Course coordinator: Dr Kim Sorensen (kim.sorensen@adelaide.edu.au)
Course tutors - there will be a comprehensive list of tutors on myuni

See: https://access.adelaide.edu.au/courses/details.asp?year=2014&course=107056+1+3405+1.

Students undertaking this course are expected to develop a depth and breadth of understanding of important human rights discourses as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Additionally, students will engage with the language of the declaration such that they discover and explore postcolonial critiques of dominant human rights discourses. Specifically, the anticipated knowledge, skills and attitude to be developed by students are:
1	An ability to differentiate between information and knowledge.
2	Showing familiarity with relevant terminology in postcolonial theory and in human rights discourses.
3	An ability to define and research problems within discursive ethical, social, cultural and political boundaries.
4	An ability to identify and analyse case studies on pertinent aspects of postcolonial theory and human rights discourses.
5	The ability to undertake research in a self-directed manner yet also exchange ideas with peers in a collaborative manner.
6	The capacity to critically evaluate a diversity of written materials and multi-media resources.
7	A critical understanding of the contested nature of human rights discourses.
8	The ability to present persuasive and sustained written and verbal arguments based on scholarly research and other relevant sources.
9	The ability to develop and deliver clear and confident verbal presentations.
10	The ability to evaluate ideas confidently, respectfully and thoughtfully.

Debra L DeLaet, The Global Struggle for Human Rights: Universal Principles in World Politics (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wordsworth, 2006).

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This course is a mix of lectures, seminars and workshops. Seminars will incorporate small group
activities and whole class discussions, while the workshops will incorporate individual presentations as well as question and answer time for a few minutes at the end of each presentation.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in  engaging appropriately with the course requirements. (Note: 3 unit  courses are required to have minimum workload of 156 hours irrespective  of the length of the course, and a 3 unit course taught in intensive  mode requires a minimum of 36 contact hours.)
Lectures	12 contact hours per semester
Seminars	14 contact hours per semester
Workshops	14 contact hours per semester
Seminar preparation	20 hours per semester
Workshop preparation	24 hours per semester
Research and writing assessment	74 hours per semester
Total	156 hours per semester

Topic One (lecture one and seminar one): Introduction to the construction of knowledge and the evaluation of issues relating to postcolonial epistemology. How do we know what we know? What are the limits of our knowledge? How do we identify the limits (broadly defined) of our knowledge? Why, how and to what ends do postcolonial theorists problematise the construction of knowledge?

Topic Two (lecture two and seminar two): Ethics and cultural relativism. What kinds of ethical frameworks are there? What are some ways of thinking about morality and ethics when the world is in constant flux? What does it mean to have an ‘ethical compass’?

Topic Three (lecture three and seminar three): Defining the nature and scope of universal human rights. What makes universal human rights exactly that: ‘universal’ and ‘human rights’? Discussion of the three generation of human rights: (1) political and civil rights; (2) social and economic rights; and (3) group or solidarity rights.

Topic Four (lecture four and seminar): Human rights and postcolonial issues. A critical analysis of the absolutist paradigm of human rights and underlying colonial discourses. Citizenship, social justice and human rights — how are they linked?

Timetabled conference attendance over two days in week three.

Seminar attendance and participation: 15%
Essay: 50%
Conference/workshop paper presentation: 35%

Seminars (15%)
Seminars in this subject are designed to:

• help you clarify key concepts introduced in the lectures;
• assess the range of arguments that surround the most prominent ethical questions in politics and international relations;
• improve your general knowledge of politics and international relations.

Seminars are forums for the free exchange and discussion of informed opinions — that is, ideas and thoughts based on reading and reflection — as well as places for raising questions and for the exchange of information relevant to the course. Seminars are undoubtedly the forum where most of the learning takes place, but the quality of seminar discussions hinges on the quality of the preparation, that is, on the level of reading and reflection on the seminar topics. The other crucial aspect for fruitful seminars is the attention, respect, open-mindedness and spirit of critical inquiry with which students and tutors should approach the activity. Indeed, while this course does not aim to change your views, you will be encouraged to critically assess those ideas and justify them in an intellectually cogent manner. Note also that with a subject like this, there is a problematic tendency for discussions to descend into polemics. You will be encouraged, therefore, to provide reasoned arguments to explain your views. You will also be encouraged to approach dilemmas from viewpoints other than your own in order to think through alternative forms of reasoning.

