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Universal Rights for a Fragmented World? Principles and Pitfalls in the Philosophy of Human Rights [Import]- Lecturer
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Heiner Bielefeldt
- Details
- Vorlesung
2 cred.h, compulsory attendance, ECTS studies, ECTS credits: 5
für Anfänger geeignet, Sprache Englisch
Time and place: Tue 10:15 - 11:45, KH 1.022
- Prerequisites / Organisational information
- Die regelmäßige Teilnahme an allen zwei Teilen der Veranstaltung (Vorlesung, Seminar) ist für alle Studierende verpflichtend. Der Leistungsnachweis wird über die erfolgreiche Teilnahme an einer 90-minütigen Abschlussklausur erworben
- Contents
- Human rights are rights held by all human beings equally. They claim universal validity across national, regional and cultural boundaries. Without the aspiration of universalism, the very concept of human rights would cease to make much sense. In retrospect, however, it seems obvious that the various historical human rights declarations, starting from the Virginia Bill of Rights (1776), have always been tainted by various aspects of particularism. While headlines, such as “rights of man” or “droits de l’homme” betray an androcentric bias, experiences of people from lower social strata, persons with disabilities, religious and ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and others may have had merely limited, if any, impact on the formulation of human rights declarations. Moreover, the very idea of human rights has often been accused of one-sidedly reflecting a European world view or a Western way of life, which allegedly cannot be applied to people from other parts of the world. Do we have to conclude that the aspiration of universal human rights is but an empty illusion?
Before tackling that central question, we have to define the claims of human rights and their inherent limitations. Subsequently, we will deal with the “textbook version” of the genesis of human rights in comparison to more critical, innovative readings of their historical development. We will analyze the relationship between individual rights and communitarian solidarity and explore the specific “secularity” of human rights claims as opposed to notions of divine rights. Another subject of investigation will be the interrelatedness of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. A question that has found increasing attention is how freedom of religion or belief can be reconciled with claims of gender-equality or the emancipation of sexual minorities. The lecture will furthermore explore possible tensions between human rights and democracy. If there is any time left towards the end, we might also deal with controversial ideas of an evolutionary self-transcendence of humanity towards a “post-humanist” stadium and possible dangers arising from such futuristic visions.
The lecture series belongs to the mandatory module “human rights” within the Masters programme “Political Science”. It is also part of the “Human Rights Master” syllabus. Students will have access to background material through “StudOn”.
- Recommended literature
- StudOn
- ECTS information:
- Title:
- Introduction to Political Science
- Credits: 5
- Additional information
- Expected participants: 80, Maximale Teilnehmerzahl: 160
- Verwendung in folgenden UnivIS-Modulen
- Startsemester WS 2017/2018:
- Menschenrechte (AM6b)
- Department: Lehrstuhl für Politik und Gesellschaft des Nahen Ostens
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