Course Description:
In this course students willbe introduced to the central concepts, laws, practices and contemporary debates on human rights.The course is divided into two parts: theoretical(Module1)and practical(Module 2-3). In Module 1, we begin theoretical part by brief review ofhistorical texts, thus,layingdown the foundationsof human rightstheory and law, and wethen move on to examination of the fundamental questionssuch as the scope,typology, universality and cultural relativity of human rights. Theoretical part of the course will also include study of sources of international law, followed by examination of theories of state commitments to and compliance withinternationalhuman rights law.Module 2, which constitutespractical part of the course, will reviewthe global institutions such as the UN charter-basedand treaty-basedmechanisms of human rights protection and promotion. Next, we will moveonto the regional level institutions and conclude the module discussing national human rights institutions and their role in human rights promotion, monitoring and protection.In our final Module 3, wewill cover contemporary issues focusing onhuman rightsdomestically and globally. Among potential topics for discussion are: freedom from torture, minority rights, human rights and conflicts,human rights and counter-terrorism, human rights and businesses and others.Although the perspective of the course will be global, domestic application of human rights, including in the context of the US and in different political regime types will be covered as well.
