PIR-30126 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

The module examines core understandings of human rights as moral and legal norms that protect all persons from serious violations of their freedom and access to decent standards of living. It considers the normative validity of protections afforded by international human rights covenants to freedom of conscience; due process and access to fair trial; entitlements not to be enslaved or tortured; and to be protected from poverty and genocide.
The first part of the module focuses in particular on theoretical debates surrounding the justification of human rights, inquiring whether interests in rational agency or material wellbeing serve as an adequate source of legitimacy. It examines Rawls' famous Law of Peoples, which claims that the self-determination of non-liberal peoples must be respected, and that liberals cannot justifiably impose sanctions to secure liberal political rights for all citizens of the world. The controversy over global responsibilities is then examined. Does the human right to live free from poverty and malnutrition entail that citizens of rich countries bear 'perfect' or non-negotiable, duties of justice to alleviate global poverty? Or is this not an absolute duty of justice but a matter of charity? Moreover, do rich governments have a duty to refuse to participate in a world order that systemically violates the rights of the world's poor? The later stages of the module pose more specific questions: can historical human rights abuses of apartheid regimes ever be forgiven, and do the formerly oppressed have a duty to relinquish just claims against their oppressors in the name of peace? Finally, the moral individualism presupposed by the concept of human rights is questioned from non-western, post-modern and feminist perspectives.

1. To encourage students to form an understanding of the conceptual and normative basis of human rights.
2. To assist students to explore the problems with and limitations of existing human rights theories by focusing on current debates about world poverty, violence against women, the historical wrongs of apartheid and the complexities of religious diversity.
3. To enable students to acquire subject-specific knowledge as well as employability skills, including the capacity for reasoned argument through writing the essay; for effective planning and preparation through the essay plan; and independent reasoning skills by taking the exam.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Identify and describe major bodies of literature or schools of thought relating to human rights.: 1,2
Demonstrate rigour in the critical assessment of arguments presented in pertinent readings in human rights theory, as prescribed in the reading-list and, where appropriate, from the students' own searches.: 1,2
Evaluate the persuasiveness of liberal defences of the priority of first-generation human rights compared to prominent alternative perspectives.: 1,2
Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of varying perspectives on human rights theory with a view to assessing their critical and normative potential.: 1,2

Study hours

20 hours attendance at seminars (2X10 hours)
50 hours preparation for seminars
38 hours revision for examination
3 hours taking the examination
39 hours researching and writing the essay consultation with a member of staff

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment