Images by Human Rights Watch, Ugandan Elections 2006
MA in Applied Human Rights
OPTIONAL MODULES
In the second term students will be able to take two options.
An inner ring of optional modules will share the characteristics of the MA (practice based; interdisciplinary). Five modules will explore areas where rights are being used in new and innovative ways (‘development and human rights’; `health and human rights’; 'truth, justice and reparations after violence'; 'asylum, migration and trafficking'; 'cultures of human rights'). Students must take at least one module from the inner ring, and may take both of their options from this selection if they wish to do so.
ASYLUM, MIGRATION & TRAFFICKING
Martin Jones
Spring Term (20 Credits)
The universalism of much of human rights law and policy is belied by the frequent use of terms such as “citizen” and the inattention to situations in which non-citizens find themselves. As a result, the vulnerabilities of migrants to state and non-state actors often remain unaddressed. This module will examine the phenomenon of human movement, including both forced and voluntary migration, and the legal frameworks that govern the rights of various categories of migrants. The module will focus on the specific policies which states put in place to advance (and to hinder) the enjoyment by migrants of their rights.
The module will explore the general category of “migrant” and its various sub-categories (as defined by location of movement and by degree of volition), including the internally displaced, labour migrants, refugees and victims of human trafficking. The module will examine the legal tools available to human rights defenders seeking to assist these groups. It will also examine the extent to which human rights law and policy have managed to challenge two of the remaining bastions of state sovereignty: the related powers of a state to control entrance and egress and its power to control its membership. Although the obligations of states to migrants will be the primary focus of the course, the policies and practices of international organizations and supranational bodies with respect to migration will also be discussed.
The module will begin by examining the conceptions of citizenship (and their impact upon rights discourse) and the phenomenon of migration (including both its causes and effects). The module will examine the ability of migrants to enjoy even putatively universal rights, such as the right to equal protection of the law. The module will then explore distinctions made in law and policy between forced and voluntary migration and between intra- and inter- national displacement. The use of smuggling to move internationally will also be discussed, along with the related phenomenon of human trafficking. Refugee protection, both in countries like the UK and in the Global South, will be reviewed, including the criteria for qualification and the processes of determination of status. The ability of human rights defenders at risk to gain asylum will be examined. With respect to more voluntary forms of migration, the rights of migrant workers and long-term residents will also be discussed.
CULTURES OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES
Zoe Norridge & Paul Gready
Spring Term (20 Credits)
In recent years the intersections between culture and human rights have become more numerous and complex. For example, many members of the public first become aware of human rights concerns through literature, film or theatre. In addition, human rights organisations routinely use diverse media, including video and radio, in their research, advocacy and outreach. Intersections between the two fields are increasingly the subject of interdisciplinary academic study.
This module explores the implications of these developments under the rubric of “cultures of human rights practice” by:
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Analysing discourses of human rights practice drawing on cultural theories of representation (narrative, genre and testimony).
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Examining the role of culture in human rights work – what cultural forms are used, why, and to what effect?
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Exploring the ways in which human rights practitioners, artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers collaborate in the pursuit of humanitarian goals.
DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Paul Gready
Spring Term (20 Credits)
This module will provide insights into contemporary development debates, intersections between development and human rights, and the tools and strategies that help advance positive outcomes. The key question addressed by the module is whether human rights can help tackle poverty and inequality, and if so how? Introductory sessions will examine how and why development and human rights have converged in recent years; detail some of the resulting formulations (e.g. economic and social rights and the rights-based approaches to development); provide an introduction to different ways of arguing for economic and social rights and development; and explore a case study of convergence (participatory approaches). Key contemporary development challenges will then be explored through the prism of human rights (aid effectiveness and links between aid and security; dealing with natural disasters; failed states; corruption; land reform).
HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES: CLIMATE JUSTICE & FOOD SECURITY
Jonathan Ensor
Spring Term (20 credits)
There are critical issues facing humanity at the start of the 21st century. Climate change is upon us, already destroying the lives and livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest people. The global population is expanding, and set to reach 9 billion people by 2050. This year, a third of all food will be wasted, a billion people will go hungry, and a similar number will suffer from diseases linked to excessive food consumption. And the world’s natural resources – on which we all depend for survival – will be increasingly controlled by private, multinational actors while being further depleted, reducing the planet’s biodiversity, turning fertile soils into deserts, and posing new risks to human, plant and animal health.
These are global challenges, to which global solutions are currently being proposed. Human rights, and human rights practitioners, cannot avoid these issues and have an important role to play in ensuring that the solutions are equitable and just. This module will introduce these important topics and assess them from a human rights perspective. With a particular focus on the developing world, it will examine the links between poverty and decision-making in environmental, food and agriculture issues, questioning the assumption that technology and the market hold the answers to scarcity and marginalisation. Most importantly, this module will highlight links between these elements of global environmental crises, equipping students to critique the positions of different actors as the world searches for a future that is environmentally sustainable - and fair.
TRUTH, JUSTICE & REPARATIONS AFTER VIOLENCE
Not offered in Spring 2013
Lars Waldorf
Spring Term (20 Credits)
This optional module offers an in-depth examination of the law, policy, and practice of post-authoritarian and post-conflict justice mechanisms. It gives students a contextualized understanding of how gross human rights violations can be punished and remedied at the international, national, and local levels.
Module Content
After mass violence and repression, states, societies, and communities have created “transitional justice” mechanisms to deal with the legacy of gross human rights abuses. The best known mechanisms are international criminal tribunals and national truth commissions. Transitional justice is simultaneously backward- and forward-looking: addressing past abuses with the aim of preventing future ones. As such, it often involves difficult choices between punishment and forgiveness, accountability and reconciliation, remembrance and forgetting. In recent years, transitional justice has become a globalized paradigm as international donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and human rights defenders export, import, and adapt a growing assortment of transitional justice “tools” to diverse settings.
This module begins by locating victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations in treaty law and “soft law.” It then critically examines the workings and impact of various transitional justice mechanisms – amnesties, tribunals, truth commissions, and reparations – in specific international, national and local contexts. Throughout the module, we will pay close attention to the question of what do victims and survivors actually want.
OPTIONAL MODULES – OUTER RING
Students may also take one option from a wide-ranging outer ring of existing modules offered at the University which have some relationship to human rights. These may not be overtly rights-based and in some cases emphasise theory rather than practice. An indicative list of modules is provided below:
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Social and political issues in development
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Women, citizenship and conflict
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Contemporary philosophy of law
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Contemporary issues in toleration
- Teaching and learning citizenship and global education