International Politics of Human Rights UCL

Overview

The International Politics of Human Rights course from UCL Summer School examines how human rights have changed and become embedded in international law since World War II.

Throughout the class you will use examples from the world around us to test and illustrate the arguments made in the literature. The conflicts in Myanmar, Syria and Iraq, and the former conflicts in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland are a few examples.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will have:

• Understood why governments violate human rights through a critical understanding of both academic texts and real-world examples of government policy choices.

• Understood the substantive topical questions, which have been asked concerning the repression of human rights.

• Developed a conceptually and empirically informed understanding of the debates surrounding human rights repression and respect.

• Developed the ability to critically engage with the debates in the literature on human rights repression and respect.

• Become qualified to proceed to further specialised study of human rights and/or employment in a related field.

• Better developed the skills associated with reading about, understanding and discussing conceptual issues and theoretical debates; applying concepts and theories to the empirical study of human rights; writing essays and participating in group discussions.