POLI 399 Outline 2010/11 Winter

COURSE NUMBER:

POLI 399

COURSE TITLE:

Special Topics in Political Science- 2010/11 Winter - Human Rights: Dignity and Difference

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Michael DeMoor

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the political science faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.

Prerequisites: POLI 205; some topics may have more specific prerequisites.

2010/11 Winter

This course seeks to explore the origins, nature and limitations of the human rights paradigm in politics and law, focusing in particular on the ways in which it intersects with another important theme in contemporary law and politics, viz. the accommodation, recognition and even promotion of cultural, religious and associational diversity. We will consider the historical development of the human rights paradigm, philosophical (and theological) discussions about its meaning and validity, and engage in concrete examination of the ways in which it shapes legal and political practice particularly in Canada and internationally. The central question we will seek to address is to what extent should Christians engaged in public life affirm – and to what extent should they resist – the ideas, culture and institutional expressions of the human rights paradigm.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Lynn Hunt: Inventing Human Rights: A History. New York: Norton, 2007
Michael J. Perry: Toward a Theory of Human Rights: Religion, Law and the Courts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
A reader.
Available on the Internet:

Charles Taylor: “Conditions of an Unforced Consensus on Human Rights” http://usm.maine.edu/~bcj/issues/three/taylor.html

Lief Wenar: “Rights” http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights/

Heinz vs. Christian Horizons: http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onhrt/doc/2008/2008hrto22/2008hrto22.html

Iain T. Benson: Christian Horizons, Secularist Sunsets and the Nature of the "Public" http://culturalrenewal.29.ncol.ca/qry/page.taf?id=37&_function=detail&sbtblct_uid1=199

Susan Waltz, “Prosecuting Dictators: International Law and the Pinochet Case” http://www.jstor.org/stable/40209737

Henry Kissinger, “The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction” http://www.jstor.org/stable/20050228

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Course Participation	10%
Paper 1	30%
Paper 2	30%
Presentation	10%
Final Exam	20%
	100%

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Developing a historical understanding of the origin and assumptions of human rights theories and institutions.
Understanding the promise, problems and limits of the practical deployment of the idea of human rights in Canadian and International law and politics
Beginning to formulate a critical Christian perspective on the theory and practice of human rights.

COURSE OUTLINE:

Jan-04    Intro Syllabus
Jan-06    Complexities of Human Rights
Jan-11    History -- Hunt
Jan-13    History -- Hunt
Jan-18    History -- Hunt
Jan-20    Interdisciplinary Studies Conference - No class
Jan-25    History -- Tierney
Jan-27    History -- Witte
Feb-01    Justifying Human Rights -- Perry
Feb-03    Justifying Human Rights -- Perry
Feb-08    Marshall and Boyle
Feb-10    Charles Taylor
Feb-15    Philosophical/Legal Distinctions
Feb-17    Flex Day
Feb-22    READING WEEK
Feb-24    READING WEEK
Mar-01    Rights, Morality, Law -- Perry ch. 4
Mar-03    Rights talk and Political Culture
Mar-08    Rights, Democracy and the Courts -- Perry ch. 8, 9
Mar-10    Rights, Democracy and the Courts -- Perry ch. 8,9
Mar-15    Canada -- Charter, Human Rights Commissions
Mar-17    Heinz vs. Christian Horizons
Mar-22    International Human Rights Law
Mar-24    Pinochet, Immunity, Universal Jurisdiction
Mar-29    Cases in International Human Rights Law

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.