Human Rights
Established in 1978, the ISHR at Columbia University is committed to providing excellent human rights education to Columbia students, fostering innovative interdisciplinary academic research, and offering its expertise in capacity building to human rights leaders, organizations, and universities around the world. Courses include active engagement with the world of human rights practitioners, and emphasize the connection between the study and practice of human rights.
Courses can be taken independently or as part of a four-course Certification of Professional Achievement in Human Rights.
Note: The Summer Sessions courses in human rights are offered in conjunction with the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) at Columbia University.
Courses
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS
HRTS4020S001 3 points.
This course will provide a wide-ranging survey of conceptual foundations and issues in contemporary human rights. The class will examine the philosophical origins of human rights, contemporary debates, the evolution of human rights, key human rights documents, and the questions of human rights enforcement. This course will examine specific civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and various thematic topics in human rights.
Course Number | Section/Call Number | Session | Times/Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
HRTS4020S001 | 001/10208 | Session A |
Tu 10:00 AM–01:10 PM Th 10:00 AM–01:10 PM |
|
Instructor | Points | Enrollment | Method of Instruction | |
Kristina Eberbach |
3 |
Closed for Online Registration (no Adds or Drops) |
In-Person |
Young People, Human Rights, Gun Violence
HRTS4050W001 3 points.
This 3-credit course aims to give students a foundation in research, policy, and practice relevant to gun violence and the human rights of young people. In the first part of the course, we look at the US. In the US gun violence against children has increased, as part of a broader nationwide rise in crime. School shootings have also risen: The Washington Post counted 42 last year in the U.S., the most on record and up from 27 in 2019. In addition to exploring its underlying causes, the prevalence, and solutions to gun violence in homes, schools, and communities in the United States, young peoples’ participation in legislation and other efforts to address physical insecurity. In the second half of the course, students examine the ways in which US foreign policy– including in the areas of small arms waivers, direct gun sales, and migration, have shaped the lives of young people in other nations. The focus of this part of the course will be on Central America where armed violence has had a dramatic impact on young people and has resulted in forced displacement and loss of education for young people. Throughout the course, students will explore the gun-related human rights issues affecting young people through the study of cases, reports, documentaries, and other visual images including satellites and aerial images. Students will examine the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2250 and 2419-- the Youth Peace and Security Agenda (YPS), the Arms Trade Treaty, and the Optional Protocol on the Child Soldier, as well as the U.S. Youth Peace and Security Act of 2021 (HR 4838), national legislation that prioritizes the inclusion of youth in conflict resolution and recognizes that youth participation is a key component of U.S. peace and security strategy. An ongoing and significant consideration in the course will be the role of international education efforts and youth-led advocacy and legislative efforts around gun control legislation.
In addition to the topics mentioned above, students will acquire and deepen their understandings
- the framing of gun violence and violence caused by small weapons as human rights issues for young people, including but not limited to the international and national human rights laws that protect the right to life, development, survival, and protection
- the impacts that race, ethnicity, gender, age, life experience all have on the realization of young people’s human rights
- the debates surrounding the human right to self and community protection
- the power imbalances in young peoples’ representation in policy, practice, and research, as a barrier to protection and participation of young people
- the role played by state and non-state actors in human rights violations and protection in relation to gun violence
- the positive roles that young people play in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and disarmament processes, and human rights activism
Course Number | Section/Call Number | Session | Times/Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
HRTS4050W001 | 001/10209 | Session A |
Mo 01:00 PM–04:10 PM We 01:00 PM–04:10 PM |
|
Instructor | Points | Enrollment | Method of Instruction | |
Tracey Holland |
3 |
Closed for Online Registration (no Adds or Drops) |
In-Person |
HUM RIGHTS/GLOBAL ECON JUSTICE
HRTS4185S001 3 points.
Course Number | Section/Call Number | Session | Times/Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
HRTS4185S001 | 001/10210 | Session B |
Tu 05:30 PM–08:40 PM Th 05:30 PM–08:40 PM |
|
Instructor | Points | Enrollment | Method of Instruction | |
Rainer Braun |
3 |
Registration Block (no Adds) (self-man. Wait List) |
In-Person |
NGOS&THE HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT
HRTS4215S001 3 points.
Course Number | Section/Call Number | Session | Times/Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
HRTS4215S001 | 001/10211 | Session A |
Tu 05:30 PM–08:40 PM Th 05:30 PM–08:40 PM |
|
Instructor | Points | Enrollment | Method of Instruction | |
Louis Bickford |
3 |
Closed for Online Registration (no Adds or Drops) |
In-Person |
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
HRTS4220S001 3 points.
Course Number | Section/Call Number | Session | Times/Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|
HRTS4220S001 | 001/10212 | Session B |
Tu 01:00 PM–04:10 PM Th 01:00 PM–04:10 PM |
|
Instructor | Points | Enrollment | Method of Instruction | |
Belinda Cooper |
3 |
Registration Block (no Adds) (self-man. Wait List) |
In-Person |