LAW 9502 - Human Rights Law

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of international human rights law, as well as a critical perspective on the role it has played in recent decades in discourse on international law. Topics include the debate over the definition of human rights (and whether rights are universal or culturally relative), the basic legal mechanisms for enforcing human rights, and the practical political realities of promoting human rights. The course will also develop critical perspectives on the relationship between human rights ideology and enlightenment values and on whether human rights are a function of international media or international law. Credit(s): 3