| Course Unit Title | Course Unit Code | Type of Course Unit | Level of Course Unit | Year of Study | Semester | ECTS Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| İdea of Human Rights | SBK430 | Elective | Bachelor's degree | 4 | Spring | 4 |
Name of Lecturer(s)
Associate Prof. Dr. Marco BOSCHELE
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
1) It realizes what “human rights” mean in relation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
2) It identifies the historical context from which “human rights” developed;
3) It outlines the basic philosophical theories behind the idea of “human rights
4) It critically evaluates the universal and Western centred character of human rights;
Program Competencies-Learning Outcomes Relation
| Program Competencies | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | High | High | Low | No relation | Low | Low | High | Low | High | Middle | Low | Low | |
| 2 | High | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | High | High | Low | No relation | Low | Low | High | Low | High | Middle | Low | Low | |
| 3 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | High | High | Low | No relation | Low | Low | High | Low | High | Middle | Low | Low | |
| 4 | Middle | High | No relation | No relation | Low | Low | Low | High | Low | No relation | Low | Low | High | Low | High | Middle | Low | Low | |
Mode of Delivery
Face to Face
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites
None
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Not Required
Course Contents
The course will start with an overview of such significant philosophical-theoretical frameworks as the modern theories of natural rights and Kantian moral philosophy that have been deployed in grounding the idea of human rights from 18th century to our age. Then, we will examine the novel perspectives on human rights that have arisen with the second half of 20th century. In this context, the course will discuss the categorization of human rights into three as first-wave rights (personal liberties), second-wave rights (socio-economic rights) and third-wave rights (environmental rights, group-rights, etc). In a third phase of the course, we will discuss the different objectives to the idea of human rights, i.e. the conservative, postmodern, fundamentalist, realist and radical-left-wing objections, and consider whether or not the idea of human rights can be defended in the face of such objections.
Weekly Schedule
1) Introduction: What are human rights?2) Human rights and universalism I
3) Human rights and universalism II
4) Human Rights and International Politics
5) Natural Rights John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
6) Natural Rights Jacques Maritain
7) Questioning Natural Rights – Religion
8) Midterm Examination
9) Questioning Natural Rights – Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill
10) Immanuel Kant and dignity
11) Anti – foundationalism
12) Challenging human rights:T.M. Scanlon
13) American exceptionalism
14) Human Rights and Concerns about Relativism
15) Human Rights and Concerns about Relativism
16) Final Examination
Recommended or Required Reading
- Risse, Mathias (2009) Securing Human Rights Intellectually: Philosophical Inquiries about
the Universal Declaration
- Smith, Rhona K.M. (2013) Texts and Materials on International Human Rights
- Heywood, Andrew (2011), Global Politics, Palgrave McMillan.
- Lauren, Paul Gordon (1998), The Evolution of International Human Rights: Visions Seen. Philadelphia, Pa. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
1) Lecture
2) Question-Answer
3) Discussion
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Contribution of Midterm Examination to Course Grade |
40% |
|---|---|
Contribution of Final Examination to Course Grade |
60% |
Total |
100% |
Language of Instruction
English
Work Placement(s)
Not Required