN)
2. Online Journals/ Academic Universe/ Lexis-Nexis: You can access a variety of resources on human rights and world politics, including full text newspaper articles, legal resources, and reference information on specific countries, on the Resources and Reference Page of Cowles Library.
3. Human Rights Watch Film Festival films:
http://www.hrw.org/iff
READING ASSIGNMENTS AND SCHEDULE
PART I Philosophical Underpinnings of the Concept of Human Rights: In this part of the course, we will attempt to define human rights and will consider problems associated with efforts to reach international consensus on a basic definition. We will explore various moral and philosophical arguments both for and against the concept of human rights. In doing so, we will consider whether human rights standards are and/or should be considered universal or whether different cultural standards or interpretations of human rights are acceptable. Additionally, we will examine how considerations of gender challenge and/or broaden traditional ways of looking at human rights.
8/27 Introduction to course; DeLaet, Introduction; Film: Night and Fog
8/29 DeLaet, Chapter 1
9/3 Labor Day, classes do not meet
9/5 DeLaet, Chapters 2; Reader: Bass, "Everybody Everywhere"
9/10 Skim the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Come to class prepared to discuss the following questions: 1) Are human rights a priority in the UN Charter? 2) Under what circumstances may a state legally derogate from human rights norms?
9/12 DeLaet, Chapter 3
9/17 Reader: excerpts from Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations; The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam; Sen, "Human Rights and Asian Values"
9/19 Reader: excerpts from Aslan, No God but God; Rao, "The Politics of Gender..."; Steigrad, "Muslim Women in France"; Stack, "... a View from behind the Veil"
9/24 Exam #1
PART II Human Rights Abuses and State Sovereignty: In this section of the course, we will examine the tension between the protection of state sovereignty and the promotion of human rights by looking at specific cases in which basic human rights are threatened. We will examine both "civil and political rights" and "economic, social, and cultural rights" as well as the ways in which these categories may overlap.
9/26 DeLaet, Chapter 4; Read the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
10/1 DeLaet, Chapter 5
10/3 DeLaet, Chapter 6; Read the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
10/8 DeLaet, Chapter 7; Read the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; Film: Calling the Ghosts
10/10 Jones, Introduction and Part I
10/15 Fall break, no class
10/17 Jones, Part II
10/22 Jones, Chapters 12 and 13
10/24 Bales, Chapters 1-2 and 7-8
10/29 Bales, Chapter 3
10/31 Reader: excerpts from Levinson ed., Torture: A Collection
11/5 Bales, Chapter 6; Reader: Howard-Hassmann, "The Second Great Transformation"; Howard-Hassmann, "Reparations for the Slave Trade"; Guest speaker in class: Rhoda Howard-Hassmann
11/5 Public lecture by Rhoda Howard-Hassmann: Reparations to Africa for the Slave Trade; Sheslow Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. Attendance Required
11/7 Reader: excerpts from Danner, Torture and Truth; Shane and Mazzetti, "Interrogation Methods are Criticized"
11/12 Exam #2
PART III The Promotion and Protection of International Human Rights: In this section of the course, we will examine the existing mechanisms for the implementation of human rights by international organizations, states, and non-governmental organizations. We will discuss the way in which an emphasis on state sovereignty has thus far limited the types of actions that have been taken, especially by international and state actors. We also will explore the potential for improving the status of global human rights in the post-Cold War era.
11/14 DeLaet, Chapter 8
11/19 American Model UN in Chicago, no class
11/21 Thanksgiving break, no class
11/26 DeLaet, Chapters 9; Film: The Legacy of Nuremberg
11/28 DeLaet, Chapter 10; Human Rights Priorities Papers due
12/3 DeLaet, Chapter 11; Bales, Chapter 4 and Coda
12/5 Human Rights Priorities Deliberations
12/10 Human Rights Priorities Deliberations
12/12 DeLaet, Conclusions; course evaluations.
The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, December 18 from 9:30-11:20. I may decide to give a take-home final.