Human Rights & Development (LAW-795-007)
Petman
Meets: 04:30 PM - 07:15 PM (MTWTHF) - Room 500
Enrolled: 3 / Limit: 25
Notices
Meets 6/6-6/17 *There are additional students enrolled that do not show on the summer course listing* Exam: The exam for this course will be a take home exam. Students will have until July 13 (three weeks) after the completion of the Academy to do the exams. All exams will be done electronically. For details please visit the Academy website
Description
Human rights and development have evolved largely in separate tracks, and even, to a large degree, separate worlds. But times have changed. There are now clear spheres of convergence between these fields in theory, applied research and practice. Many bilateral and multilateral aid organizations, non-governmental organizations and development workers now profess to implement "rights-based approaches" to development. These re-orientations have been warmly embraced in some, but by no means all, quarters. No less a figure than Amartya Sen has remarked: "The suspicion is that there is something a little simple-minded about the entire conceptual structure that underlies the oratory on human rights." Other commentators have derided rights-based approaches to development as mere "rhetorical repackaging." The Human Rights and Development course will critically examine these claims, through a mix of lectures, group work discussions and practical exercises. Beginning with a brief historical overview, the course will explore the contemporary conceptions and meanings of human rights and development, laying the ground for a more detailed examination of the points of convergence - as well as tensions - between these fields in both theory and practice. Consideration will be given to how international human rights standards and principles have influenced technical programming approaches of development agencies, as well as points of articulation between human rights and key public policy debates concerning international aid, trade, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), poverty reduction strategies, climate change and anti-globalisation critiques, accentuated by the global financial crisis. There will be a strong institutional focus within the program, with a close look at the roles and functions of United Nations development agencies, international development and financial institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, transnational corporations and business entities, set against political debates on human rights and development in inter-governmental bodies. Finally, consideration will be given to accountability mechanisms at global, national and local levels, where innovative and practical synergies between human rights and development might be identified.
Textbooks and Other Materials
The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.
All reading materials for this course will be distributed by the Academy on Human Rights during Orientation on Monday, May 30 at 5 pm. For more information please visit our website: www.wcl.american.edu/hracademy
First Class Readings
The syllabus and readings for the first two classes will be posted on our website by mid May: http://www.wcl.american.edu/hracademy/courses.cfm