Studying at York
International Human Rights Law 1: Theory, movement and institutions - LAW00016C
- Department: The York Law School
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: C
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
The struggle for human rights has a long, contested and often contradictory history. Grassroots, social movements are intertwined with the development of supranational institutions; the growth of the state occurs alongside the expansion of civil society; peaceful advocacy contrasts with more militant tactics of direct action and revolution; litigation in the court room combines with political and social advocacy outside of it. Drawing upon a range of historical and contemporary case studies this module provides an introduction to the theories, norms, institutions, and processes that populate current debates over human rights. Students will become familiar with the key theories (and assumptions) that underpin the contemporary discussion of human rights and important milestones in the development of the human rights movement, including the norms, institutions and processes of the international human rights regime.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
The module introduces you to the contemporary struggle for human rights. Drawing upon lessons from the long history of the human rights movement, the module will expose you to the challenges that faced (and were overcome) by earlier human rights defenders. It will develop your understanding of the origins and principles of the human rights movement and some of its most famous (and formative) moments. The module will link these struggles to the development of the institutions and process that constitute the contemporary international human rights regime, including the human rights institutions and procedures of the United Nations system. The module will provide an opportunity to develop your understanding of a historic human rights struggle by requiring you to research and assess a human rights case study.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module you will have achieved the following module learning outcomes (MLOs):
- MLO1: You will be able to describe and explain a series of historic and contemporary case studies in the struggle for human rights, including the relevant theories, actors, tactics, legal norms, and actors engaged in the case studies. [Understanding the human rights project]
- MLO2: You will be able to conduct legal and social science research on aspects of the struggle for human rights, including by identifying and describing the relevant actors, tactics, and laws engaged in aspects of the struggle. [Building human rights research skills]
- MLO3: You will be able to present, evaluate and interpret information about human rights challenges, and construct arguments and make judgements about possible tactics and outcomes of the struggle in relation these challenges supported by the evidence [Developing human rights advocacy skills]
- MLO4: You will be able to communicate and defend your ideas both orally in the classroom and in writing [Communicating confidently and effectively] .
Module content
The module will introduce students to the struggle for human rights, by exploring key aspects of its developments and moments in the struggle. Through a combination of lectures (focusing on key themes) and workshops (allowing us to explore key struggles), we will examine the theories, tactics and debates that confront those seeking to use human rights to seek social justice. Key themes that will be examined in the lectures include the historical imagination (and myth-making) of the movement, the methods and tactics of human rights activism, the sources of human rights law (norms), the national and international institutions of the contemporary human rights regime (with a focus on the United Nations), and the role of and challenges facing civil society, human rights defenders and lawyers in the human rights project. Case studies that will be explored in the workshops include struggles against slavery, for the emancipation of women, for the protection of refugees, for self-determination of indigenous peoples, and for the recognition and protection of human rights defenders. These topics are indicative and actual topics of lectures and case studies may vary from year to year.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
The assessment will be to write a short analysis of a struggle for human rights (human rights case study) drawn from either historic or contemporary examples. A series of prominent (milestone) struggles in the human rights project will be discussed during the module's workshops, providing a framework for students to identify and analyse their chosen case. Students will receive immediate oral feedback to their ideas and arguments from their peers and their tutor during the workshops; lectures will provide students with broader theories and developments in the human rights project.
As a formative assessment, students will submit a short outline of their human rights case study and will receive written feedback on this. Collective discussion about the assessment (and feedback) will occur during the later workshops. Students will receive written feedback on their summative submission in line with departmental policies (ie. written feedback addressing how students performed on the assessment based upon the assessment matrix for the programme and identifying areas of success and making suggestions for improvement).
Indicative reading
Clapham, Andrew Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edition) Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015.
Teele, Dawn Langan. Forging the Franchise: The Political Origins of the Women's Vote, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018.
Bak Mckenna, Miriam. Reckoning with Empire: Self-Determination in International Law. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff, 28 Nov. 2022.
Iriye, Akira, Goedde, Petra, and Hitchock, William The Human Rights Revolution: An International History Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012