The following directory lists the graduate courses which the University expects to offer, although the University in no way guarantees that all such courses will be offered in any given academic year, and reserves the right to alter the list if conditions warrant. Click on the links below for a list of courses in that subject area. You may then click “View Classes” to see scheduled classes for individual courses.
5005. Special Topics in Human Rights
3.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 9 credits.
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
In-depth investigation of an issue in human rights research.
View Classes »5055. Theory and Practice of International Criminal Justice
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Not open for credit to students who have passed HRTS 3055.
Grading Basis: Graded
An introduction to foundational concepts of international criminal justice such as international humanitarian and criminal law, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression, and theories of individual criminal responsibility. An exploration of the complex challenges, successes, and failures of international criminal courts and tribunals.
View Classes »5095. Special Topics
1.00 - 3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
5270. History of Human Rights
Covers the field's classic texts, controversies, and recent topics. Incorporates political, social, intellectual, and cultural history.
View Classes »5282. Practicum in Human Rights
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Instructor consent.
Grading Basis: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Project-based fieldwork with an approved partnering organization related to the field of human rights. Practicum provides the students with hands-on experience with real problem solving experiences related to their career goals. A minimum of 200 practicum hours required.
View Classes »5301. Contemporary Debates in Human Rights
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Key Debates in Human Rights will introduce students to the main modern debates in the academic field of human rights. It is interdisciplinary in scope, including recent intellectual contributions from philosophy, law, political science, sociology, anthropology, literature and history. It will address a number of central issues and questions, including the normative philosophical foundations of human rights, whether human rights are universal or relative, whether human rights can be held collectively, and the justifications for women's rights and cultural rights.
View Classes »5327. Propaganda, Disinformation, and Hate Speech
Draws on current social science research and legal scholarship to understand the effects of disinformation and hate speech on individual moral decision-making, as well as on wider politics and culture. Evaluates various private and public initiatives to regulate speech.
View Classes »5351. Topics in Human Rights Practice
3.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 9 credits.
Prerequisites: Instructor consent. Students may not receive credit for a topic in HRTS 5351 if they have previously passed HRTS 3540 with the same topic.
Grading Basis: Graded
Seminar on topics in theoretical and practice-based knowledge and skills related to human rights. Topics vary by semester. May be repeated with a change of topic to a maximum of nine credits.
View Classes »5390. Economic Rights
Explores the conceptual bases, measurement, and policy applications of economic rights. Specific topics will include: child labor, the right to development, non-governmental initiatives, and the institutionalization of economic rights (e.g., constitutionalization versus statutory implementation versus discretionary policies).
View Classes »5401. Methods in Human Rights Research and Practice
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Not open to students who have passed HRTS 5899 when offered as Methods in Human Rights Research and Practice.
Grading Basis: Graded
An introduction to professional modes of human rights research and practice from multi-disciplinary perspectives. An exploration of roles of data collection, creation, and analysis in policy making and advocacy using principles of human rights evaluation. Examination of the relationship between human rights research and practical interventions affecting human rights outcomes.
View Classes »5428. Torture
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Open to graduate students.
Grading Basis: Graded
Examination of the use of torture by state and non-state actors, both historically and today. Topics may include: Why torture is perpetrated; extant domestic and international legal frameworks to remedy torture and their effectiveness; the business of torture; and the effect of torture on transitional justice.
View Classes »5450. Contemporary Issues in Genocide Studies
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Interdisciplinary analysis of critical topics in contemporary studies of genocide including the legal and social meaning of genocide and crimes against humanity, the causes and dynamics of genocide and mass atrocities, the immediate and intergenerational effect of genocide on individuals and groups, the question of accountability, and the role of perpetrators and bystanders.
View Classes »5460. Human Rights and Armed Conflict
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Not open for credit to students who have passed HRTS 3460.
Grading Basis: Graded
Examines the relationship between human rights and armed conflict from a social science perspective. Explores human rights abuses as cause and consequence of armed conflict. Evaluates the effectiveness of the human rights and humanitarian approaches to conflict management.
View Classes »5499. Independent Study
1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 12 credits.
Prerequisites: Open to graduate students only.
Grading Basis: Graded
5600. Human Rights Practice Lab
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Open only to Human Rights 5th-Year M.A. students, instructor consent required.
Grading Basis: Graded
Critical engagement with human rights issues, strategies, tactics, institutions, and law in a practical setting. Students work collaboratively on a project addressing a pressing human rights issue and refine skills integral to working in the human rights field. Skills include information gathering, ethical analysis, effective communication across diverse audiences, and creative problem-solving.
View Classes »5825. Sociology of Human Rights
Critical sociological perspective on human rights, with a specific emphasis on power, inequalities, and people's struggles to claim and access political, civil, economic, social and cultural human rights.
View Classes »5899. Seminar in Human Rights
3.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 9 credits.
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Variable topics in the study of human rights.
View Classes »6825. Topics in the Sociology of Human Rights
Also offered as: SOCI 6825
3.00 - 9.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 9 credits.
Prerequisites: Instructor consent.
Grading Basis: Graded
Topics in sociological theory and research in human rights. Topics will vary by semester. May be repeated to a maximum of nine credits.
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