FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Department of Sociology

SOCIAL MEDIA

GEET 311 | Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Name
Politics of Human Rights
Code
Semester
Theory
(hour/week)
Application/Lab
(hour/week)
Local Credits
ECTS
GEET 311
Fall/Spring
3
0
3
4

Prerequisites
None
Course Language
English
Course Type
Service Course
Course Level
First Cycle
Mode of Delivery -
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course Discussion
Lecture / Presentation
Course Coordinator -
Course Lecturer(s)
Assistant(s)
Course Objectives This course is designed to introduce students with the development of human rights as a global phenomenon, an international legal regime transgressing state borders. Our aim is to explore certain questions pertaining to human rights: What is it that we call “human rights”? In what historical periods can we locate progress and expansion in human rights? What do human rights stand for/against? What does it mean to have human rights with a claim to universality? By giving priority to primary texts and documents on human rights, we will try to understand this historical, legal, and political concept both in theory and practice.
Learning Outcomes The students who succeeded in this course;
  • to be able to explain political history of human rights
  • to be able to evaluate changes in human rights during the globalization process
  • to be able to explain use of child labor within the context of human rights violations
  • to be able to analyze climate change within the context of human rights violations
  • to be able to explain economic, social and political aspects of human rights in Turkey
Course Description Our course will proceed on the basis of three parts. In the first part, we will have a general introduction to the course, and will read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 adopted by the United Nations. In this part, we will also spend time on a broad yet somewhat nuanced enough trajectory of human rights. In so doing, we will try to diagnose and shed light upon certain keystones, radical shifts, and arguably progressive moments in historical development of conceptual, political and legal articulations of human rights. In the second part, we will focus on the early 20th century developments on human rights; such as the two world wars, the Nuremberg Trials, and the international recognition of “crimes against humanity” and genocide. We will spare our last few weeks on the decolonization period onwards. In this part we will discuss issues such as right to self-determination, child labor, migrant workers, and rights of persons with disabilities.

 



Course Category

Core Courses
Major Area Courses
Supportive Courses
Media and Management Skills Courses
Transferable Skill Courses

 

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week Subjects Related Preparation
1 Introduction to the course: Presentation and an overview of the course, course organization, requirements and methods of evaluation
2 Defining the Concept of Human Rights Carey, et. Al. (Cambridge University Press, 2010): “The Politics of Human Rights”, pp.7-39
3 Historical Development and Philosophical Justifications of Human Rights Andrew Clapham (Oxford University Press, 2007): “Human Rights – a Very Short Introduction”, pp.23-56
4 Human Rights and Political Theory Hannah Arendt – The Perplexities of the Rights of Men in Origins of Totalitarianism
5 Genocide and Crimes against Humanity UN Charter, Nuremberg Trials, Convention on Genocide (1948) Andrew Clapham, “Persecution of International Crimes,” in Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, (NY: Oxford University Press), pp. 33-42.
6 Rights of refugees, migrants, prisoners of war and prevention of torture UN Convention Relating to Status of Refugees (1951) Sabine C. Carey et al. “The Politics of Human Rights”, pp. 73-86.
7 Midterm I
8 Human Rights and Political Theory Jaques Ranciere – “Who is the Subject of Rights of Men?”
9 Human Rights and Political Theory Martha Nussbaum – “Capabilities and Human Rights
10 Cultural Rights as Human Rights Henriette Dahan Kalev, 2004, “Cultural Rights or Human Rights: The Case of Female Genital Mutilation” Sex Roles, Vol. 51, No. 5/6.
11 Human rights in Turkey Zehra Kabasakal Arat, “Collisions and Crossroads: Introducing Human Rights in Turkey”.
12 Midterm - II
13 Human Rights and Political Theory Bruce Ackerman – “We the People” Introduction
14 Human Rights and Political Theory Claude Lefort – The Political Forms of Modern Society, Chapter 7: Politics and Human Rights
15 Review of the Semester
16 Final Exam

 

Course Notes/Textbooks
Suggested Readings/Materials

 

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities Number Weigthing
Participation
1
20
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
2
50
Final Exam
1
30
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
3
60
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
1
40
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities Number Duration (Hours) Workload
Theoretical Course Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
3
48
Laboratory / Application Hours
(Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)
16
0
Study Hours Out of Class
0
Field Work
0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
0
Portfolio
0
Homework / Assignments
0
Presentation / Jury
0
Project
0
Seminar / Workshop
0
Oral Exam
0
Midterms
2
20
40
Final Exam
1
30
30
    Total
118

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#
Program Competencies/Outcomes
* Contribution Level
1
2
3
4
5
1

To have the knowledge of classical and contemporary theories in sociology, and be able to comparatively analyze these theories.

2

To have the knowledge of main methodological approaches in sociology as well as social research and data analysis methods.

3

To have knowledge in the fields of general sociology, sociology of institutions, social structure and change, and applied sociology.

4

To be able to determine the appropriate methods in the design of the planning stage and conclusion of a sociological project, individually or as part of a team.

5

To be able to diagnose the social dynamics behind personal problems by using sociological imagination.

6

To be able to define social problems at local, national, and global level, and offer new policies for solutions.

7

To be able to apply commonly-used computer programs for data collection and analysis in sociological research.

8

To be able to develop a socially responsible, scientific and ethical perspective regarding the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.

9

To be able to analyze different aspects of the social world by drawing on the knowledge produced by other disciplines of the social sciences.

10

To be able to constantly renew herself/himself professionally by following scientific and technological developments in sociology and social research.

11

To be able to collect sociological data and communicate with sociologists and other social scientists in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1).

12

To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently.

13

To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise.

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest

 


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