Materials

Readings will be indicated throughout the Syllabus and will be made available either as a link or hard copy.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Content
 

This course will examine the nature and application of human rights.  An inquiry such as this must begin with a conceptual and ethical over view about the nature of rights, law and their justification.   Once we have considered the various conceptual and normative views of legal and moral rights we will examine various contexts, such as military intervention in another sovereign state, protection against genocide, and transfer of resources to poor nations,  in which some right is thought to apply.  Finally we will also consider specific rights to free speech, religion, privacy etc., to see what the basis is for these rights and how, if at all, they are vindicated.
 

PREREQUISITES:
 

Although this is a graduate course there is no assumption that you have had any prior course about human rights.  It is assumed, however,  that you will have had some exposure to conceptual and normative (that is to say ethical) reasoning.  The course also assumes that you have the capacity to synthesize information and present your own ideas orally and in writing.  This course will help develop further your analytical skills particularly as they apply to legal and moral reasoning.  This course is designed not only to teach you the ideas of others but also to help you develop the capacity to engage in original thinking and research to advance those ideas further.  Hence, it is absolutely essential to have completed each reading assignment and to be prepared to speak in each class.

Class Requirements

• •  Requirements
     
    • Active class participation : all students are expected to attend class regularly and to be prepared to discuss the reading. Students may be called upon to participate in class and no passing is permitted. Each student will be allowed 1 un-excused absences. Any additional un-excused absence will reduce your final grade by one whole grade per absence. Study the class calendar carefully to make sure  you don't have any prior commitments that would preclude you from meeting these requirements.
    •   There will be a Mid Term exam posted in the assignment section of the class Blackboard site.   It must be completed and posted in the appropriate assignment folder by the time and date indicated on the exam.
    • An Analytical Paper of approximiately 8-12 pages will be required. This paper will be on a topic mutually decided upon between each individual student and the professor. Each student must contact the professor to choose the topic and all topics must be approved no later than one week after the first exam is submitted.
    •  The Final will be distrubuted to via Blackboard and will be due at the end of the examination period on the date and time designated by the university registrar.
       

    Grading (subject to qualification described below)

    		Due
    Class Participation:	20%	Passim.
    Exam	25%	Feb 23
    Analytical Paper:	25%	March 26
    Final Examination:	30%	Mon, May 6, 2019	02:30PM-05:00PM

    
     

    Standards: Grading standards are in part subjective and excellence in one area may compensate for deficiencies in another. No curve will be used to calculate the grades in this class. Hence, it is theoretically possible for every student to receive an A if he or she meets the standards for that grade. My primary goals are for each student to develop the critical thinking skills and to understand the ideas covered in this course by the time it is completed. If later exams and papers illustrate this proficiency, earlier grades which do not will be discounted. The following will give you a general guide to the typical performance associated with each letter grade.
     

    A: all course requirements met, work shows full understanding of course material and an original perspective on the subject

    B: all course requirements met, work shows full understanding of course material (or satisfactory understanding of course material and an original perspective on the subject)

    C: all course requirements met, work shows satisfactory understanding of course material

    D: work fails to meet minimum course requirements, either in full and timely completion of requirements or in satisfactory understanding of course material

    F: work falls far below minimum course requirements either in full and timely completion of requirements or in satisfactory understanding of course material.
     
     
     

    University and Classroom Standards
     

    The American University's "Academic Integrity Code" governing standards for academic conduct apply. Students may discuss the subject matter of their essays with anyone. All students, however, must compose their own essays and may not show or read their essays to any other persons, except for proofreading or typing assistance by a person not enrolled or previously enrolled in the course. The use of another person's words or ideas without proper attribution constitutes plagiarism or false authorship. Both are serious academic offenses. By turning in an essay, a student is certifying that the essay is entirely his/her own work. If there are any questions about this matter, consult the Academic Integrity code or see the instructor.
     
     
    

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    Freedom of expression is at the root of academic discourse and the advancement of knowledge. This course will deal with a wide range of topics, some of which may challenge a student's deeply held beliefs and perhaps even cause offense. While no topic will be censored simply because it has these effects, students are expected to treat the differing views of others with respect. While a tolerance towards the opinions of others does not preclude expressions of disagreement, which are, indeed, encouraged, it does require that these expressions be based on the content of the ideas expressed and not on the personal traits or values of the speaker. All class participants will be expected to tolerate the expression of opposing views and to engage in reasoned discourse about them.
     

