Human Rights in a Global Perspective
Political Science 380
Fall 2012
Instructor: Professor M. Baer
Office: AH 4120
Office Hours: W,F 9-10 and by appt.
Email: mbaer@mail.sdsu.edu
Class Day: Tues/Thurs
Time: 9:30-10:45
Location: AH 4131
I. Course Description
This course explores the history and evolution of human rights, the main patterns of
human rights abuse in the world, and the international legal mechanisms for
protecting human rights. We will study some of the most egregious violations of
human dignity in the 20th century, such as genocide and torture, as well as the tools
to prevent and punish such atrocities. The course will introduce students to the
main political and moral debates over human rights, including critiques of human
rights as hopeless idealism, a smokescreen for material interests, or a form of
Western moral imperialism. We will consider the US role in both promoting and
violating human rights during the Cold War years and in the War on Terror.
The course teaches and requires critical thinking skills, effective written arguments,
and active class participation.
II. Student Learning Objectives
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Understand the main patterns of human rights abuse and the methods
available to protect human rights
Understand and evaluate critical perspectives on human rights
Explore the changes in human rights discourse over time, the limitations of
human rights enforcement strategies, and the shifting boundaries of human
rights in recent years
Think critically about the material and form your own judgments based on
how persuasive you find arguments made in readings and lecture
Express your ideas clearly in writing and in class discussions
III. Readings
The following three texts are required and may be purchased at the campus
bookstore:
Jack Donnelly, International Human Rights - Third Edition. 2007. Westview.
Shareen Hertel. Unexpected Power: Conflict and Change Among Transnational
Activists. (2006). Cornell University Press.
Rachel Meeropol, Ed. America's Disappeared: Secret Imprisonment, Detainees, and the
"War on Terror." (2005). Seven Stories Press.
Additional required readings include articles and books chapters, all of which will
be available in PDF format on Blackboard. Where a PDF is not available there will be
a link to the website where students can access the reading. I advise students to
print hard copies of these readings and bring them to class on the assigned days.
Students should familiarize themselves with human rights websites including:
Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org/), Human Rights Watch
(http://www.hrw.org/), Center for Social and Economic Rights
(http://www.cesr.org/), and the various human rights bodies within the United
Nations (http://www.un.org/en/rights/).
IV. Grades and Assignments
Your semester grade will be determined as follows:
Quizzes
Midterm
Final
Short paper and debate
Paper (5-7 pages)
20%
25%
35%
5%
15%
Reading Questions
I will post reading questions on Blackboard for some of the assigned readings –
these questions are meant to help students focus on the main points of the reading.
Pop quiz questions and exam questions will be similar to the reading questions.
Pop Quizzes
There will be six unannounced quizzes on the readings throughout the semester.
Quizzes will take place at the beginning of class. I will drop your lowest quiz score.
There are no make-up quizzes, including for students who arrive late to class and
miss the quiz. If you miss class or arrive late on the day of a pop quiz, you will
receive a zero (unless you have a documented and acceptable excuse – see below on
the policy for make-up exams).
Assignments
Students will write one essay (5-7 pages double-spaced) on Shareen Hertel’s book,
Unexpected Power, due November 13. The assignment will ask you to analyze
Hertel’s argument and findings in the context of the main themes of this course. I
will provide a detailed prompt well in advance of the due date.
A 1-2 page “think piece” on the use of torture in interrogations will be due on
December 4. A detailed prompt for the paper will be provided in class. We will also
have an in-class debate on the topic of torture on December 4 in which all students
are required to participate.
Attendance and Participation
Students are required to attend class and actively participate in discussions. While I
do not take attendance, there will be periodic pop quizzes that are worth 20% of
your grade. You are unlikely to do well in this course if you do not attend class
consistently. In terms of participation, students are expected to come to class having
completed all the required readings and ready to discuss and ask questions about
them. We will have several in-class discussions/debates over the material.
Consistent in-class participation can potentially bump your final semester grade by
a point or two.
PowerPoint presentations used in class will be posted to Blackboard following the
class – however these are merely outlines of the lectures, they are not a substitute
for attendance in class!
If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get lecture notes from a classmate.
V. Course Policies
Communication: Check your registered campus email regularly as well as
announcements made to the Blackboard site for the course. You are responsible for
the material I send you electronically. I will respond to your email inquiries within
24 hours.
In Class Rules:
No computers. Laptops and tablets are not allowed in class. Please see me if you have
a legitimate medical need for a classroom computer.
No cell phones: Cell phones must be turned off and not used during class.
Proper classroom behavior: Students are expected to be respectful of other students
and other opinions expressed in class. Please do not distract those around you (and
the professor!) with side conversations during class.
Grade appeals: If you want to appeal an assigned grade, you must schedule an
appointment to meet with me to discuss the grade dispute in person. Students must
bring the original graded assignment and a brief typed summary of the reasons why
they are requesting a second evaluation to the appointment. Note that appealing a
grade does not guarantee a change in the original grade, and gives me license to
adjust the questioned grade upward, downward or not at all.
Extra credit: There is no extra credit for this course.
Learning Accommodations. Please notify me immediately if you have a disability
so that I can make the appropriate accommodations. Please see the University’s
policies on students with disabilities, available at the following website:
http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/sds/.
