180017 SE Philosophy of Human Rights (2014W)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
We will look at a couple of contemporary debates concerning the idea of human rights: What are human rights? What is the relationship between human rights and group/cultural rights? What do human rights require of the global economy? How do human rights relate to environmental policy? Is there a human right to democracy? What are the limits of rights enforcement? Are human rights progressive?The basis for our course is a recent collection of essays, edited by Cindy Holder and David Reidy. In order to figure out whether or not this course is for you, I recommend you have a look at this useful review of the aforementioned book:http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/45833-human-rights-the-hard-questions/Depending on how well our course progresses and on how useful the book turns out to be, we might also want to look at an old but still very good issue of the journal Social Philosophy and Policy. (You have access to all the papers therein via the UB network.)
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Su 14.09.2014 14:00 to Mo 29.09.2014 14:00
- Deregistration possible until Fr 31.10.2014 20:00
Details
max. 45 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
Achtung!! Am 02.12.2014 entfällt krankheitsbedingt die Lehrveranstaltung
Tuesday
14.10.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
21.10.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
28.10.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
04.11.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
11.11.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
18.11.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
25.11.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
09.12.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
16.12.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
13.01.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
20.01.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Tuesday
27.01.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
We will look at a couple of contemporary debates concerning the idea of human rights: What are human rights? What is the relationship between human rights and group/cultural rights? What do human rights require of the global economy? How do human rights relate to environmental policy? Is there a human right to democracy? What are the limits of rights enforcement? Are human rights progressive?The basis for our course is a recent collection of essays, edited by Cindy Holder and David Reidy. In order to figure out whether or not this course is something for you, I recommend you have a look at this useful review of the aforementioned book:http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/45833-human-rights-the-hard-questions/Depending on how well our course progresses, and on how useful the book turns out to be, we might also want to look at an old but still very good issue of the journal Social Philosophy and Policy. (You have access to all the papers therein via the UB network.)
Assessment and permitted materials
Your final grade will be a combination of the following three components:1. Attendance and class participation: 10%
Attendance will be kept track of and, together with participation in class, will count towards your final grade.2. Discussion points (5 total): 20%
Five times during the semester, you are required to turn in a discussion point to me. A discussion point is a paragraph or two (approx. 200 250 words) describing a part of the assigned reading you think we should discuss in class. You should briefly say what the (part of the) reading is about, and then say why you think we should discuss it. Aim for a robust issue. Ideally, raise an objection to the reading which we can examine in class. You can, if you like, raise two points for discussion in your discussion point, but do try to stay within the 200 250 word limit. These are due to me Sunday by 5 pm (17:00), though I am very happy to accept them earlier. Late submissions cannot be accepted because I will compile a document for each session consisting of all submitted discussion points. Each discussion point is worth 4% of your final grade. Please be prepared to briefly present and explain your discussion point in class. I will grade them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best grade. I expect everyone to get very high marks on this portion of the course.3. Paper, 15-20 pages: 70%
You are required to turn in a paper between 15 and 20 pages long that deals with the readings and issues we discussed during the semester. Try not to go too far below or above these page requirements. Definitely do not go too far above. There will be a reading week, probably in Week 10 or 11, to enable students to work on their paper; instead of the usual class meeting, I will organize individual meetings to discuss essay topics.
Attendance will be kept track of and, together with participation in class, will count towards your final grade.2. Discussion points (5 total): 20%
Five times during the semester, you are required to turn in a discussion point to me. A discussion point is a paragraph or two (approx. 200 250 words) describing a part of the assigned reading you think we should discuss in class. You should briefly say what the (part of the) reading is about, and then say why you think we should discuss it. Aim for a robust issue. Ideally, raise an objection to the reading which we can examine in class. You can, if you like, raise two points for discussion in your discussion point, but do try to stay within the 200 250 word limit. These are due to me Sunday by 5 pm (17:00), though I am very happy to accept them earlier. Late submissions cannot be accepted because I will compile a document for each session consisting of all submitted discussion points. Each discussion point is worth 4% of your final grade. Please be prepared to briefly present and explain your discussion point in class. I will grade them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best grade. I expect everyone to get very high marks on this portion of the course.3. Paper, 15-20 pages: 70%
You are required to turn in a paper between 15 and 20 pages long that deals with the readings and issues we discussed during the semester. Try not to go too far below or above these page requirements. Definitely do not go too far above. There will be a reading week, probably in Week 10 or 11, to enable students to work on their paper; instead of the usual class meeting, I will organize individual meetings to discuss essay topics.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
This is NOT a survey course on the philosophy and history of human rights. Rather we look at a number of, sometimes quite specialized, essays that represent and deal with the current state of the debate. Still, there are no distinct prerequisites and everyone with basic knowledge of contemporary moral and political philosophy is welcome to join.
Examination topics
Close reading and discussion of primary literature on the topic. You are expected (i) to have read and studied the assigned readings before class meets and (ii) to actively participate in class discussion. In order to better facilitate these two tasks you are required to turn in discussion points to me that you are then asked to briefly present during the class meeting. For details on the discussion points, see the section 'course assessment.' A final paper will ask you to engage in a thorough discussion of one of the assigned readings of your choice.
Reading list
1. Cindy Holder and David Reidy (eds.), Human Rights: The Hard Questions, Cambridge University Press, 2013.2. Social Philosophy and Policy, Vol 1, No. 2, 1984.
Association in the course directory
BA M 6.3
Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:36