Admission requirements
Required course(s):
Introduction to Socio-legal Studies
Law, Culture & Society or International & Regional Human Rights
Description
This course examines the evolving body of law, norms and institutions that make up the human rights architecture. It examines the core obstacles that policy-makers and practitioners face in promoting human rights compliance, including where other bodies of law - for example religious law, customary law or indigenous law - may operate in parallel with the existing legal framework. It also considers emerging threats, such as climate change, migration and security, and how these might impact state-level as well as international responses. A large proportion of the course is dedicated to understanding the practical dilemmas associated with human rights programming – especially in contexts marked by weak rule of law, insecurity, low legal literacy or widespread discrimination – and how these might be overcome. While the course is principally concerned with how human rights are realized in developing, fragile and conflict affected states, it also examines the role of geopolitical forces and political economy as both impediments to and opportunities for realizing human rights.
Course Objectives
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
Explain the evolution of human rights, and the interaction of processes in norm-setting, compliance and enforcement at the local, national and supranational levels;
Explain the roles played by human rights in different social contexts, notably in societies where customary and religious law are important;
Identify the roles played by political economy and geopolitical forces in advancing human rights in different settings;
Illustrate how access to justice tools and approaches can be used to promote human rights and overcome obstacles to realising human rights;
Assess strengths and weaknesses of strategies to promote social justice via the casting of social and political problems into human rights language;
Devise strategies for promoting particular human rights, including by drawing on different theories of diffusion or uptake.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
The course uses a variety of teaching methods, including lecturing, student presentations, class discussion, and debate. Teaching materials consists mainly of secondary literature.
Assessment Method
Three reaction posts: 15%
Participation: 15%
Group presentations 20%
Human rights analysis: 20%
Final essay: 30%
Reading list
The required and recommended reading will be listed in the course syllabus and will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Lisa Harms
Remarks
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