The Reign of Rights in Global PoliticsNew final year option

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What is the course about?human rights are becoming the worlds secular religion (Eli Wiesel). This course systematically interrogates the rise of human rights to such prominence. To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.2

What does the course look like?The course combines theory with an interest in empirical cases of rights in global politics. It aims to familiarize students with both, and whats more, to let students have a choice in what cases we examine.To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.3Part IPart I of the course examines the history and evolution of rights within the history of liberalism and introduces the prominent ways of defining and understanding human rights.

It, then, explores new theorisations of rights as practices of governing and forms of subjectification in global politics.

Moreover, the course discusses well-known critiques of the universality of human rights and their Western-centric conception of the human. To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.4Part IIPart II of the course analyses the challenges that rights present to state sovereignty.

It also examines the violent global politics associated with human rights, such as the emergence of human rights wars (Ulrich Beck).

Moreover, it interrogates the more recent, often racist, trade-off between rights and security within the ensemble of practices we call the war on terror. To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.5Part IIIPart III of the course investigates the use of rights in our practices of resistance, analyzing how rights incite rights-holders as appropriate political subjectivities (Foucault).

It discusses the expansion of human rights into emergent areas such as womens rights, indigenous rights, etc

It also explores the ways in which human rights talk becomes the hegemonic register in which to articulate and legitimate social/political action. To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.6Part IVPart IV concludes the course by discussing the practical ethico-political problems of the reign of rights and of our own acceptance of this language in global politics.

Do global interventionist practices render human rights the rights of those victims who have no (positive-constitutional) rights (Ranciere)?

Moreover, who can speak on behalf of subaltern others (Alcoff)?

And finally, is the language of rights appropriate for righting historical and current wrongs (Spivak)? To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.7

The course aims to encourage students to choose cases and examples that suit their interests in part III students will help choose the cases we focus on in the workshop.Students interestsTo view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.8Want to know what we will be studying week on week?

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Human Rights: the History of an Idea and the Contemporary Consensus on Human RightsWeek 1To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.10

Defining and Theorising Human RightsWeek 2To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.11

Human Rights Contentions: Universality and Relativism, Euro-Centrism and Imperialism Week 3To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.12

Human Rights, International Law and the Evolution of SovereigntyWeek 4To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.13

Human Rights Wars: Discipline and Punish Week 5 To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.14

Human Rights since 9/11: Demise or resurgence?Week 6 To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.15

Week 7 Governing and Resisting through Rights: Case Study of Indigenous Rights (Students choice)To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.16

Week 8 Governing and Resisting through Rights: Case Study of Womens Rights (Students choice)To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.17

Week 9 Governing and Resisting through Rights: Case Study of Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Rights (Students choice)To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.18

Week 10 Human Rights as the Rights of those who have no rights: States, rights-holders, victims and interveners To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.19

Week 11 Human Rights Warriors, Advocacy and the Problem of Speaking for OthersTo view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.20

Week 12 Righting Wrongs? If the subaltern could speak, should it speak the language of rights?To view this presentation, first, turn up your volume and second, launch the self-running slide show.21