    I will endeavor to ensure that the classroom is free of any conduct that has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating or hostile environment. Furthermore, I will attempt to give each student an opportunity to express his or her own opinions and to treat student opinions with respect. Any student who believes that he or she has not been given fair or adequate opportunity to contribute to class discussion is encouraged to bring this to my attention.
     

    I am genuinely interested in student development and the generation of critical understanding of the issues addressed in this course. If you have any questions or problems and would like to discuss them with me, please call me, visit me during my office hours, or make an appointment to meet with me at a mutually convenient time and location. If problems arise that may affect your performance in this course (e.g. academic, health, family, or other personal matters), it is important that you bring these issues to my attention when they arise and not wait until they interfere with some class exercise such as a paper or an exam. I am eager to assist you in making this an interesting and beneficial educational experience.
     
     
    
    
    

    	READINGS
    Week 1 January 17
    	Introduction: Law, Legality And Rights
    Week 2 & 3 January 24 & 28
    	The Foundation For Law (Anywhere)
    	Bentham	Anarchical Fallicies
    	HLA Hart	Concept of Law (Chapters 5 and 6)
    		Are There Any Natural Rights?
    		International Law (From The Concept of Law)
    	Dworkin	A New Philosophy For International Law
    	Text	Modern International Law: Introdiction And Overview
    Week 3 & 4 January 31 - Feb 4 & 7	Underlying Models of Justice and Legitimacy
    	Locke	Second Treatise On Government
    	Rousseau	Chapters 1-5, 7-8,11,18,19
    		Essay on Inequality
    	Kant	Perpetual Peace (pp 60-95)
    	Bentham	Principles of Morals And Legislation (Preface and I-IV inclusive)
    	Mill	Selections From On Liberty
    Week 5 Feb 11-14	The Role of Justice, If Any, In Global Relations
    	Morgenthau	The Twilight of International Morlaity					5
    	Stanley Hoffman	Duties Beyond Borders Chap 1 Ethics And International Affairs					1
    	Charles Beitz	Political Theory And International Relations Introduction And Part One					2
    	Marshall Cohen	Moral Skepticism And International Relations International Relations As The State of Nature					3
    	European Institute	Syrian Refugees: A Snapshot (Read The 4 Links: Home, Timeline etc)					4
    Week 6 Feb 18-21	The Legal And Political Basis For Human Rights: Theory And Structure
    	Beitz	Human Rights as a Common Concern					5
    	Jack Donnelly,	Human Rights As Natural Rights					1
    	Griffin	Discrepencies Between Philosphy And Law of Human Rights					2
    	Laura Dickinson	The Promise of Hybrid Courts					3
    	United Nations	International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights And In Particular Part III, Article 6: Right To Life					4
    		Charter and Covenant on Economic Social And Cultural Rights					5
    		Convention Against Genocide And relevant sections of the Human Rights					1
    	Macedo	Universal Jurisdiction					2
    	The International Criminal Court	Basic Documents					3
    		Background And History					4
    		Legal Resources					5
    Week 7 Feb 25-28	The Legal And Political Basis For Human Rights: Practice The Prosecution of War Crimes And Genocide
    	Andy Carvin	From Sideshow To Genocide Stories of theCambodian Holocaust The Khmer Rouge Years					1
    	Neil Kritz	Special Report: Rwanda: Accountability for War Crimes and Genocide					2
    	Samantha Powers	Bystanders To Genocide					3
    	Franck	Legitimacy					4
    	General Roméo Dallaire	Genocide: A Preventable Crime					5
    Week 8 March 4-7	The Scope of Human Rights: Universal or Relative?
    	Daniel Bell	Which Rights Are Universal Chapter 1 pp 23-105					1
    	Charney	Response To Bell					2
    	Donnelly	Cultural Relativism And International Human Rights Part II					3
    	Claude Ake	The African Context of Civil Rights,   vol. 34 Africa TodayNos. 1&2 (1987)					4
