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Module details for 2023/24.

30 credits

FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)

Module Outline

Human rights are one of the most profound legacies of the 20th century, an attempt by politicians, policy makers, scholars, and humanitarians to erect obstacles against future state violence and other crimes against humanity. Over time, human rights have become a global phenomenon with unexpected outcomes and effects. Though developed by nations and transnational in scope, human rights ideas and language have been adapted and reworked in a variety of contexts worldwide, becoming the objects of, as well as a resources for, popular struggles, state policymaking, and transnational movements.
In the first part of the module, we will examine the historical origins, philosophical underpinnings and the global expansion of human rights thinking, as well as anthropology and human rights’ troubled relationship. We will go on to consider the conflicts between 'culture' and 'rights' that have emerged in this process, and the question of universality in the application of human rights around the world. This will allow us to develop a critical understanding of the ways in which 'culture' is articulated in human rights language and practice.
The second part of the module is dedicated to contemporary practices: the different uses of human rights. We will explore the signification they carry and the effects they produce; the tensions they reveal and the contradictions they manifest. Here, we will ask: How do actors make human rights 'real', and what are the limits of these framings? Students will become familiar with how anthropologists have constructed human rights as an object of study and their specific contributions to scholarship. We will read texts that have become classics in the field to more recent ones that examine the global institutions and transnational networks via which human rights are produced. We will look at the different forms that human rights have taken in response to changing political and social realities. Through various ethnographic case studies around issues of women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, indigenous representation cultural expertise, among others, we will explore the impact and unintended effects of human rights discourse and practice in various settings around the world as well as within the global institutions in charge of promoting and protecting them.

Pre-Requisite

Human rights is one of the most profound legacies of the 20th century: an attempt by politicians, policy makers, scholars, and humanitarians to erect obstacles against future state violence and other crimes against humanity. Over time, human rights hasbecome a global phenomenon. It is often considered the most legitimate framework for justice in the contemporary world.In the first part of the module, we will examine the historical origins, philosophical underpinnings and the global expansion of human rightsthinking, as well as anthropology and human rights’ troubled relationship. We will go on to consider the conflicts between 'culture' and 'rights' that have emerged in this process, and the question of universality in the application of human rights around the world. This will allow us to develop a critical understanding of the ways in which 'culture' is articulated in human rights language and practice.

The second part of the module is dedicated to contemporary human rights practices. Students will become familiar with how anthropologists have constructed human rights as an object of study and their specific contributions to scholarship. We will read texts that have become classics in the field to more recent ones that examine the global institutions and transnational networks via which human rights are produced. Through ethnographic case studies, we will explore how human rights are ‘made real’in various settings around the world as well as within the global institutions in charge of promoting and protecting them.

Module learning outcomes

1. Demonstrate a systematic and critical understanding of contemporary scholarship on human rights’ philosophical, historical and anthropological underpinnings.

2. Critically appraise and reflect on anthropological understandings of culture and how they inform human rights issues.

3. Analyse and evaluate contributions to academic and public debates on human rights in order to critically engage with issues of human social and cultural difference.

4. Apply key human rights concepts and theories to inform a critical analysis of human rights practice in different contexts.

5. Demonstrate a detailed understanding of how anthropological approaches to human rights relate to other approaches (law, human geography; international relations) and how such a critical lens can be used to inform human rights practice.

6. Demonstrate self-direction and originality in your analysis and communication of specific themes and materials related to the module.

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Timing

Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.

Weighting

Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.

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Mr Nile Davies

Assess convenor
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Prof Anne-Meike Fechter

Assess convenor
/profiles/158737

Dr Julia Hartviksen

Convenor, Assess convenor
/profiles/621097

Prof Grace Carswell

Assess convenor
/profiles/34117

Mr Simon Overton

Assess convenor
/profiles/634530