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LSJ 320/POLS 368: The Law & Politics of International Human Rights

Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30 – 9:50 a.m.

Teaching Team: 

Instructor: Jonathan Beck
Office hours: Tuesdays 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. and Thursdays 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
E-mail: jcbeck@uw.edu

Rachel Castellano (rcastell@uw.edu)
Office Hours: Online Th 2-3 p.m. & F 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Kayla Morton (kem95@uw.edu)
Office Hours: Th & F 10:30-11:30 a.m., office Gowen 26

Sections: 

AA (8:30-9:20) Kayla Morton - MEB 234
AB (9:30-10:20) Kayla Morton - MEB 234
AC (10:30-11:20) Rachel Castellano - SMI 309
AD (11:30-12:20) Rachel Castellano - SMI 307

This course examines the emergence and development, since World War II, of an international movement dedicated to the defense of human rights. We will study the goals of the movement and the global political context in which it operates. Special attention will be given to the legal institutions, national and international, which have influenced its evolution and character. Students taking the course will acquire an enhanced understanding of the role in human rights politics played by the United Nations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, social movements, customary international law, treaty law, and international tribunals.

The course is organized into two sections. In the first section, we will explore the emergence of the international human rights movement, international human rights institutions, and debates over the significance and power of human rights. In the second section, we will consider human rights in practice, exploring historical and contemporary human rights challenges and struggles. Each week will be categorized thematically, and we will integrate legal and institutional analysis with bottom-up studies of ordinary people struggling for human rights.

Assessment will be based on student engagement, completion of weekly short low-stakes assignments, a short essay, and a final project on a human rights challenge of each student's choosing.