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Human Rights in the World
Fall 2016
WGS 2500 / POLS 2500
(CRNs 23017 and 23149)
TTh 2:00-3:15, D02-106
Professor: Dr. Dynette Reynolds
Office Hours: before and after class, and by appointment
E-mail:
Human rights (HR) are a powerful idea in the modern world, but also the focus of controversy. This course will provide students with a broad foundation in human rights including the ability to analyze HR in domestic and international law, examine prevention and prosecution techniques, and debate current issues at home and abroad. Emphasis will be placed on women and gender studies (including LGBTQ issues), and vulnerable populations in the U.S. and worldwide.
Required Texts
· Goodhart, Michael. Human Rights: Politics and Practice, 2d edition. Oxford University Press, 2013.
· Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2012.
· Kristof, Nicholas D. and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Vintage Books, 2009.
Supplemental Materials
Additional reading materials are available on Canvas, as indicated on the syllabus schedule. Canvas also has a list of approved websites which may be used when completing assignments.
Course Objectives
Students completing a Social Sciences Gen Ed course shall demonstrate their understanding of:
· Interactions between individuals and society - Students will describe how individuals and groups influence and are influenced by social contexts, institutions, physical environments and/or global process.
· Application of concepts, theories, and methods - Students will apply basic social science concepts, theories, and/or methods to a particular issue and identify factors that influence change.
· Diverse perspectives - Students will identify an argument about a social phenomenon and understand alternative explanations.
Students completing this particular POLS or WGS course shall demonstrate the following:
· A knowledge of human rights within the subfields of international politics, U.S. politics, and law.
· Critical thinking skills and an ability to formulate and defend a thesis in a written or oral format.
· An understanding of the theoretical, philosophical, and legal positions within the realm of human rights.
· An ability to identify institutions and organizations that impact human rights and understand how they function.
· An understanding of how identity (race, gender, religion, sexuality, etc.) impacts human rights issues.
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Assignments and Grading
Papers (50%): Five papers with a length of 3-4 pages are due. Students may choose from eight possible topics throughout the semester; however, the final paper is required. Students with a WGS designation should focus primarily on women and gender issues in their papers, while students with a POLS designation need to emphasize the political aspects.
These papers must follow academic parameters. Quotes from the assigned readings should be included in the body of your paper, and they must be properly cited and sourced. A bibliography must be included. The format to be followed is MLA. Please see Canvas for full instructions.
Oral Presentations (10%): Students must do an in-class presentation (10-15 minutes) based on the readings. A signup list of topics will be available on the first day of class.
Quizzes (20%): Students must complete a series of Canvas quizzes based on the reading assignments. These quizzes are open-book and are taken outside of class. All quizzes are due before class.
Attendance (10%): Attendance is required for this course. In the event that a student must miss a class, he or she should notify me in advance. Notification of absences does not mean that absences are excused. In general, to receive an excused absence, I will need some form of documentation.
Extra Credit: Extra credit may be earned by attending approved (i.e. related) seminars and events outside of class, or by watching documentaries or reading memoirs related to the themes of this course. Extra credit must be approved in advance.
Grading: Grades are assigned according to the following scale.
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A = 93-100
B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72
D+ = 68-69
D = 65-67
D- = 61-64
E = 50
0 = no assmt
submitted
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Late Policy: Late assignments and papers will receive a reduction of 10 points per day.
Academic Honesty
As specified in PPM 6-22 IV D, cheating and plagiarism violate the Student Code. Plagiarism is “the unacknowledged (uncited) use of any other person’s or group’s ideas or work.” Students found guilty of cheating or plagiarism are subject to failure of a specific assignment, or, in more serious cases, failure of the entire course.
· Turn It In: WSU subscribes to TurnItIn.com, an electronic service that verifies the originality of student work. Enrollment in this course may require you to submit some or all of your assignments to it this semester, and documents submitted to TurnItIn.com are retained, anonymously, in their databases. Continued enrollment in this course constitutes an understanding of and agreement with this policy.
Tolerance Policy
A class on politics can lead to a diversity of opinions. I encourage diversity and active discussion; however, students who are hateful or disruptive in the class will be given a warning and a zero for participation. A second warning will result in being reported to the administration and a zero for your participation grade. Repeated warnings will result in an automatic failure for the course. Being disruptive includes, but is not limited to: racist, sexist, or other prejudicial or discriminatory languages, being disrespectful to the professor and/or other students, and creating an atmosphere in which other students cannot learn.
Accommodations
If you require accommodations or services due to a disability you must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Services Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including the syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary. For more information about the SSD, contact them at 801-626-6413, , or http://departments.weber.edu/ssd.
Core Beliefs
According to PPM 6-22 IV, students are to “[d]etermine, before the last day to drop courses without penalty, when course requirements conflict with a student's core beliefs. If there is such a conflict, the student should consider dropping the class. A student who finds this solution impracticable may request a resolution from the instructor. This policy does not oblige the instructor to grant the request, except in those cases when a denial would be arbitrary and capricious or illegal. This request must be made to the instructor in writing and the student must deliver a copy of the request to the office of the department head. The student's request must articulate the burden the requirement would place on the student's beliefs.”
Emergency Closure
If the University is forced to close for any reason during the semester, please check the course Canvas page and your Weber email for updates on how this course will proceed. The University announces closures and other emergencies through its Code Purple emergency alert system. Students are encouraged to sign up for Code Purple: http://www.weber.edu/codepurple/.
