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

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

Oral presentation and feedback amongst peers and tutor

Continuous feedback and guidance via email and office hours

Evaluation

Paper (35 000 characters) based on a topic of his choice, agreed with the seminar coordination. Based on the paper, the student will make an oral presentation which will enable feedback amongst peers and tutor. Three-pronged evaluation: oral presentation (40%), paper submission (40%) and regular participation  in the sessions (20%).     

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 contextualised understandings of the history of human rights

- Understand the debates on violence, memory, human rights, (in)visibilities and public responsibility towards the difficult pasts in contemporary societies

- Analyse the dynamics between politics of memory, silencing processes and citizenship

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

- 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.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Cultural and historical origins of human rights

Human rights and the North-South divide

Politics of Memory, politics of silence and citizenship

Violence, memory and power

Colonialism, (anti-)racism and human rights.

Head Lecturer(s)

Miguel Gonçalo Cardina Codinha

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Frequency: 20.0%
Oral presentation : 40.0%
Research work: 40.0%

Bibliography

Draper, Susana (2015), “Against depolitization: Prison-museums, escape memories, and the place of rights”. Memory Studies, 8(1), 62–74.

Fanon, Frantz (2004), “On Violence”, The wretched of the earth. New York: Grove

Press, 1-96.

Hunt, Lynn (2007), Inventing human rights: a history. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Moyn, Samuel (2010), The last utopia: human rights in history. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Moses, A., Duranti, M., Burke, R. (2020), Decolonization, Self-Determination, and the Rise of Global Human Rights Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Santos, Boaventura de Sousa; Martins, Bruno Sena (2020), "Introduction", in Boaventura de Sousa Santos; Bruno Sena Martins (orgs.), The Pluriverse of Human Rights: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity London: Routledge.