SEJ 403 Human Rights: Theory and Practice
This course provides a rigorous and critical introduction to the foundation, structure and operation of the international human rights movement from the Islamic perspective. The course enables students to take an analytic and critical stance and deal with questions of human rights. Students explore the key theoretical debates in the field, including the historical origin and character of the modern idea of human rights, the debate between universality and cultural relativism, between civil and human rights, between individual and community, and the historically contentious relationship between the West and the Rest in matters of sovereignty and human rights, drawing on real-life examples from current affairs. Students examine human rights in both theory and practice from political, social, legal, historical, and philosophical perspectives. Topics of investigation in this course include the contentious relationship between human rights and economic development and globalization, issues raised by poverty, cultural rights, women's rights and so on. Students explore ways in which human rights are sought to be realized in practice, both within countries and through transnational mechanisms such as the UN.
Learning Outcomes
Critically evaluate and explain the intellectual and historical emergence of ideas leading to the development of a human rights doctrine.
Identify, assess and describe the ideas presented in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the human rights regime that emerged after 1948.
Compare and contrast various theories and approaches to human rights.
Analyze the politics of human rights through a set of key contemporary case studies.
Present a broad overview of the development of ideas of natural law and natural rights.
Design, plan and conduct research (independently or in groups) in the field of human rights, international and non-governmental organizations, state agencies and ministries that address human rights, applying qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to research.
Communicate and use their acquired skills in the field of human rights through various practices, including policy-making, etc.
Identify, contextualize, critically evaluate and use information and data about the human rights situation in Canada to support an argument.
Critically appraise source material, including cases from human rights committees and tribunals, etc.
Format citations and bibliographic entries and use standard conventions of style for scholarly writing.