HU300-6-FY-CO:
Selected Issues in Human Rights

The details
2024/25
Human Rights Centre (Essex Law School)
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 27 June 2025
30
01 July 2024

 

Requisites for this module
HU200
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

BA V1L2 History with Human Rights,
BA V1L8 History with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA V1LF History with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA V1LG History with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA T7M8 Latin American studies with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA T7M9 Latin American Studies with Human Rights,
BA V5M8 Philosophy with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA V5M9 Philosophy with Human Rights,
BA V5MX Philosophy with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA V6M9 Philosophy with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA VLM8 Philosophy with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA L219 Politics with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L2M8 Politics with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA L2M9 Politics with Human Rights,
BA LFM9 Politics with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA L3J9 Sociology with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L3M9 Sociology with Human Rights,
BA LMJ9 Sociology with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MM20 Law with Human Rights,
LLB MM20WS Law with Human Rights,
LLB MM21 Law with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MM22 Law with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
LLB MM30 Law with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA P570 Journalism with Human Rights,
BA P571 Journalism with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA P572 Journalism with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA LL37 Social Anthropology with Human Rights,
BA LL38 Social Anthropology with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL39 Social Anthropology with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L914 Global Studies with Human Rights,
BA L916 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA L917 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L918 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA V301 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights,
BA V302 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA V303 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA V304 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights (Including Year Abroad)

Module description

This course seeks to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the relevance and role of human rights to a number of contemporary issues.

Topics are examined, such as exploring the meaning of rights for those most vulnerable and marginalised in society: women's rights, minority rights, socio-economic rights and poverty, the rights of persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples' rights.

Module aims

(a) To build and consolidate knowledge and skills gained in HU100 and HU200.
(b) To examine the relevance and role of human rights to a number of contemporary issues.
(c) To examine selected substantive human rights in national, regional and global contexts.
(d) To introduce students to comparative human rights analysis.

Module learning outcomes

At the end of this module, students will demonstrate the ability to critically analyse select contemporary human rights issues from a range of different perspectives.

Students will evaluate key normative concepts and ideas, such as equality, human dignity and non-discrimination, and comprehend both the historical bases and the philosophical arguments underpinning the modern rights infrastructure.

Students will understand the various human rights frameworks (international, regional, domestic) and recognise how these interact with regards to specific human rights issues and cases.

Students, working both independently and collaboratively, will be able to synthesise and present human rights arguments in a coherent manner, communicating through their written outputs, in-class contributions, and oral presentations.

Module information

The module is co-taught by experts from the Sociology and Philosophy department, as well as the Law School and Human Rights Centre.

Autumn Term
1. Introduction to the Module and Key Concepts [C. Ferstman]
2. Human Rights and Poverty [C. Ferstman]
3. Human Rights and Racism [C. Ferstman]
4. Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism [C. Ferstman]
5. Human Rights and Women [S. Maranlou]
6. Human Rights and Religion [S. Maranlou]
7. Freedom of Association [S. Maranlou]
8. The Right of Access to Justice [S. Maranlou]
9. Human Rights and Conflict [E. Pobjie]
10. Covid-19 and Human Rights [E. Pobjie]

Spring Term
11. Sociological approaches to analysing torture [L. Morris]
12. Civil and political rights and the human condition [L. Morris]
13. The culture of rights and rights to culture [L. Morris]
14. Social rights and contesting 'austerity' [L. Morris]
15. Moral economy and migration [L. Morris]
16. Dignity in human rights documents, are humans unique? [T. Jütten]
17. Dignity and Autonomy [T. Jütten]
18. Dignity and Rank [T. Jütten]
19. Dignity and Speech [T. Jütten]
20. Dignity at Work [T. Jütten]

Learning and teaching methods

There will be twenty weekly lecture sessions split between the two terms. Each session will be two hours long and will incorporate a variety of learning and teaching styles. Students are expected to carry out the readings in advance of each lecture and to actively participate in all the sessions. There will be opportunities for student engagement throughout.

Bibliography

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   Essay (HU300 Selected Issues in Human Rights)    50% 
Coursework   Report I (HU300 Selected Issues in Human Rights)    25% 
Coursework   Report 2 (HU300 Selected Issues in Human Rights)    25% 

Additional coursework information

There are three essay submissions, depending on when teaching is scheduled. 1. Report I (20%) on the section taught by members of staff from the Philosophy department 2. Report II (20%) on the section taught by members of staff from the Sociology department 3. Essay (40%) on the section taught by members of staff from the School of Law and Human Rights Centre

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Aoife Duffy, email: aoife.duffy@essex.ac.uk.
Law UG Education Administrators - lawschoolug@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
Yes
No
Yes

External examiner

Dr Panagiotis Kapotas
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 14 hours, 14 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Human Rights Centre (Essex Law School)

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