Human Rights, Involvement and Integration: course description
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Bert van Roermund, Tilburg University
Aims
At the end of this course the student is able to
a. Describe five influential, critical accounts of the concept of human rights;
b. Critically examine the concepts of human rights implied in these accounts;
c. Outline an alternative account of the link between human rights and democracy;
d. Apply the insights derived from a. through c. in an assessment of the allegedly universal bindingness of human rights.
e. Learn to read philosophical texts in the light of their social relevance;
f. Learn to read political and legal texts in the light of their philosophical relevance.
g. Learn to write a philosophical elaboration, both conceptual and normative, of a socially relevant issue.
Contents
We take human rights to be self-evident, and assess partnerships or memberships in international co-operation accordingly: we easily criticise state who do not respect human rights. And yet, the idea of human rights has not been, and is not, without dispute. This course does not focus so much on the ideological clashes on which rights are more fundamental in the catalogue of human rights (e.g. political rights vs. social rights), but on the very idea of human rights. We’ll see some very pertinent arguments against the whole idea of human rights, advanced by famous thinkers like Rousseau, Burke, Bentham, Marx and Arendt. In a discussion of Claude Lefort’s views on human rights we will try to discover how, and on which conceptual conditions, human rights can survive these attacks. As a test-case we will focus on a specific realm of fundamental rights: the contemporary discussion on the rights of migrants.
Examination
Students are expected to present a portfolio of individually gathered materials, notes, writings, pictures, reports, bibliography, etc, and with a final 4000 words (max.) paper on a target paper, taken from a recently published volume on the rights of migrants. Towards the end of the course there will be a conference of poster presentations by the students of their draft papers, with feed back from fellow students and teacher(s). After the conference papers are finalised and orally defended during the examination week.
Media
The course is predominantly structured around lectures, but includes opportunities for presentations and discussion by the students on a regular basis.
6. Required previous education
No specific academic training in law or philosophy is required. One is supposed to know about the general structure and principles of a legal system under the rule of law.
At the end of this course the student is able to
a. Describe five influential, critical accounts of the concept of human rights;
b. Critically examine the concepts of human rights implied in these accounts;
c. Outline an alternative account of the link between human rights and democracy;
d. Apply the insights derived from a. through c. in an assessment of the allegedly universal bindingness of human rights.
e. Learn to read philosophical texts in the light of their social relevance;
f. Learn to read political and legal texts in the light of their philosophical relevance.
g. Learn to write a philosophical elaboration, both conceptual and normative, of a socially relevant issue.
Contents
We take human rights to be self-evident, and assess partnerships or memberships in international co-operation accordingly: we easily criticise state who do not respect human rights. And yet, the idea of human rights has not been, and is not, without dispute. This course does not focus so much on the ideological clashes on which rights are more fundamental in the catalogue of human rights (e.g. political rights vs. social rights), but on the very idea of human rights. We’ll see some very pertinent arguments against the whole idea of human rights, advanced by famous thinkers like Rousseau, Burke, Bentham, Marx and Arendt. In a discussion of Claude Lefort’s views on human rights we will try to discover how, and on which conceptual conditions, human rights can survive these attacks. As a test-case we will focus on a specific realm of fundamental rights: the contemporary discussion on the rights of migrants.
Examination
Students are expected to present a portfolio of individually gathered materials, notes, writings, pictures, reports, bibliography, etc, and with a final 4000 words (max.) paper on a target paper, taken from a recently published volume on the rights of migrants. Towards the end of the course there will be a conference of poster presentations by the students of their draft papers, with feed back from fellow students and teacher(s). After the conference papers are finalised and orally defended during the examination week.
Media
The course is predominantly structured around lectures, but includes opportunities for presentations and discussion by the students on a regular basis.
6. Required previous education
No specific academic training in law or philosophy is required. One is supposed to know about the general structure and principles of a legal system under the rule of law.
