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Abstract/Syllabus:

James, Erica, 21A.225J Violence, Human Rights, and Justice, Fall 2004. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu  (Accessed 09 Jul, 2010). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

Violence, Human Rights, and Justice

Fall 2004

IDP with a broken wrist at Ardamata Camp Sudan.
IDP with a broken wrist at Ardamata Camp Sudan. (Image courtesy of USAID.)

Course Highlights

This course features extensive lecture notes.

Course Description

This course examines the contemporary problem of political violence and the way that human rights have been conceived as a means to protect and promote freedom, peace and justice for citizens against the abuses of the state.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course examines the contemporary problem of political violence and the way that human rights have been conceived as a means to protect and promote freedom, peace and justice for citizens against the abuses of the state. We will explore historical debates about whether violence is "cultural" or "natural" and evaluate the implicit notions of rationality that are encompassed within these arguments. Similarly, we will study arguments about cultural relativism and the universality of the human rights model: the model has been viewed as a product of Western European moral values that pays insufficient attention to differences of culture, religion, gender and other ways of conceiving the relationships between individuals, collective groups, and the state. Through the study of various ethnographic case studies of conflict across the globe we will analyze and debate whether the human rights framework adequately addresses the ambiguities between state-sponsored and interpersonal violence. Finally, we will ask whether war crimes tribunals, truth commissions, and other vehicles for repairing the individual and collective traumas of the past are effective means of promoting justice and the rule of law in societies making the transition to representative governance.

Course Structure and Requirements

The course will be run primarily as a seminar, with approximately 20 minutes of lecture to introduce each new section followed by presentations and discussion of the subject or ethnographic context under review. Students must come to class prepared, as discussion will often take the form of a formal debate of the issues read for that class session. Generally readings will be limited to 100 pages per week, depending on whether the readings are theoretical or are case-based. In this syllabus, readings marked with an * are required for that day. Other readings are highly recommended, but not required. Required books are listed in readings section.

Reflection Papers

In most weeks students will submit a 1-1.5 page (double-spaced) reflection paper on the required reading for that section's readings. A prompting question will be provided ahead of time to guide the student through that week's readings and to help structure the argument of the paper. These eight reflection papers will be evaluated on a check +, check, and check - system and are considered a component of the writing requirement. Coupled with class attendance and participation they will contribute 40% of the final grade. Through these reflection papers and the responses to them, students will build and refine their arguments for the two longer papers required in the course.

Papers

Students will be required to write two 6 to 7-page papers that build upon the themes discussed in section and in the reflection papers. Papers will be returned no more than one week after submission. The first paper will be revised in light of the comments received upon them. Rewriting the second paper is optional. The final draft of each paper is the version that will be graded and is due one week after the papers have been returned with comments. A crucial aspect to how these papers will be evaluated is the articulation of a strong thesis statement that is supported by a cogent argument. Arguments cannot be solely polemical, but must derive from a clear, well-supported evaluation of the texts, lecture materials, videos or films. These two papers are weighted equally and will contribute 50% of the grade.

Presentations

Through the course of the semester each student will make one presentation of the main arguments contained within that week's readings in order to guide class discussion (in the case of books, the chapters will be divided among more than one student). The presentation can be based on the reflection paper and is intended to give the class questions to debate in the discussion period and should last no longer than ten minutes. The presentations are evaluated and will contribute 10% of the final grade. There is no final exam.

Calendar

There were some minor changes and additions to the organization of this course when it was taught in Fall 2004. This document provides an overview of changes to the syllabus.

 

Table for Calendar

LEC #

TOPICS

KEY DATES

Part 1: Theories of Violence and the Problem of Rationality

1

Section 1: Introduction to the Debate

 

2-3

Section 2: Theoretical Foundations: Crowds, Ritual or Demonic Males?

Reflection paper #1 (Lecture 3)

4-5

Section 3: Political Violence, the State, and Theoretical Controversies

Reflection paper #2 (Lecture 5)

Part 2: Conceptions of Rights, Rationality and Relativism

6-7

Section 4: Rights Talk in Western Culture: Whose Rights, Whose Rationality?

Reflection paper #3 (Lecture 7)

8-9

Section 5: Debating Universalism versus Cultural Relativism: How Is the Notion of Culture Discussed?

Reflection paper #4 (Lecture 9)
First paper topic announced (Lecture 9)

10-11

Section 6: The Spectacle of Torture: Violence, State Security, and the Perpetrator

Draft of first paper due (Lecture 10)

Part 3: Dilemmas of Postmodern Violence: State-Sponsored, Collective, or Interpersonal?

12-13

Section 7: Genocide-The Inconceivable?

First paper returned with comments (Lecture 12)
Reflection paper #5 (Lecture 13)

14-15

Section 8: The Problem of Sex and Gender Violence in Political Crises: "Ethnic Cleansing" or Interpersonal Crime?

Revised version of paper #1 due in class (Lecture 14)

Part 4: From Violence and Trauma to Justice

16-17

Section 9: Argentina's Dirty War

Reflection paper #6 (Lecture 17)

18-20

Section 10: Rwanda: Genocide Revisited

Reflection paper #7 (Lecture 19)
Second paper topic announced (Lecture 20)

Part 5: The Politics of Memory, Victimization, and Reparations in "Transitional" Societies

21-24

Section 11: South Africa: Truth Commissions, Trials, Trauma, and Transitions to Democracy

Second paper due (Lecture 22)
Reflection paper #8 (Lecture 24)
Second paper returned (Lecture 24)

25

Section 12: Haiti: Human Rights, Justice, and Humanitarian Assistance

 

Conclusions and Concerns

26

 

Final draft of second paper due in class (for those who opt to rewrite them)
(Lecture 26)

 

 




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