Human Rights, Intercultural Diversity and Representation
1
2015-2016
03015427
Human Rights
English
Face-to-face
SEMESTRIAL
10.0
Compulsory
3rd Cycle Studies
Recommended Prerequisites
The same prerequisites for being accepted in the doctoral program, including English proficiency.
Teaching Methods
The seminar will be taught through lectures that introduce various perspectives on the subjects of the seminar, and raise core issues of theory and practice, facilitate participatory discussions and recommend bibliographic and web-based studies.
Workshops, debates and role-play exercises will be used to present and discuss practical human rights issues from different cultural settings and how they may be or are represented and addressed in those contexts.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the study of this seminar will:
• have profound knowledge about the interrelationship between human rights and culture;
• be versed with the arguments for and against the cultural relativity and universality of human rights;
• understand how human rights are represented, influenced and disregarded in various cultural contexts;
• be able to identify the compatibility between human rights and cultural practices in different contexts and recommend necessary adjustments in cases of incompatibility;
• acquire the skills necessary for the contextualized application of values of human dignity in order to solve societal problems; and
• develop research and essay writing skills involving critical analyses of different points of view and presentation of new arguments.
Work Placement(s)
NoSyllabus
The seminar includes sessions on the following topics:
Human rights, cultural relativism and universality
Human rights and interculturality
Religion, secularism and human rights
Cultural imperialism and human rights
Human rights, the media and the construction of cultures
Human rights and movies/the cinema
Memory, representation and human rights
Human rights and cultural change
Head Lecturer(s)
Maria Paula Guttierrez Meneses
Assessment Methods
Continuous
Regular attendance of sessions: 20.0%
Paper submission: 40.0%
Oral presentation: 40.0%
Bibliography
An-Na’im, AA (ed.) 2002. Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa. London: Zed Books.
An-Na’im, A. 2003. ‘The Synergy and Interdependence of Human Rights, Religion and Secularism’ in Runzo, J et al (eds.), Human Rights and Responsibilities in the World Religions. Oxford: Oneworld.
Binder, G 1999. ‘Cultural Relativism and Cultural Imperialism in Human Rights Law’, Buffalo journal of international law, 5.
Donders, Y 2010. ‘Do Cultural Diversity and Human Rights make a Good Match?’ International Social Science Journal, 61.
Mamdani, M (ed.) 2000. Beyond Rights Talk and Culture Talk: Comparative Essays on the Politics of Rights and Culture. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Ramcharan, B 2000. ‘Human rights: universality and cultural diversity’ in Coomans, F et al (eds) Rendering Justice to the Vulnerable. The Hague: Kluwer Law International.
Wiater, P 2010. Intercultural dialogue in the framework of European human rights protection. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.