    	Thomas Franck	Is Personal Freedom A Western Value? Am J. of Int Law Vol. 91, No. 4. (Oct., 1997),					5
    	Mary Midgely	Trying Out One's New Sword  (excerpt from Heart And Mind)					1
    	Yael Tamir	Hands Off Clitoridectomy: What Our Revulsion Reveals About Ourselves"					2
    	Reply To Tamir by	Nussbaum	Neuwirth	Kamm	George	& Her Response	3, 4, 5, 1, 2
    	US Immigration Proceeding	In Re Kasinga: Asylum Hearing of Potential FGM Victim					3
    Week 9 March 18-21	The Subject of Human Rights: Individual Or Community (And Which Ones)?
    	Martha Nussbaum	Sex And Social Justice  (Oxford, 1999) Part Chapters Three And Four					4
    	JS Hawley	Sati: The Blessing And The Curse: The Burning Of Wives In India					5
    		Chapters Three And Four
    	United Nations	Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women					1
    		Covenant on Civil & Political Rights				Arts. 18-22  (Freedom of Religion)	2
    	Ismail Patel	Mis Representations of Islam: A Study of Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses					3
    	Salmon Rushdie	Inside the Mind of Jihadists					4
    	Ronald Dworkin	"Do We Have A Right To Pornography"					5
    		Carnegie Council On Ethics Dialogue of Honor Killings
    	Leylâ Pervizat	In The Name of Honor					1
    	Zehra F. Arat	A Struggle On Two Fronts					2
    Week 10 March 25-28	The Value And Rights of Community: Nationalism, Patriotism And Self Determination
    	Richard Goodin	What is So Special about Our Fellow Countrymen?					3
    	Yael Tamir	Liberal Nationalism Chapters Five& Seven					4
    	Will Kymlicka	Multicultural Citizenship					5
    	Daniel Philpott	In Defense of Self-Determination					1
    	Alan Buchannan	Theories of Secession					2
    	Cass Sunstien	Constitutionalism and Secession					3
    Week 11 April 1-4	Rights of Community And Its Limits: Sovereignty And Internvention
    	Michael Walzer	The Moral Standing of the State					4
    	Charles Beitz	Nonintervention and Communal Integrity					5
    	Stephen Krasner	Sovereignty: Organized Hypocracy Chapter One And Two					1
    	John Rawls	The Law Of Peoples					2
    	David Fagelson	Two Concepts of Sovereignty: From Westphalia to the Law of Peoples?					3
    		Recommended Further Reading
    	Thomas Franck	The Emerging Right to Democratic Governance
    Week 12 April 8 - 11	Dirty Hands: Torture and Terrorism
    	Patrick Lee	Interrogational Torture					4
    	Walzer	Dirty Hands (The Article)					5
    	Stanford Encyclopedia of Philsophy	Doctrine of Double Effect					1
    	Bentham	What is Utility?					2
    	USG Report To UN Committee On Torture	American Legislation Banning Torture					3
    	John Yoo and Judge Bybee	Justice Department Memos on Torture					4
    	General Tagube	Report on Abu Ghraib					5
    	Geneva Convention Third Article 1949	International Law On Torture					1
    	Hassan	An Arsenal of Believers: Talking To Human Bombs					2
    Week 13 April 15-18	International Justice And Aiding the poor?
    	Peter Singer	Famine Affluence And Morality					3
    	Onora O'Neil	Lifeboat Earth					4
    	Garrett Harden	Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor					5
    	Fagelson	The Ethics of Assistance: What's The Good of It?					1
    Week 14 April 26-29	Catch Up And Review

     

 

    Thomas Nagel             War And Massacre
    George Mavrodes        Conventions And The Morality of War
    Robert Fullwinder         War And Innocence
    Lawrence Alexander     Self Defense And The Killing of Non-Combatants
                     
          

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John Rawls, The Law of The Peoples (Harvard, 1999) Part I §3 -- II.§10 inclusive.
                        Part One                Part Two
    

 

Week 14
April 26
 

Globalization Multiculturalism, Tolerance And Equality

Michael Walzer On Tolerance Chapters Two & Three
Joseph Carens    Culture, Citizenship, and Community : A Contextual Exploration

of Justice As Evenhandedness   Parts One, Two & Three


 

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Week 14


 
Global Justice And The Law Of The Peoples?

