What Gives Us Rights? 6th Century course
6th Century Course
We have been given final approval to introduce a 6th Century course on "What Gives Us Rights?" to be taught from 2011-12. 6th Century courses are a key part of the University's Curriculum Reform and are open to all undergraduates from across the university. Here is the description of the course:
What Gives Us Rights?
"Rights" are one of the most powerful yet ambiguous concepts in today's world. So many local, national and global issues are framed in terms of rights: not just our right to vote and our human rights but our rights to health and food, clean air and water. But it is far from clear what - history, ethics, politics, etc. - underlies each of these claims, much less what if anything they have in common.
Students will be confronted by approaches to the question of rights from across the arts and social and physical sciences, and will learn to consider and compare the different approaches, reaching their own conclusions. The key questions are:
- How have "rights" come to be seen as such?
- What do people claim as "rights" and with what success?
The course is divided into three sections:
- history and theory of rights
- institutionalizing citizen and human rights in the contemporary world
- extension of rights to development, food, health and environment
The provisional course schedule is available HERE.
Trevor Stack
07 February 2011