Important Student Services
As a student, you are eligible to receive free or reduced-cost medical care at the Student Health Center, Rm. 109, Student Services Building, phone: 626-6249. Their hours are M-F, 8am to 4pm. A student pharmacy is located in the same building. You are also eligible for free mental health counseling from the Weber State Counseling Center, phone: 626-6406. Another good resource for students is the local Planned Parenthood office, phone: 479-7721. Please be advised that emergency next-day contraception, also known as Plan B, is legally available without a prescription at Utah pharmacies to anyone over 18 with a photo ID. However, individual pharmacists are permitted to refuse you this medication if they so desire.
NEEDFUL THINGS
Approved Websites
● Aboriginal Law and Legislation: www.bloorstreet.com/300block/ablawleg.htm
● Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org
● Bosnia Link: http://www.dtic.dla.mil/bosnia/
● Docuweb - http://docuweb.gsu.edu/
● European Commission on Human Rights: www.dhcommhr.coe.fr
● European Court for Human Rights: www.dhcour.coe.fr/default.hcm
● Human Rights Dialogue - http:www.cceia.org/lib_hri.html
● Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org
● Human Rights Working Papers - www.du.edu/humanrights/workingpapers
● Int'l Court of Justice: www.law.cornell.edu/icj or: www.icj-cij.org
● Int'l Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia: www.un.org/icty
● Int'l Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: http://persubveb.francenet.fr/~intermed/
● Int'l Indian Treaty Council: www.aloha.net/nation/iitc/
● Int'l Law and Policy Institute: www.vcilip.org/vcilp/vip
● International Organization: http://WEB.bu.edu/anajam/ir595.html
● National Coalition on Haitian Rights: www.nchr.org
● Rwanda and Bosnia list:
● US Campaign to Ban Land Mines (c/o Vietnam Vets): www.vvaf.org
● UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: (includes the 25 Human Rights Fact Sheets)
● UN Library Home Page: www.un.org/Depts/dhl/unique
● UN Office in Geneva: www.unog.ch
● UN Resolutions from the Current (52nd) Session can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/res52.htm
● UN Security Council agenda matters, actions, statements, etc: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/scact.htm
● UN Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities 1996 Resolution on Protection of Indigenous Peoples: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu4/subres/9637.htm. Also under; UN Doc: E/CN.4/Sub.2/RES/1996/37; Subcommission Summer 1997 Working Group on Indigenous Populations: UN Doc E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/1997
● UN Women - http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
● US State Department - www.state.gov/www/global/swci/index.html and www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/index.html
● War Criminal Watch: www.wcw.org/wcw/
● Yale UN Work Station: www.library.yale.edu/un/unhome.htm
● Univ. of Minnesota Human Rights Library: www.umn.edu/humanrts/usdocs/1994.html
Human Rights in the World
Fall 2016
WGS 2500 / POLS 2500
(CRNs 23017 and 23149)
TTh 2:00-3:15, D02-106
Week / Theme / Readings(to be completed before class starts) / Assignments
(to be completed before class starts)
1
Aug 30 & Sept 1 / Course Intro / ***Sign up to lead a presentation
***Buy course textbook(s)
Intersectionality and Micro-Aggressions / The New Jim Crow, Intro (pp. 1-19)
2
Sept 6 & 8 / Structural Injustice / TNJC, ch. 1 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation(s)
TNJC, ch. 2 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
3
Sept 13 & 15 / TNJC, ch. 3 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
TNJC, ch. 4 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
4
Sept 20 & 22 / TNJC, ch. 5 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
TNJC, ch. 6 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
5
Sept 27 & 29 / Human Rights as a Global Discourse / Goodhart, Intro & ch. 1 / Paper #1 – “Structural Injustice, Intersectionality, and Micro-Aggressions” (see Canvas for instructions)
Goodhart, ch. 2 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
6
Oct 4 & 6 / Goodhart, ch. 3 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Human Rights in Int’l Law / Goodhart, ch. 4 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
7
Oct 11 & 13 / Goodhart, ch. 16 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Vulnerable Populations
– Women
/ “Gender Crimes in Int’l Law” (Canvas)
Kristof, chs. 3, 4 & 5 / Paper #2 – “Framework and Policies of Human Rights” (see Canvas)
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Oct 18 & 20 / Kristof, chs. 6, 7 & 8 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
– Children / Goodhart, ch. 17
“Convention on the Rights of the Child” (Canvas) / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
9
Oct 25 & 27 / – LGBTQ / Goodhart, ch. 11
“Human Rights and Sexual Orientation in Int’l Law” (Canvas)
“Born Free and Equal” (Canvas) / Paper #3 – “Women and/or Children” (see Canvas)
Human Trafficking / Goodhart, ch. 15 / Paper #4 – LGBTQ (see Canvas)
10
Nov 1 & 3 / Kristof, chs. 1 & 2 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Internal/ External Migration / Goodhart, ch. 18 / Paper #5 – “Human Trafficking” (see Canvas)
11
Nov 8 & 10 / Goodhart, ch. 19 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Economic &
Development Issues / Goodhart, ch. 12 / Pap Paper #6 – “Impacted Groups – Migration, etc.” (see Canvas)
12
Nov 15 & 17 / Goodhart, ch. 13 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Kristof, chs. 11 & 12 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
13
Nov 22 & 24 / No class (Thanksgiving Break)
14
Nov 29 & Dec 1 / Humanitarian Intervention & Justice / Goodhart, ch. 17 / Paper #7 – “Economic & Class Issues” (see Canvas)
Goodhart, ch. 19 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
15
Dec 6 & 8 / Kristof, chs. 12 & 14 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Goodhart, ch. 20 / · Canvas quiz
· Oral Presentation
Final Exams – Dec. 12-15 / Required - Paper #8 – “Intervention & Justice” (see Canvas)