HUMR5702 – Human Rights and Sustainable Development: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Theory and Practices
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
This course addresses different ways of thinking about the relationship between development and human rights, and addresses critical contemporary issues as global and local poverty, national and global inequalities and environmental challenges. It discusses shifts over time in the conceptualisation of development and examines the increasingly more central place of human rights in the development discourse, as expressed in ideas about "development as freedom", "rights-based development" and the "right to development" as a human right. It addresses the recent discourses on linkages between sustainable development and human rights, in view of new trends in globalization. It also explores the role of institutions (local, national and international) in safeguarding human rights (or the opposite, as obstacles to rights protection). The course gives scope for discussing the relationship between economic policies for social justice through human rights lenses, while also presenting selected legal cases and constitutional references on the right to development, and legal protection in development contexts.
The course offers critical examinations of practices of international development agencies, as appropriated by civil society, and thorough the application of a rights based approach to selected human rights issues, notably, poverty, health, climate change and land polices.
Learning outcome
After having completed this course the student will have acquired detailed?knowledge?about:
- Good knowledge of the different conceptions of development, including sustainable development and how human rights became an important development issue through the right to development discourse
- Good knowledge about the notion of human rights based-approaches to development
- Good knowledge of key analytical and practical issues that emerge when human rights are integrated into the strategies of development institutions
- Good knowledge of the main contemporary challenges and controversies pertaining to poverty a as a human rights issue, and the issue of climate change
- Good knowledge about how development policies impact on the respect for, and protection and fulfilment of human rights
After having completed this course the student will have the?skills?to:
- Analyse how social, cultural and economic development may imply human rights challenges and violations
- Find the applicable source material and identify and interpret the relevant substantive rules and principles as they arise in case law, are being adhered to in public policies, and serve as rallying points in national, national and local action
- Understand the obstacles and challenges of integrating human rights and development, both from a legal and public policy position
- Critically evaluate existing treaties and resolutions for the protection of human rights in development contexts
Having completed this course the student will have the?general competence?to:
- Write analytical reports and assessment studies of national and international development institutions, including public institutions and non-governmental organization
- Understand the main interests and concerns relating to the protection of human rights in development contexts and processes
- Analyse and assess the dynamic roles of civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights in sustainable development, and make use of this competence in development work
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master`s programme at UiO. All applicants must fill the formal prerequisites.
International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants
Students admitted to other Master`s programmes may apply for guest student status.
Recommended previous knowledge
Participants should have a general command of the subject matter studied in the first semester courses of the Master of Philosophy program in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights
Teaching
The course is conducted through lectures, seminars and student assignments.
Examination
Students are graded on the basis of a written home examination with the duration of 10 days.
Maximum length for written home exam?is 4500 words. Front page, contents page (optional) and bibliography are not included. If footnotes are used in the text (at the bottom of each page), they are included in the word limits.?
Papers that exceed the word limit will not be accepted.
You must familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to exam support materials, and?the use of sources and citations.?If you violate these rules, you may be suspected of cheating or attempted cheating.?You can read about what the university considers cheating, and the consequences of cheating here.
Examination support material
All available exam resources are allowed when answering this exam. Rules for source referencing are crucial for determining whether the use of resources is permitted.?
You are allowed to discuss the examination topics with your course colleagues, but your exam paper must be an independent work.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
This guide is used by examiners for grading this course.
Resit an examination
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Resitting an examination.
- There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master`s programme in Law.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.