Scales and Practices of Human Rights: Legalization, Mobilization and Contestation

Recommended Prerequisites

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

Teaching Methods

The seminar will be taught in a way that enables the presentation and discussion of theory and practice relating to the subject of the seminar. It includes: lectures that introduce human rights regimes and practices and raise core issues; discussion based on recommended bibliographic and web-based studies; discussion of various perspectives on the issues; case-studies involving presentation and analysis of emblematic practical cases; participation in workshops/debates and role-play.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the study of this seminar will:

• have a thorough knowledge about the theory and practice of human rights regimes (norms, instruments and institutions) at the national, regional and global levels;

• be able to use national and supranational mechanisms for the resolution of human rights issues;

• understand the limits of conventional human rights norms, institutions and mechanisms in the light of other human rights ideals and mechanisms of dispute resolution;

• be able to discuss human rights practices and issues in specific areas of human rights such as the right against torture;

• obtain skills of advocacy and mobilization to ensure respect for human rights; and

• acquire essay writing skills, including synthesis of various theories and practices and presenting new arguments.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The Seminar includes sessions on the following topics:

Global, international, regional and local human rights regimes and institutions

The United Nations, European, Inter-American and African Human Rights Systems

Human rights practices of state, non-state and inter-governmental actors as well as ordinary citizens

Legalization of human rights

Practices in specific areas of human rights: Torture, health and human rights

Advocacy and mobilization for human rights

Legal pluralism and human rights

Human rights and access to justice

Head Lecturer(s)

Cecília Macdowell Santos

Assessment Methods

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

Bibliography

Francioni, F. (ed.) 2007. Access to justice as a human right. New York: Oxford University Press.

Goodale, M & Merry, SE (eds.) 2007. The Practice of Human Rights: Tracking Law between the Global and the Local. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Halliday, PS (ed.) 2004. Human Rights Brought Home: Socio-Legal Studies of Human Rights in the National Context. Portland: Hart.

Meckled-Garcia, S & Cali, B (eds.) 2006. The Legalization of Human Rights: Multidisciplinary perspectives on human rights and human rights law. London: Routledge.

Nelson, PJ & Dorsey, E 2008. New rights advocacy. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.

Santos, BS & Rodríguez-Garavito, CA (eds.) 2005. Law and Globalization from Below: Towards a Cosmopolitan Legality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Santos, BS 2002. Toward a New Legal Common Sense (2nd ed). London: Butterworths.

Steiner, HJ et al 2007. International human rights in context: law, politics, morals. New York: Oxford University Press.