The United States and Human Rights

Course number: JTM261

Instructor: doc. PhDr. Francis D. Raška, PhD.

E-mail: francisraska@gmail.com

Office hours: Tuesdays from 3:30 PM until 4:30 PM and Wednesdays from 3:30 PM until 4:30 PM in Room C419

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

The goal of this M.A. seminar course is to familiarize students with the concept of human rights, its origins, and evolution in the context of United States policy. The topic will be tackled mainly from a historical and political perspective, but philosophical and legal aspects need to be discussed as well in order for students to appreciate the topic fully. All assigned readings will be sent to students electronically.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES

Each student will be awarded a final mark at the end of the semester, which will be determined by three factors:

Class participation 30%

Term paper 50%

Oral examination 20%

Grading is based on the Dean's Measure no. 20/2019: https://fsv.cuni.cz/deans-measure-no-20/2019

91% and more => A
81-90% => B
71-80% => C
61-70% => D
51-60% => E
0-50% => F

Students will be expected to read the assigned materials. Attendance in class and participation in class discussions are required and each student will be required to submit a term paper containing 10 to 15 double-spaced pages at the end of the semester. In order to avoid any problems, I will need to know term paper topics beforehand. During the first weeks of the course, we will agree as a group on the submission dates for the topics and the term papers themselves. If a student repeatedly fails to read the assigned materials and/or does not attend the course regularly, I reserve the right not to accept his/her term paper at the end of the term. This translates into “No work, no credit.” Past experience has taught me that, largely on account of other university requirements and responsibilities, students need help with time management and guidance in their work. Therefore, I have decided upon several courses of action. First, I will insist that students let me know how they are getting on with their work throughout the course of the semester. Second, some time will be spent during the first session(s) discussing what is expected in a term paper. Third, all students can expect to be examined orally on the topic of their term paper at the end of the term. Questions asked during individual examination sessions may involve the given term paper topic as well as the research methods employed. The utlilization of others’ ideas must be cited. Failure to cite the words and/or ideas of others constitutes plagiarism. The Faculty of Social Sciences has very severe penalties for plagiarism, including expulsion. I ask each of you to be very careful and make sure that you cite all sources consulted. It is in your interest. Finally, I would like to stress that, in order for the course to be a success, we need to work together as a group of dedicated, mature scholars whose members communicate constructively with one another. Let the festival of learning begin!

TEXTS

Amstutz, Mark R., International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics, Plymouth (UK), 2008.

Apodaca, Clair, Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy: Prevarications and Evasions, New York, 2019.

Dudziak, Mary L., Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy, Princeton, 2002.

Iriye, Akira, Goedde, Petra, and Hitchcock, William I. (eds.), The Human Rights Revolution: An International History, Oxford, 2012.

Jensen, Steven L.B. and Walton, Charles (eds.), Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History, Cambridge and New York, 2022.

Laber, Jeri, The Courage of Strangers: Coming of Age with the Human Rights Movement, New York, 2002.

Mingst, Karen A. and Karns, Margaret P., The United Nations in the 21^st Century, Boulder, 2012.

Neier, Aryeh, The International Human Rights Movement: A History, Princeton, 2012.

Rosenberg, Jonathan, How Far the Promised Land: World Affairs and the American Civil Rights Movement from the First World War to Vietnam, Princeton, 2006.

Snyder, Sarah B., From Selma to Moscow: How Human Rights Activists Transformed U.S. Foreign Policy, New York, 2018.

Sondergaard, Rasmus Sinding, Reagan, Congress, and Human Rights: Contesting Morality in US Foreign Policy, Cambridge and New York, 2022.

COURSE TOPICS AND ASSIGNED READINGS

Background: Origins and Evolution of Human Rights Policy

Readings:

1. Amstutz, Mark R., International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics, pp. 87-107.

2. Mingst, Karen A. and Karns, Margaret P., The United Nations in the 21^st Century, pp. 197-245.

3. Iriye, Akira, Goedde, Petra, and Hitchcock, William I (eds.), The Human Rights Revolution: An International History, pp. 3-71.

Civil Rights: Domestic and International Perspectives

Readings:

4. Rosenberg, Jonathan, How Far the Promised Land?: World Affairs and the American Civil Rights Movement from the First World War to Vietnam, pp. 156-213.

5. Dudziak, Mary L., Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy, pp. 115-151.

6. Neier, Aryeh, The International Human Rights Movement: A History, pp. 138-185.

7. Jensen, Steven L.B. and Walton, Charles (eds.), Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History, pp. 287-326.

American Human Rights Policy

Readings:

8. Snyder, Sarah B., From Selma to Moscow: How Human Rights Activists Transformed U.S. Foreign Policy, pp. 1-41.

9. Laber, Jeri, The Courage of Strangers: Coming of Age with the Human Rights Movement, pp. 245-305.

Specific Issues in United States Human Rights Policy

Readings:

10. Sondergaard, Rasmus Sinding, Reagan, Congress, and Human Rights: Contesting Morality in US Foreign Policy, pp. 164-214.

11. Apodaca, Clair, Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy: Prevarications and Evasions, pp. 145-196.