INDEPENDENT STUDY
Independent Study in Human Rights.
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Instructor:
J.C. Salyer
CULPA: 1 Info - 1-4 points
Our Bodies and the Struggle to Define Pe
HUMAN RIGHTS & BODILY AUT
One of the most hotly debated issues of today is the extent to which the state can legitimately dictate or impinge on one’s bodily autonomy. This is a long-running debate in the area of sexual and reproductive rights, but also is relevant to such current debates as the right to die / right to death with dignity; the right to use drugs for recreational or ritual purposes; engaging in hunger strikes as a protected form of freedom of expression; and the debate about whether the state can mandate vaccines. It is a debate that is highly gendered but also raises questions about how political power and socio-economic status influences how governments act on individuals and communities.
- T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
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Instructor:
Widney Brown
CULPA: 4
Info
- 4 points
HUMAN RIGHTS & PUBLIC HEALTH
Prerequisites: Enrollment in the course is open to 18 undergraduates who have completed at least one core course in human rights and /or international law. This seminar introduces students to the field of health and human rights. It examines how to advocate for and implement public health strategies using a human rights framework. It takes note of current international and domestic debates about the utility of a ;human rights-based approach; to health, discusses methods and ethics of health-related human rights research, and examines case studies of human rights investigations to explore the role of human rights analysis in promoting public health.
- T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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Instructor:
Widney Brown
CULPA: 4
Info
- 4 points
SOC JUSTICE & HUM RIGHTS
Corequisites: Students must have an internship related to social justice or human rights during This class is intended to complement and enhance the internship experience for students working in internships that relate to social justice and human rights during the Spring 2016 semester. This course will meet bi-weekly to provide an academic framing of the issues that students are working on and to provide an opportunity for students to analyze their internship experience.
- R 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
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Instructor:
Widney Brown
CULPA: 4
Info
- 3 points
Seeking Sanctuary in New York City
In a renewed age of anti-immigrant fervor, the last few years have seen attention focused on people seeking asylum – the process under international law by which people fleeing persecution can seek protection in a country not of their citizenship. New York has become a particular flashpoint with a large influx of asylum seekers, most of them from Latin America. Often, they have arrived on buses sent here by southern governors intending to make the border “problem” that of a so-called “sanctuary city.” How has New York responded? And how does this fit into the city’s long history of refuge?
This course will offer students an introduction to the theory, ethics, and history of the idea of international protection. We will look specifically at how Latin American citizens have engaged with the US asylum system over time and how this engagement has changed the shape of US immigration laws. We will study the origins of the ideas of international protection, who is understood to qualify and why, how the system has changed over time, and what these developments mean for a broader understanding of human rights across borders. We will also take a critical look at asylum, examine ideas of deservingness and innocence and their intersection with categories of race, class and gender, and question what it means for certain people to be constructed as victims and others to be seen as not eligible – or worthy – of protection.
This is an engaged pedagogy course. The class will be organized around a close collaboration with a NY legal organization that has taken on the work of representing many asylum seekers in the city. Students will learn the complexities of US asylum law and will work collectively to use this knowledge, while developing their research skills, to put together reports to be used in active asylum cases.
- WF 10:10 a.m.-noon
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Instructor:
Amelia Frank-Vitale
Info - 5 points
SUPERVISED INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH
All supervisors will be Columbia faculty who hold a PhD or other terminal degree. Students are responsible for identifying their own supervisor and it is at the discretion of faculty whether they offer to supervise individual research. Projects must be focused on human rights and can be approached from any disciplinary background. Students are expected to develop their own syllabus and reading list in consultation with their supervisor. The syllabus is to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or the Director of Undergraduate Studies, respectively. In addition to completing assigned readings, the student must also write a human rights seminar paper of 20-25 pages. Projects other than a research paper will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The range of topics that are acceptable as a human rights paper is broad. Research projects could focus on a particular violation of human rights; they could study the work of a particular NGO or social movement, they could research a person or a particular event and its implications for human rights. They could discuss the development of a norm, trace a particular process or comment on a case, among many other possible topics. According to the University’s academic policies, students cannot submit the same work for more than one course. The work completed in this independent study course must be distinct from the work a student completes in other courses, including the Human Rights Senior Seminar, the Human Rights Thesis Seminar, and the graduate human rights thesis course. Please also note that HRSMA students may not count this course toward the 30 points required for the degree. Rather, it can only be completed as additional coursework.
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Instructor:
Widney Brown
CULPA: 4
Info
- 3 points