CLC5040 Topics in Cultural Meaning and Interpretation: Human Rights
(Second Term, 2005-2006)
FYB UG02 Tuesday 3:30-6:15pm
Prof. Ming-yan Lai
Office: HYS 509
Tel: 3163-4152
Email: mylai@arts.cuhk.edu.hk
Office Hours: Monday 5:00-6:00pm or by appointment
Using human rights as a topical focus, this course explores the dynamics of cultural meaning and
interpretation in the travel of concepts and ideas over time and across cultures. Through critical
examination of human rights discourses from historical, philosophical, anthropological,
sociological, political, legal and literary perspectives, we will attend to contestation and
refiguration in the travel of concepts as well as the relation between cultural texts and
sociohistorical contexts. In the process, we will engage critical issues central to the
understanding of contemporary cultural praxis, including questions of the subject, universalismversus-cultural relativism, feminist critiques, globalization and the claims of cultural traditions,
and the politics of cultural change.
Requirements:
Presentation (30%)
Term Paper (70%)
Schedule:
Jan 10 Introduction
Jan 17 Human rights in historical perspectives
Wright, International Human Rights, Decolonisation and Globalisation, pp.13-86
Ferry and Renaut, From the Rights of Man to the Republican Idea, pp.15-25
Weissbrodt, “Human Rights: An Historical Perspective,” in P. Davis, ed., Human Rights
Jan 24 Human rights and the liberal subject
Ignatieff, Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry, pp.3-98
Lefort, “Politics and Human Rights,” in The Political Forms of Modern Society
Brown, “The Most We Can Hope For . . .” The South Atlantic Quarterly 103:2/3 (2004): 451-63
Lunar New Year Holiday
Feb 7
The subject of human rights
Arendt, “The Perplexities of the Rights of Man” in The Origins of Totalitarianism
Balibar, “‘Rights of Man’ and ‘Rights of the Citizen’” in Masses, Classes, Ideas
Ranciere, “Who Is the Subject of the Rights of Man?” The South Atlantic Quarterly
103:2/3 (2004): 297-310
Hamacher, “The Right to Have Rights,” The South Atlantic Quarterly 103: 2/3 (2004): 343-56
Feb 14 Feminist critique of human rights
Nussbaum, “The Feminist Critique of Liberalism,” in Jeffries, ed., Women’s Voices,
Women’s Rights
Romany, “State Responsibility Goes Private,” in Cook, ed., Human Rights of Women
MacKinnon, “Crimes of War, Crimes of Peace,” in Shute and Hurley, eds., On Human Rights
Feb 21 Formulating women’s rights
Fraser, “Becoming Human,” in Agosin, ed., Women, Gender, and Human Rights
Merry, “Women, Violence, and the Human Rights System,” in Agosin
O’Neill, “Women’s Rights: Whose Obligations?” in Jeffries
Coomaraswamy, “Reinventing International Law,” in Van Ness, ed., Debating Human Rights
Feb 28 Women’s rights and cultural difference
Okin, “Feminism, Women’s Human Rights, and Cultural Differences,” in Narayan and
Harding, eds., Decentering the Center
Engle, “Female Subjects of Public International Law” in Danielson and Engle, eds.,
After Identity
Rao, “The Politics of Gender and Culture in International Human Rights Discourse,” in
Peters and Wolper, eds., Women’s Rights, Human Rights
Coomaraswamy, “To Bellow like a Cow,” in Cook
Cowan, Dembour, and Wilson, “Introduction,” in Culture and Rights
Mar 7 Universalism and cultural relativism
Inoue, “Reinstating the Universal in the Discourse of Human Rights and Justice,” in Sajo, ed.,
Human Rights with Modesty
Merry, “Changing Rights, Changing Culture,” in Cowan, Dembour, and Wilson
Dembour, “Following the Movement of a Pendulum,” in Cowan, Dembour, and Wilson
Higgins, “Anti-Essentialism, Relativism, and Human Rights,” in Chew, ed., The Conflict and
Culture Reader
Mar 14 Globalizing rights
Stiglitz, “On Liberty, the Right to Know, and Public Discourse,” in Gibney, ed., Globalizing
Rights
Bhabha, “On Writing Rights,” in Gibney
Appiah, “Citizens of the World” in Gibney
Mar 21 Globalization and human rights
Collier, “Durkheim Revisited,” in Sarat and Kearns, eds., Human Rights
Goodhart, “Origins and Universality in the Human Rights Debates,” Human Rights Quarterly
25 (2003): 935-64
Falk, “Interpreting the Interaction of Global Markets and Human Rights,” in Brysk, ed.,
Globalization and Human Rights
McGrew, “Human Rights in a Global Age,” in Evans, ed., Human Rights Fifty Years On
Shiva, “Food Rights, Free Trade, and Fascism” in Gibney
Mar 28 Asian challenge to human rights
Ghai, “Human Rights and Governance,” Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law
1 (2000): 9-52
Angle, Human Rights and Chinese Thought, pp. 1-25, 205-58
“Bangkok Declaration,” Appendix I in Tang, ed., Human Rights and International Relations in
The Asia Pacific
“Statements by Representatives of Asian Governments at the Vienna World Conference on
Human Rights,” Appendix III in Tang
Apr 4 East-West dialogue on human rights
Bell, East Meets West, part 1
Apr 11 Human rights in literary perspectives
Spivak, “Righting Wrongs,” The South Atlantic Quarterly 103: 2/3 (2004): 523-81
Wright, “Peoples of the book,” in International Human Rights, Decolonisation and Globalisation
Slaughter and Wenzel, “Letters of the Law,” in Agosin, ed., Women, Gender and Human Rights
Apr 18 Term paper presentations