Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2 group presentations.
1 Short reflection paper for each group presentation (individually drafted by each group member)
due at the end of presentation weeks.
One final project (paper or multimedia). Students must discuss final project topic with instructor
during week 7. Note: You will present a rough draft of your formal project as your second group
presentation in the final weeks of the class.
INTRODUCTION:
Class 1
Tuesday January 6. Introduction: What are Human Rights? How would we distinguish them from
Civil Rights? How are human rights claims relevant for individuals who live in entrenched
democracies such as the United States? (Guest speaker: Claret Vargas, Stanford Human Rights
Center)
Readings (in class):
Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
United States Bill of Rights http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/overview or
https://www.aclu.org/united-states-bill-rights
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.
https://www.cidh.oas.org/Basicos/English/Basic2.American%20Declaration.htm
American Convention on Human Rights http://www.oas.org/dil/treaties_B32_American_Convention_on_Human_Rights.htm
Class 2
Thursday January 8. There will be no class today. For your assignment please upload into the folder
labeled Beginning Statements a 250-word essaywho are you? Why are you taking this class?
What do you want to learn? Please upload this essay by Saturday Jan 10, 11:59 PM. Alsoevery one
should read everyone elses between Sunday morning and class Tuesday.
Class 3
Tuesday January 13
Discussion of your statements. A brief history of human rights
Readings:
Gary Bass, The Old New Thing: Samuel Moyns The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History. The
New Republic, October 20, 2010. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/books-andarts/magazine/78542/the-old-new-thing-human-rights
Carol Anderson, A Hollow Mockery: African Americans, White Supremacy, and the Development
of Human Rights in the United States, from Soohoo et al., eds., BHRH, Vol. 1 (2008), pp. 75-94.
Imperialists for Human Rights https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/12/imperialists-for-humanrights/
http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/feb/11/saturday-interview-stuart-hall
Class 6
Thursday January 22
The relation between race and space
Gaye Theresa Johnson, Spaces of Conflict, Sounds of Solidarity (Chapter 2Spatial Entitlement; Chapter
3Cold Wars and Counter WARS; Chapter 5Space, Sound, Shared Struggles)
George Lipsitz, How Racism Takes Place (IntroductionRace, Place, Power; Section 1Social
Imaginaries and Social Relations; A Bridge for this Book; A Place Where Everybody is Somebody)
Nicols Guilln. Tengo (I have) http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/havana/GuillenE.htm
of dissent, weakening of protective norms and accountability mechanisms. Why does a human
rights frame matter? Discussion of ideas and plans for first group presentations.
Readings:
United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials,
Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,
Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.144/28/Rev.1 at 112 (1990).
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/i2bpuff.htm
ICCPR article 19 http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/i2bpuff.htm
Take Back the Streets: Repression and Criminalization of Protests Around the World
https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/global_protest_suppression_report_inclo.pdf
Police Repression of Protests: Sao Paulo (Brazil). https://news.vice.com/article/scars-of-policebrutality-in-brazilian-protests-haunt-world-cup-kickoff
Ferguson and Gaza: How They Are, and Are Not Similar.
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/22/ferguson_and_gaza_the_definitive_study_of_how_they_are_a
nd_are_not_similar/
Class 9
Tuesday February 3
Film: Occupation 101
Class 10
Thursday February 5
Session with Hume Writing and Speaking Center
Class 11
Primer on the Inter-American Commission & CAT Committee (Guest speaker, C.Vargas)
Thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Discriminatory
Policing in the United States
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGOtPqlHLM&feature=youtu.be
Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns
(regarding the protection of the right to life during law enforcement and the importance of bringing
domestic laws regarding the use of lethal force by police up to international standards)
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session26/Documents/A-HRC-26-36_en.doc
http://justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/UN-ICCPR-Concluding-ObservationsUSA.pdf Paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 10, 11.
Class 14
Thursday February 19 US Stop and Frisk, UK Stop and Search: similar experiences different remedies.
Readings:
Stop and Frisk http://ccrjustice.org/the-human-impact-report.pdf
Floyd v. City of New York. summary: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/conlaw/2013/08/federaldistrict-judge-shira-scheindlin-finds-nycpds-stop-and-frisk-policies-violate-equal-protectio.html and
http://ccrjustice.org/stopandfrisk (synopsis and additional resources).
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/nyregion/de-blasio-stop-and-frisk.html
Stop-Watch (campaign regarding Stop and Watch policies in UK) http://www.stopwatch.org/about-us/
http://echrblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/uks-stop-and-search-violates-echr.html
Bansky images re: stop and watch. http://banksyt-shirts.com/wp-content/uploads/banksy-stopand-search-girl-414547.jpg http://db-artmag.com/archiv/assets/images/629/50.jpg
Discussion of Gillan & Quinton v. United Kingdom, (2010) EHRR 45.
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/humanrights/hrr_article_5.pdf (read pages
189-196). see also short Gillan summary at https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/who-we-are/ourwork/legal-work/key-liberty-legal-cases
Readings:
ACLU War Comes Home. https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/war-comes-home-excessive-militarizationamerican-police-report read: Executive Ssummary, Methodology and Recommendations (pp. 2-11; 4145)
Human Rights Watch: Lethal Force: Police Violence and Public Security in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo
(2013) http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/brazil1209web.pdf read Executive Summary
and 94-99, 110-117.
Shielded from Justice (1998 HRW report on police impunity in the United States).
http://books.google.com/books?id=htGP6WGvOREC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP8#v=onepage&q&f=fal
se or http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/police/toc.htm
read: Overview, Contributing Factors, Race as a Factor, Filing Complaints; Investigations into
Shootings; Civil Remedies; Local Criminal Prosecution; Federal Criminal Civil Rights Prosecution;
Federal Passivity to International Human Rights Standards; U.S. Law.
Class 16
Thursday February 26: Reflections on presentations DUE. No class today.
MONDAY MARCH 2: MAKE-UP SESSION: ATTEND SCREENING OF ENGINEERING
THE BORDER at 4 pm
Class 17
Tuesday March 3
Visit with director Alex Rivera. Borders, surveillance, security, immigration, race and space.
Discussion of your ideas for your final projects.
Class 18
Thursday March 5
Film: Please Dont Beat M e, Sir!
Class 19
March 10
Final Presentations
Class 20
March 12
Final Presentations
Finals week: before the end of finals, please write a 250-word essay that reflects back on what has
most impressed you about this coursewhat have you learned that has mattered most?
Final versions of group presentations are due the last day of finals week, 10 PM, no exceptions!