HUMR 500 Foundations of Human Rights

This graduate course imparts an advanced understanding of the political, historical, and philosophical foundations of the concept of “human rights”. Emphasis is given to key scholarly interpretations of how human rights emerged in the political context, along with contending justifications for human dignity and human rights. Students examine the place of human rights in the political order and wrestle with questions over what qualifies as a human rights issue.

The protection and advancement of human rights is inextricably tied to power. This course represents a step toward equipping the student across a wide range of disciplines to steer and guide civil society organizations, governments, and international actors and institutions towards using their power and influence in ways that protect and advance the rights of oppressed. 

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Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each thread must be at least 800 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 200-350 words.

The student will write two short research papers, focused on the content from the assigned module. The paper must be grounded in a clear research question. The research paper must be between 8-15 pages in length, and must include at least 12 scholarly sources.

The student will write a research paper on a research question related to the reading and content covered in the course. The student should see this assignment as an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the course content. The paper will be 17-20 pages in current APA formatting. The student must cite at least 20 scholarly sources.