Academic dishonesty. Plagiarism or cheating will result in failure and will be
reported to the University. Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism on written
assignments and cheating on in-class exams or quizzes by bringing unauthorized
materials to class. Plagiarism is the deliberate use of ideas, words, or statements of
another person without appropriately citing the author. See the SDSU Academic
Senate policy on plagiarism and cheating:
http://its.sdsu.edu/docs/TURN_Plagiarism_AcadSen.pdf.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or the Center for Student
Rights and Responsibilities in Student Services West, Room 1604.
Make-up Exams: Exams cannot be made up unless the student has made
arrangements with me prior to the exam based on a documented legal, family, or
health-related issue.
VI. Reading Schedule
Theme I: Definitions and Debates
August 28: Introduction; Syllabus
August 30: Overview; History of Human Rights
 Donnelly Chapter 1
 UDHR, ICESCR, ICCPR (Blackboard)
September 4, September 6: Defining and Debating Human Rights
 Donnelly Chapters 2, 3
 Ignatieff, M. “Human Rights as Politics” (2000). Pages 287-319. (Blackboard).
September 11, September 13: The Politics of Human Rights - Critiques
 Goldsmith, J. & Krasner, S. “The Limits of Idealism” Daedalus (2003)
(Blackboard)
 Mutua, M. “Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights”
Harvard International Law Journal (2001) (Blackboard)
September 18: Women and Human Rights
 Steiner, H & Alston, P. Excerpt from International Human Rights in Context:
Law, Politics, Morals 2000, pages 163-173.
 Charlesworth, H. “What are Women’s International Human Rights? “ in
Human Rights and Women: National and International Perspectives, Rebecca
Cook, Ed. (1994) (Blackboard)
Theme II: Violations of Human Rights
September 20: Torture: Chile and Argentina
 Donnelly Chapter 4
 Klein, N. “The Torture Lab” in The Shock Doctrine (2007) (Blackboard)
September 25: Torture and Accountability
 Pion-Berlin, D. “To Prosecute or to Pardon? Human Rights Decisions in the
Latin American Southern Cone” Human Rights Quarterly (1994) (Blackboard)
 Listen to NPR Story “Argentina’s Dirty War Still Haunts Youngest Victims”
(Link on Blackboard)
September 27: Genocide - Movie: Ghosts of Rwanda
 Donnelly Chapter 8
 Kuperman, A. “Rwanda in Retrospect” Foreign Affairs (2000) (Blackboard)
October 2: Genocide ctd.
 Staub, E. “The Origins of Genocide and Mass Killing: Core Concepts” in The
Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence (1989)
(Blackboard).
October 4: Genocide – Class Discussion
 Salzman, T. “Rape camps as a means of ethnic cleansing: Religious, cultural
and ethical responses to rape victims in the former Yugoslavia” Human
Rights Quarterly (1998) (Blackboard)
October 9, October 11: Globalization and Human Rights
 Donnelly Chapter 9
 Meyer, W. H. “Human rights and MNCs: Theory versus quantitative analysis”
Human Rights Quarterly (1996) (Blackboard)
 Finnegan, W. “Leasing the Rain” The New Yorker 2002 (Blackboard)
October 16: Globalization; New Rights - Class Discussion
 Suarez, R. “Connecting to the Web: Freedom or Human Right?” PBS News
Hour (Link on Blackboard)
October 18: Midterm Exam
Theme III: Enforcement of Human Rights
October 23: Multilateral Politics
 Donnelly Chapter 5
 Lebovic, J. & Voeten, E. “The Cost of Shame: International Organizations and
Foreign Aid in the Punishing of Human Rights Violators” Journal of Peace
Research (2009) (Blackboard)
October 25, October 30: Multilateral Politics ctd. – International Criminal Tribunals,
ICC
 Peskin, V. “Beyond Victor's Justice? The Challenge of Prosecuting the Winners
at the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and
Rwanda” Journal of Human Rights (2006) (Blackboard)
 Branch, A. “Uganda’s Civil War and the Politics of ICC Intervention” Ethics &
International Affairs (2007) (Blackboard)
 Hertel, S. Unexpected Power Chapters 1, 2
November 1, November 6: Human Rights Campaigns
 Keck, M. & Sikkink, K. “Transnational Advocacy Networks in International
and Regional Politics” International Social Science Journal (2002)
(Blackboard)
 Bob, C. “Merchants of Morality” Foreign Affairs (2002) (Blackboard)
 Hertel, S. Unexpected Power Chapters 3, 4
November 8: Class discussion – Hertel’s Unexpected Power
 Hertel, S. Unexpected Power Chapters 5, 6
November 13: Class discussion ctd. – Hertel’s Unexpected Power
**Paper on Unexpected Power due**
Theme IV: The US and Human Rights
November 15, November 20: US Foreign Policy and Human Rights (El Salvador,
Guatemala, South Africa)
 Donnelly Chapter 6
 Sikkink, K. “The Reagan Administration and Human Rights Policy Toward
Latin America” in Mixed Signals by K. Sikkink (2002) (Blackboard)
November 22 – Holiday (no class)
November 27: US and Terrorism
 Donnelly Chapter 10
 Forsythe, D. “United States Policy toward Enemy Detainees in the “War on
Terrorism” Human Rights Quarterly (2006) (Blackboard)
November 29: US and the War on Terror
 Meeropol, R. America’s Disappeared: Secret Imprisonment, Detainees, and the
“War on Terror” (2005), pp. 1-129.
December 4: US and the War on Terror ctd.; Class Debate on Torture
**Think piece due **
December 6: Conclusion and wrap-up