With these principles in mind, I encourage you to participate in the seminar discussions outlined in the course schedule (Appendix A).

Seminar AssessmentSeminar assessment will be based on these criteria: preparation (reading), attendance and participation in the seminar discussions and activities as detailed in the course schedule (Appendix A).

Seminar Readings
Rather than provide a reader in this course, I encourage self-directed research instead. It is expected that you will read (and prepare evidence of reading) at least five scholarly pieces before each session. Scholarly pieces can be derived from literature searches using tools such as Google Scholar (a quick link for which is available on the University of Adelaide library homepage), and databases such as Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) (available through the database collection in the University of Adelaide library catalogue), using the indicative reading suggestions as inspiration. Please note that, in addition to these readings, you will need to pace yourselves to do considerable further reading over the course to prepare for the essay.

There is a textbook for this course to which you will refer regularly; however, this provides only a broad outline or basic foundation with regard to human rights issues. To assist with your further reading, indicative readings are contained in the course schedule, listed under each topic; this is not a reading list but instead a hint about the sort of material you should be reading or the kind of subject areas and key words you should be researching around.

In essence, I encourage self-directed research for three reasons:

1. I want to promote your ability to research human rights — this is part of an ability, and underpins a capacity, to reflect critically on human rights. This course is not just about absorbing information; instead, it is about being informed.

2. Whilst I facilitate and direct this course, I want you to find your path as independently as you can. I have views on this subject, as do other members of the teaching team, and I want you to have your own views as well — this comes from ownership and finding your path, not from adopting mine. I will give you guidance, but you will own your research and reading.

3. Variety. In a perfect seminar, we have all read on the same themes, but we have all read different and differing sources and we all have something unique to contribute. This fosters participation and adds value and variety. It allows learners and teachers to swap, blend and meld roles in critical and reflective dialogue.

If there are valid reasons why you cannot contribute fully or effectively to a specific seminar discussion, please raise them privately with your tutor prior to the seminar.

Essay (50%) 2250 words
In preparation for the second seminar, and during the course of that seminar, you will decide on a research topic for you major piece of assessment and conference presentation. These should be the same topic, with your essay being a more in depth elaboration on research which you have undertaken for your presentation. A  preliminary reading list which may help with your essays begins in the indicative reading list for session four.

Workshop/Conference Paper Presentation (35%)
The course conference, divided into three workshop groups, will run over two days at the end of the course. All students need to attend a particular workshop group for the whole conference, where they will listen to their peers in their workshop group present papers, and where they will contribute questions from the floor to debate. Each student will present a 7-8 minute scholarly, researched conference paper in their allocated session, and will be expected to take questions from the floor for a few minutes. The same criteria for marking will be used as for an essay, but with obvious consideration for presentation.

Conference papers, in essence, will be work in-progress presentations on the essay, but they must stand alone as polished works. You will pick your conference topic in seminar one and prepare the presentation throughout weeks one and two of the course. This means that you will be well advanced in your conference preparation — which must relate directly to human rights issues and/or postcolonial issues — before we even get to the week two lectures and seminar topics which deal directly with human rights. This tells you two things. First, you need to be reading well ahead of the sessions, as this course is all about reading. The lectures give some shape, some inflections and some ideas, but your main task in this course is to immerse yourself in a self-directed literature review, and to do that you will need to be reading ahead of the pace of the lectures and at a rate which equates to full immersion. Second, you need to be fluid: fill yourself with as much information and as many ideas as possible, and bring those ideas to the table, but be prepared to modify your thinking as discussions unfold. Think about your conference presentation with the same sense of fluidity: enjoy the processes of thinking, research and preparation, but be prepared to distil and reshape it as the lecture series unfolds. Nothing gets wasted in this, and it is a good exercise in thinking on the fly, which is what the conference is all about. You get to do the slow, steady thinking with the essay. With the conference, you get to demonstrate another kind of intelligence.

Electronic submission only via the turnitin link on myuni

Occupational, Health & Safety (OH&S)

The  School of History & Politics is committed to upholding the  Unviersity's Policy on OH&S. All staff and students have a legal  responsibliity to act in the interests of themselves and others with  respect to OH&S. For information on the School's contingency plan  and emergency procedures, please see the OH&S section on the school website
http://www.hss.adelaide.edu.au/historypolitics/ohs