Instructor: Melinda Cohoon, PhD Candidate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies (mecohoon@uw.edu)
Class: Asynchronous Lectures; Fully Remote
Office Hours: Mondays 10:30 am - 12:00 pm & by appointment in Denny Hall 4th Floor TA Loft. To reserve your spot: https://calendly.com/mecohoon/office-hours-1
Course Description
What are human rights? And what entities determine them? If human rights have been the 'idea of our time' since WWII, then why are there still mass atrocities? Why are these rights often violated with seemingly little recourse? This course aims to provide a basic understanding to how human rights are promoted around the globe through legal instruments and institutions. Through a variety of disciplinary perspectives, students will learn about historical, philosophical, and theoretical approaches to how human rights has been investigated to the practical applications of human rights in everyday life.
The first part of the course aims to introduce the foundations of human rights. This will include philosophy, history, as well as Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter, complemented with the basic functions of international law and theories of state compliance. The second half of the course addresses the differentiation between human rights versus humanitarianism, marginalization of communities, anti-colonialism, and strategic dominance of the West. Throughout the quarter we will look to relevant case studies and topics with the intent to ground our conceptual understandings of human rights.
Desired Learning Outcomes
The aims of this course are as follows:
- Understand the historical and philosophical background to human rights
- Ability to identify human rights instruments and institutions
- Understanding the nuances and differences between international human rights and international humanitarian law
- Gain a basic understanding of human rights obligations, including distinguishing the different generation of rights (civil, political, economic, and cultural etc.)
- Improve critical thinking and complex reasoning
- Deeper understanding of how human rights systems function internationally
- Improve articulation of ideas and formulation of arguments
Course Content & Delivery
This is a remote learning course. I will provide asynchronous lectures. Please reach out for any homework assistance. Course content will be made available weekly on our course's Canvas site.
This course is based on your desire to actively learn in a remote setting. Instead of being afraid of not getting a good grade, I hope you will focus on self-reflecting and learning new things that compel your interest related to human rights issues. If you put in the effort, finish the work, follow the guidelines, and apply critical thinking, there is no reason not to receive a 4.0. Below is a breakdown of the course assignments based on percentages. Think of it more like how much time and attention is required throughout the quarter rather than strictly a grade.
40% - Two Reading Response Papers
These response papers should be relatively short responses of 500-600 words (2-3 pages). The responses are due June 30th and July 14th by Sunday at midnight. The responses should include analysis of information you have learned, based on core and selected reading materials. You can choose which readings to refer to for the thematic section of each week, but the readings should be connected to one another, and you should be choosing them based on your own personal learning objectives. You can find thorough guidelines in the module section of Canvas. The assignment tab will have prompts for you to write these papers.
30% - Four Weekly Lecture Quizzes
The weekly quizzes replace traditional participation and instead shows that you are following along with the lectures. They should be seen as opportunities to check in with me about your understanding of the readings and lectures too. In other words, there will be open questions and multiple choice. I am making this open note because some of the questions will feed into the reading response papers and the active learning assignment. In other words, these are low-stakes tests to guide you and draft your work more effectively. The weekly lectures and lecture quizzes are made available on Mondays. The quizzes are due by Friday at midnight. The lowest score is dropped. So, technically only three quizzes are required.
30% - Active Learning Exercise
This is a comprehensive assignment that you can do throughout the quarter. I will provide this by the end of week 1. Basically, the aim is for you to apply your knowledge in meaningful ways, while attaining a better understanding of how the UN Charter, UDHR, and treaty bodies function. It’s also an opportunity to think deeply about case studies that are important to you. My hope is that you walk away with a solid grasp of human rights as it is in the West, while also having a critical lens and deeper understanding of other groups, countries, and cultures. This is not an assignment that should be done the day before it's due, which is July 17th at midnight.
An extra credit assignment will be made available to you.
You can write a 2-3 page report on one of the following listed movies using course material to replace a response paper or a quiz grade you do not like. Just remember to tell me what it’s replacing. This can be an opportunity to cover your bases if you miss an assignment too. This is due July 17th, 2024, and can be done at any point after week 1. I will provide guidelines for this in the module section of Canvas.
"The Judge" - available for streaming via the UW library.
Follows the story of Kholoud Al-Faqih, a Palestinian woman who made history by becoming the first female judge in the Sharia (Islamic law) courts in Palestine.
“My Name is Pauli Murray” - available on Amazon Prime
Follows the life of Pauli Murray a famous LGBTQ+ figure, influential civil rights leader, advocate, and legal scholar.
“The Report” - available on Amazon Prime
This is a 2019 film based on actual events. FBI agent Daniel Jones investigates the CIA's use of torture on suspected terrorists.
You can also pick a film based on a human rights issue. You must get approval for me.