   John Rawls, The Law of The Peoples (Harvard, 1999) Part I §3 -- II.§10 inclusive.
                        Part One                Part Two

     David Fagelson Two Concepts of Sovereignty: From Westphalia To The Law of Peoples
 

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Useful Philosopy Links
	Stanford Encylcopedia of Philsophy
	Episteme Links
	Philosopher's Web Portal
	Guide To Philosophy On The Internet
	The Galilean Library -- What Is Philosophy
	Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
	Philosophy Around The Web
	The Royal Institute Of Philosophy

Internet Resources for Human Rights Issues

Legal Research Sites Diana Human Rights Library   One of the best all around sources for documents and other links Legal Research on International Law Issues Using the Internet -- University of Chicago  International Human Rights Agencies African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Inter-American Commission on Human Rights UN Commission on the Status of Women United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works for children worldwide United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Human Rights links to a wide range of UN bodies dealing with Human Rights United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) World Food Program (WFP) The UNHCHR also provides a useful Human Rights Treaty Bodies Database, which offers information on a range of international bodies that monitor human rights treaties.      International Human Rights Treaties & Declarations United Nations - see the complete list of  United Nation's Documents or connect to the following examples:  Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 1948 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights - 1966 status of ratifications International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - 1966 status of ratifications Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - 1966 status of ratifications Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty - 1989 status of ratifications Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples - 1960 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - 1963 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - 1965 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid - 1973 Convention against Discrimination in Education - 1960 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief - 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief - 1992 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War - 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War - 1949 Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries - 1989 UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - 1993 European Union European Human Rights Documents European Convention on Human Rights - 1950 (Council of Europe) European Social Charter - Council of Europe - 1961 Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers - 1989   Organization of American States American Convention on Human Rights Signatures and Current Status of Ratifications Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic Social and Cultural Rights Protocol of San Salvador Signatures and Current Status of Ratifications Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty Signatures and Current Status of Ratifications Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples  American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture Signatures and Current Status of Ratifications   Organization of African Unity African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights - 1981 ratification information African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - 1990 Addis Ababa Document on Refugees and Forced Population Displacements in Africa - 1994 Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility - 1990   International Judicial Bodies Court of Justice of the European Union European Court of Human Rights - Council of Europe Inter-American Court of Human Rights International Court of Justice International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)   Other Human Rights Resource Sites Diana - International Human Rights Database Human Rights Watch Human Rights Web University of Minnesota Human Rights Library  Yahoo! Full News Coverage on Human Rights Yahoo! Human Rights Links Yahoo! Issues and Causes Specific Topics and Documents The Caste System in Hinduism Caste system in modern India Center for World Indigenous Studies Home Page Child rights- UNICEF Human Rights Center Bibliographies on Human Rights Relief Web Home page - UN Humanitarian Aid site UN Site on Rights of Indigenous Peoples US Bureau of Justice Statistics on Capital Punishment  - 1998 Women Watch Yahoo! Environment and Nature Ethics General Search Sites For Internet Material: Yahoo! is the most popular search engine, and provides an enormous index to browse for sites as well.  Ask Jeeves - is the most innovative search site, where you can search by asking plain language questions.  Go Network Express - excellent free software you install on your computer to conduct Internet search through multiple search engines at the same time.  FedWorld Information Network - Search for US Government web sites  MetaCrawler - allows you to search through several search engines at the same time  United Nations Documentation Research Guide United Nations Web Search - for finding material on the UN Internet sites      Databases Available through Aladdin   The Carl/UnCover service is another extremely useful way to search for printed material. This database is limited to journal articles, but it covers an enormous number of periodicals. In addition to searching for keywords, you can look up a journal by title to see what other articles might appear in that issue.  CARL/Uncover Periodical Database Once connected, choose:   Search the UnCover database, then  Search UnCover Now  PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service - index of international academic periodicals on business and the social sciences with emphasis on contemporary social, economic, and political issues and the making and evaluating of public policy.    LEXIS-NEXIS - full text database of judicial decisions from Canadian, Commonwealth and American courts.  JSTOR -  full article collection of periodicals in the social sciences and humanities. OCLC First Search  --  full article collection of periodicals in the social sciences and humanities. Periodical Abstracts  -- Collection of wide variety of periodicals many of which are available in  full text format. Johns Hopkins University Project Muse Journals.

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