Program Director: Susan Gzesh, P 102, 702-7721

Director, Center for International Studies: Kathleen Morrison, P 103,

834-7585

Program Coordinator: Maureen Loughnane, P 123, 834-0957

Post-Doctoral Fellow: P 121, 834-4405

Web: humanrights.uchicago.edu

The Human Rights Program at the University of Chicago integrates the exploration of the core questions of human dignity with a critical examination of the institutions designed to promote and protect human rights in the contemporary world. It is an initiative unique among its peers for the interdisciplinary focus its faculty and students bring to bear on these essential matters. The Human Rights curriculum includes a core sequence and an array of elective courses that examine human rights from a variety of disciplinary, thematic, and regional perspectives. The Human Rights Internship Program provides fellowships to students for practical experiences at host organizations in the United States and around the world. Through conferences, workshops, lectures, and film series, the program brings the world to the campus, incorporating the broader community into its educational mission.

Students wishing to pursue a systematic introduction to the study of human rights are encouraged to take the core sequence in Human Rights (Human Rights I: Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights; Human Rights II: Historical Underpinnings of Human Rights; and Human Rights III: Contemporary Issues in Human Rights). Additional courses provide an in-depth study of various human rights issues from a number of different theoretical perspectives.

Students interested in human rights are also encouraged to attend the Human Rights Workshop. The workshop provides a forum for the ongoing human rights research of faculty and graduate students in a variety of disciplines. Prominent human rights activists, theorists, artists, and faculty from other universities are among the guest speakers at workshops. Offered every quarter, workshop sessions are open to all faculty and students, as well as to the general public.

The Human Rights Internship Program offers University of Chicago students the opportunity to learn the skills and understand the challenges inherent in putting human rights into practice. The internship program is unique in its flexibility, awarding grants that afford all interns the freedom to explore their interests, whether thematic or regional in focus. The program places more than thirty students each summer with nongovernmental organizations, governmental agencies, and international human rights bodies around the world. The application deadline is in Autumn Quarter. More information is available on the program Web site.

Faculty

A. Boden, E. Chandler, J. Chandler, M. Carneiro da Cunha, A. Feldmann, N. Field,
M. E. Geyer, M. Green, S. Gzesh, J. Hoffman, E. Kouri, M. Makinen, M. Ngai, W. Novak,
M. Nussbaum, M. Postone, S. Sassen, R. Shweder, A. Stanley, T. Steck, G. Stone, I. Young

Courses: Human Rights (hmrt)

Lists of qualifying courses, which are prepared both annually and quarterly by the Human Rights Program, are available in P 123 and on the following Web site: humanrights.uchicago.edu.

Human Rights Core Sequence

20100/30100. Human Rights I: Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. (=HIST 29301/39301, INRE 31600, ISHU 28700/38700, LAWS 41200, MAPH 40000, PHIL 21700/31600) This course addresses the following questions. First, what is a right? How are legal rights different from moral rights? What does it mean to say that someone has a right? How distinctive are rights (are they simply equivalent to duties)? Second, what is the relationship between rights and duties? How should rights be compared with bringing about the best overall results? Is there an important difference between so-called civil and political rights, on the one hand, and social and economic rights, on the other? Third, what is the best way to respond to moral disagreement? Is moral relativism a coherent response to diversity? Is there a connection between moral relativism and tolerance? Do we need a foundation for human rights? M. Green. Autumn.

20200/30200. Human Rights II: History and Theory of Human Rights. (=HIST 29302/39302, INRE 39400, ISHU 28800/38800, LLSO 27100) This lecture course is concerned with the history and theory of the modern human rights regime. It sets out to answer some simple question: Why should anyone want or need human rights? Why did certain nations in the eighteenth century and the community of states in the twentieth century find it necessary to institute regimes of human rights? Along the way, we explore the similarities and differences between natural law, human rights, civil rights, and humanitarian law. In contrast to triumphalist accounts that speak of an "age of rights," we are concerned with the tenuous nature of human and, for that matter, civil rights regimes. We wonder what happens in times and in situations when there are no human rights to speak of or when rights are gerrymandered to fit prevailing political and cultural conditions. M. Geyer. Winter.

