INTS 336 International Human Rights

An examination of the complex and controversial issues regarding the emergence and the function of the contemporary international human rights regime. The course, focusing on the international dimension of human rights promotion and protection, is divided into three parts. In the first part, we will learn about the ideas of human rights and the international debates surrounding them. Then, we will explore the international efforts for, and the limitations on, human rights promotion and protection. Finally, we will discuss the most important international and domestic challenges about human rights facing our world today. The Key questions we will address for this course are as follows. What is the purpose of human rights? What should their content be? Is there a single moral foundation for human rights that spans many cultures or are there many culturally specific moral foundations, or none? In what sense, if any, are human rights universal and indivisible? When do violations of human rights warrant intervention across national boundaries?