You will be given a list of suggested essay topics, but you may choose to develop and formulate your own research question for your essay inconsultation with Elise and Rosie. You may use the further reading lists in this Course Outline as a starting point, but will also be expected to carry out independent research in the library. You may not normally research the same topic that you presented for your seminar paper unlessyou have undertaken the literature review and wish to extend your theoretical understanding to a particular case or human right.
Your essay should achieve an even balance between analytical and theoretical discussion on the one hand, and ‘primary material’ (by which Imean historical or empirical case study material) on the other. You will be expected to find references related to your topic in the library, read these materials, compare different perspectives, and come to your own conclusions in response to your set question. Once you have decided ona general topic, a useful starting point for initial reading is to go to the ‘further reading’ listed under each seminar topic. From there, build up a bibliography, and decide what region or country you will draw upon for your examples. You may need to do some background reading on theregion or country as well as consider relevant theoretical sources. Please start work on your essay early in semester so that you will have time toconsult with Elise and Rosie if necessary.
Make sure you include a personal reflection of 300 words at the end of the essay.
You will be marked on the following criteria:
- capacityfor engaging critically with the research question
- demonstrationof understanding of key themes
- thoroughresearch and referencing
- developmentof clear argument and contention
- Articulateexpression of i
- Quality of critical analysis and argument
- Style, grammar, flow and presentation
- A topic of your own choosing. We understand that as well as attending classes you also take charge of your own learning in each subject of your Masters degrees. Thus you are encouraged to pursue your thematic interest/s and/or your disciplinary expertise in line with the overall aims and coherent with the readings of the subject. If you do choose your own question, you MUST make an appointment to see Elise or Sylvia for approval.
- ‘Human rights are part of the cultural package of the West, complete with an idiom of expression, a system of government, and certain basic assumptions about the individual and his relationship to society.’ (Mutua). Do you agree with this statement, or are human rights a source of universal standards?
- ‘… does the adoption of a rights—based approach make us “do development” differently?’ (Celestine Nyamu—Musembi 2003: 13).
- When we consider the application of human rights in the ‘real world’ it is arguable they amount to little more than rhetoric. Discuss, drawing on at least one case study.
- Human rights have been extrapolated as universals when they are just a parochial Western cultural moment. Discuss.
- The liberal project of Human Rights is restrictive to Indigenous development and self-determination. Discuss drawing on case studies.
- To what extent does human rights discourse presuppose a particular kind of ‘developed’ human subject?
- Mutua claims that the enforcement of human rights is depicted as a war against evil, in which the actors are metaphorically depicted as savages, victims or saviours. To what extent do you agree with this view?
- How has global development impacted on the rights of the global poor and what hope remains for the achievement of a more socially just world predicated on the fulfillment of economic rights?
- Brown argues that human rights discourse is a gendered narrative, in which, she says, ‘we are interpellated as women when we exercise these rights.’ Discuss.
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child contains a tension between the vulnerability and agency of the child. Discuss.
- What extent does the human rights framework enable women’s rights to be fulfilled? What are some of the problems associated with giving voice to women’s
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rights?
- Human rights in the abstract fail to account for some of the material obstacles to their enforcement on the ground. Drawing on at least one case study and the international ‘machinery’ of human rights, consider how a more grounded approach might inform better practice.
- Environmental justice requires the whole concept of the human subject to be revised. Discuss in relation to case studies.
- The rights of man (sic) are little more than the rights of the citizen. Discuss in relation to the rights of refugees.
- Sexual diversity needs gender and sex to be deconstructed as categories of analysis. Discuss.
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides the most meaningful measure we have of a universal understanding of human rights. Discuss.
- Notwithstanding all the criticisms of UDHR and critiques of ‘rights’ as a paradigm for justice and equity, ‘human rights’ still provides a unique space for the strategic advocacy of important social and political issues. Discuss in relation to at least one field or issue.
- The pluralisation of rights categories, or the increasing attention to minority groups claims for special recognition in rights frameworks reveals the inadequacy of the universal claims of human rights.
- We want too much from human rights. They were introduced to protect humans from the excesses of states, but have become a normative frame for advancing social causes that are increasingly ignored in this neo-liberal globalised world.