20300/30300. Human Rights III: Contemporary Issues in Human Rights. (=HIST 29303/39303, INRE 57900, ISHU 28900/38900, LAWS 57900, PATH 46500) This course examines the main features of the contemporary human rights system. It covers the major international treaties, and the mechanisms (international, regional, and national) established to implement them. We also discuss the uses and limitations of the international treaty system, as well as the relationship between international obligations and domestic implementation. Legal and medical concepts are applied to topics such as torture, political repression, war crimes and genocide, refugees, women's rights, children's rights, violations of human rights within the United States, and medical ethics. S. Gzesh, B. Dohrn. Spring.

20500/30500. Human Rights and International Relations. It is only in the twentieth century that a human rights regime central to the practice of international politics has emerged. Out of the devastating experience of World War II and the Holocaust, human rights has become a critical part of the contemporary world's international relations. Sometimes ignored by academics, it is nonetheless a tangible part of global politics and its reality must be confronted. This course is designed to provide an overview of issues central to the theory and practice of human rights in international relations. We debate such current issues as interventions; sanctions; war crimes; economic rights versus political rights; and if human rights should be part of foreign policy considerations or if, in fact, the concept of human rights is mere rhetorical nonsense. A. Feldmann. Autumn.

21200/31200. Armed Conflict and the Politics of Humanitarian Action. This course attempts to enhance the understanding of the conditions that have historically fueled internal violence and civil wars. Beyond merely analyzing the economic, social, and political conditions prompting armed conflict, we review some of the societal consequences this phenomenon brings about (in particular, massive population uprooting). At the same time, we examine the characteristics and complexities of humanitarian work aimed at alleviating the suffering of victims of armed conflict and situations of generalized violence. A. Feldmann. Winter.

21300/31300. Human Rights in Latin America. This course uses a historical perspective to critically examine the state of human rights in Latin American countries. By reviewing different rights (e.g., the right to life, physical integrity, discrimination) in several Latin American countries, the course endeavors to show the evolution of human rights in the region and, more broadly, illustrate how human rights have progressed and diversified over time. By looking into the general conditions prompting human rights violations in specific places, the course also seeks to help students familiarize themselves with the main social, economic, cultural, and political problems affecting Latin America. A. Feldmann. Spring.

23300. Human Rights, Cultural Rights, and Economic Rights: Views from the South. (=ANTH 21005) Using cases from the "developing world," particularly Southern Africa and the Amazon Basin, this course examines critical issues of individual and group claims to social, political, and economic rights. We bring into dialog the paradigm of universal human rights and anthropologically informed notions of culture, agency, and moral economy. J. Schoss. Summer.

25400. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Beyond (=EALC 27605, JAPN 27305) Knowledge of Japanese not required. This course considers the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through literature, film, photo essays, and nonfiction writing. We grapple with the shifting understanding of the bomb and continued nuclear testing both within and without Japan during the cold war and beyond. We also study what many consider the current and ongoing form of nuclear war in the deployment of depleted uranium. N. Field. Spring.

24701/34701. Human Rights: Alien and Citizen. (=LACS 25303/35303, LAWS 62401) The basic notion of international human rights is that rights are inherent in the identity of human beings, regardless of their citizenship, nationality, or immigration status. This course addresses how international human rights doctrines, conventions, and mechanisms can be used to understand the situation of the "alien" (or foreigner) who has left his or her country of origin to work, seek safe haven, or simply reside in another country. How native or resident populations and governments respond to new arrivals has varied tremendously in the past and present. In some situations, humanitarian impulses or political interests have dictated a warm welcome and full acceptance into the national community. In other cases, alien populations have become targets of suspicion and repression. In some extreme cases, states have "denationalized" resident populations who previously enjoyed national citizenship. S. Gzesh. Winter.

28600. U.S. Labor History. (=ECON 18600) A. Stanley. Spring. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.