Introduction to Human Rights

Description

On this module, you'll look at the study of human rights, human rights issues and various approaches that different disciplines take in this field. You'll develop a basic understanding of the international human rights system. You'll be introduced to some of the long-lasting debates surrounding human rights: their origin, history, nature, universality, how they ‘work’, and how they are ‘made real’. You'll also explore: the practice of human rights in relation to specific rights (for example women’s rights, children’s rights, rights of asylum seekers and refugees) institutions (for example the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights) laws and contexts. You'll focus on the complex and contingent ways that human rights are practiced (defined, claimed, interpreted, challenged, implemented and monitored), as well as the possibilities and limitations of human rights in making the world a better place.