Human Rights and Rights-Related Courses In Fall 2006

Please write to rights@duke.edu if you want to include future classes in this listing.

• CULANTH 180S

  Democracy, Development and Human Rights: Anthropological Perspectives
  Monday & Wednesday, 1:15-2:30 pm
  Instructor: Jason Cross

  This seminar examines the central ideas and practices of "democracy," "development," and "human rights" from anthropological perspectives. For each theme, we will read and discuss anthropological studies of what gets done among those who think about and work for democracy, development and human rights. Also, we will look at roles that anthropologists play in advancing the principles and activities of these fields. In addition, we will consider the discourses of these fields 'as anthropologies' -- as theories and methods for understanding "the human," quite often privileging certain realities and marginalizing or erasing others.

  

• PUBPOL 320

  Globalization and Governance
  Monday & Wednesday, 2:50-4:05 pm
  Professor Fritz Mayer

  This seminar explores the economic, political, and social aspects of globalization and their implications for public policy making in the twenty-first century. The focus is on issues of governance, particularly international cooperation, the design of international organizations, and the role of international NGOs. Policy areas include international trade and finance, environment, security, human rights, media and communications, and international development. There will be a two to three week unit on human rights.

  

• HISTORY 195S-03

  The View from the South: Latin America and the 'Colossus of the North'
  Monday-Wednesday 4:25-5:40 pm
  Professor Jocelyn Olcott

  From the 1823 Monroe Doctrine to the 2004 Central American Free Trade Agreement, the United States has cast a long shadow in Latin America, shaping the course of the region's history through factors ranging from diplomacy to popular culture, and from covert operations to military interventions. In this seminar, we will examine the "Colossus to the North" from the perspective of Latin American countries and peoples. Using sources including State Department records and rock and roll lyrics, we will explore the peculiar role of the U.S. in Latin America and consider its implications for U.S. foreign policy in other parts of the world. Students will focus on developing a research project, deploying different research methods to explore topics ranging from popular culture and consumption to political violence and foreign policy. This research project would require students to examine sources that offer a view of the United States from within Latin America and the Caribbean, such as Afro-Cuban intellectuals' perceptions of the Harlem Renaissance or Latin American trade unionists views of the AFL-CIO.

  

 

• POLSCI 186

  Civilians in the Path of War
  Monday-Wednesday 1:15-2:30 pm
  Professor Alexander Downes

  This class explores the major social science theories and ethical frameworks for understanding mass violence against civilians; prominent cases of such violence will be examined. Normative and legal restraints on killing of civilians; societal cleavages, goals of political leaders, guerilla warfare, effect of organizational or bureaucratic cultures, and regime type.

  

• POLSCI 120

  International Conflict and Violence
  Monday-Wednesday 11:40-12:55 pm
  Professor Albert Eldridge

  The class will examine the various causes, processes and impacts of violent international and domestic social conflicts in international affairs. The emphasis will be on analyzing various factors that contribute to violence, including the impact of scientific and technological developments on war and the ethical arguments and beliefs associated with war making in different cultures. Analysis of those factors in various cultures that hinder or contribute to peace making and peace keeping following the termination of war.

  

• POLSCI 167

  International Law and International Institutions
  Tuesday-Thursday 6:00-7:15 pm
  Professor Imke Risopp-Nickelson

  The class focuses on the relationship between international politics and international law; how international institutions operate and affect social practices, and how legalization of institutions changes the manner of interpretation of legal texts. The nature of legal and political discourse over issues subject to international law such as human rights; issues of compliance with rules, the connections between international relations and domestic law, and the overall effects of international law and institutions on world politics; cross-national differences in attitudes toward issues such as environmental regulation, trade liberalization, and military intervention on behalf of human rights.