This course introduces students to theories, cases, policies, and debates in human rights. It examines the evolution of human rights in their political, legal and social contexts, focusing particularly on the Post World War 2 era. Weekly topics include but are not limited to: international and domestic human rights regimes, enforcement and compliance, universalism vs. cultural relativism, the role(s) of the judiciary, social movements, humanitarian intervention, refugee policy, and the rights of Indigenous persons.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- describe and discuss the key events, elements, and policy debates in the human rights regime;
- apply international relations, political science, and legal theories/concepts to human rights issues; critique and evaluate the utility of those concepts/theories;
- think, write, and debate critically and logically about human rights issues from a political science perspective; and
- investigate and explain historical and/or current-day human rights issues and propose ideas/approaches/solutions based on logic.
Indicative Assessment
- Typical assessment may include, but is not restricted to: exams, assignments, quizzes, presentations, participation and other assessment as appropriate. See class summary for final details for 2025.
(100) [LO 1,2,3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 30 hours of contact
b) 100 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
All reading is provided on the course Wattle site.
Preliminary Reading
Additional readings to be provided via Wattle
Assumed Knowledge
Familiarity with basic International Relations concepts and theories (e.g., from POLS 1005)
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6394 | 01 Jul 2026 | TBA | TBA | 30 Sep 2026 | In Person | N/A |