History of Human Rights and the North-South Divide

Recommended Prerequisites

The same prerequisites for being accepted in the doctoral program, including English proficiency.

Teaching Methods

The seminar will use the following methods:

Seminar talks, providing a mix of theoretical exposition and case-based analysis

Bibliographic and thematic research

Participation in conferences, workshops and debates

Oral presentation and feedback amongst peers and tutor

Continuous feedback and guidance via email and office hours

Sharing bibliography and other resources electronically

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

- acquire a thorough knowledge of the history and origins of human rights

- master epistemological and cultural conceptions and understanding of human rights in various contexts;

- develop intercultural and contextualized understandings of the history of human rights;

- comprehend the complex dynamics of factors contributing to the development of human rights in different parts of the world;

- be able to grasp the situated character of human rights related knowledge production and dissemination;

- recognize the role of human rights in inter-regional relations from a historical perspective;

- be able to critically examine intellectual positions and their development;

- develop research skills, involving essay writing competency and the capability to synthesize and discuss different points of view, as well as to critically present new arguments.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Genealogies of human rights in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia

The cultural origins of human rights

Modernity, identity and human rights

Colonialism and human rights

Cosmopolitanism and human rights

Human rights in the North-South, North-North and South-South relations

Intercultural translation of human rights

Human rights and epistemologies of the South.

Head Lecturer(s)

Bruno Daniel Gomes Sena Martins

Assessment Methods

Continuous
Regular attendance of sessions: 20.0%
Oral presentation: 40.0%
Paper submission: 40.0%

Bibliography

Baxi, U. 2006. The Future of Human Rights. Oxford University Press.

Dershowitz, AM. 2004. Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origin of Rights. New York: Basic Books.

Mamdani, Mahmood (org.) 2000. Beyond rights talk and culture talk: comparative essays on the politics of rights and culture. New York: St Martin's Press.

Mamdani, Mahmood. 1996. Citizen and subject: contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Kampala: Fountain Publishers.

Mutua, Makau. 2002. Human rights: a political and cultural critique. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.

Santos, Boaventura de Sousa. 2002 Towards a New Legal Common Sense. Law, Globalization and Emacipation. London: Butterworths.

Santos, Boaventura de Sousa. 2009. If God Were a Human Rights Activist: Human Rights and the Challenge of Political Theologies. In: Law, Social Justice and Global Development Journal, http://www.gi.warwickac.uk/elj/lgd/2009_1/santos