Human Rights in International Relations module (PO52017)

This module will introduce you to the political science of human rights. You will be encouraged to engage with the concepts, theories, and methods that have been used to study human rights.

You will also undertake monitoring for a human rights NGO and write a case report on the monitoring.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• study the foundations of human rights
• develop awareness of universalism versus relativism, categories, and generations of human rights
• learn international human rights law and institutions
• study the political science of human rights
• understand the concepts and methods in measuring human rights
   

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• analyse the basic literature and normative debates in human rights
• undertake independent and critical research in human rights
• demonstrate the basic skills necessary to evaluate the methods and evidence used in academic, policy, and advocacy research
• demonstrate improved oral skills and essay writing skills
• demonstrate human rights monitoring and report writing skills

Assignments / assessment

• 2,500-word essay (50%)
• Video Report (40%)
• Precis (10%)

This module does not have a final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

• block lectures
  • held weekly on campus for two hours each
  • you will be introduced to the weekly topic and you will have the opportunity to explore the topic in more depth in small groups
• tutorials
  • held weekly on campus for 1 hour
  • you will be given training on monitoring human rights for an NGO