| Unit name | Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0089 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Mr. Burton |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Human rights are the dominant theme of our age and are conventionally conceived of as legal entitlements that one has simply in virtue of being human. They are traditionally seen as being outside of ordinary day to day political debate, something that provides a legal constraint on legitimate political action. Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society challenges these traditional assumptions and critically examines the foundations of, protections for, and place of human rights in contemporary legal, political and social discourse. It asks difficult but important questions: what are human rights? How do we know what rights we have? Do we all have the same human rights? How should human rights be enforced in a world of competing priorities? Are human rights relevant for the challenges of contemporary society, such as global poverty, conflict, and climate change?
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to critically explore both the theory and practice of human rights. It will complement other units you may be studying or have studied that explore themes related to human rights and international law more generally. In particular, this is a mandatory unit for students on the Human Rights LLM programme, and is optional for students on all other LLM programmes.
An Overview of Content
Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society critically examines the theory and practice of human rights, considering the academic, legal, social and political debates around human rights. You will encounter some of the most prominent theories and criticisms of human rights, which explore the foundations of and justifications for human rights. The unit addresses the themes of universalism and relativism in the context of human rights, and also considers some of the most important contemporary human rights issues, such as development and poverty, climate change, migration and national security.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society will challenge your assumptions about human rights and require you to consider the meaning and justifications for human rights as well as their place within legal, social and political discourse. This is especially important for law students, where conventional wisdom often takes the existence and justifications for human rights for granted. After studying this unit, you will have a deeper and more critical understanding of what human rights are, where they may have come from, and how they apply to the modern world.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, successful students will be able to:
The unit consists of a weekly mix of seminar, lecture and guided independent activities. These activities combine teacher delivery to students, asynchronous activities such as recorded interviews/talks and other teaching materials, student discussion, student group work and student independent activities including structured reading, engaging with audio/visual resources and analysing different written data sources.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessment will take several forms in Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society. There will be multiple choice quizzes for each topic cycle, which will enable you to self-assess your own learning. There will be opportunities to gain formative feedback in each large group session and seminar in the form of advice from academic members of staff and self-assessment of one’s own knowledge.
The unit will also have an optional, marked formative assessment during the teaching term. The formative assessment does not count towards the final mark for the unit and assessment is aimed at directly assisting you in preparing for the summative assessment by testing your ability to engage critically with a topic or topics and your general writing abilities. As well as developing deeper understanding of a particular topic or topics, by engaging with formative assessment you can further develop your skills and better evaluate your ability to engage with the subject and respond effectively to questions. The formative assessment will require you to complete a 1,500 word essay. You will receive individual feedback on your essay, a mark and general written feedback to the whole cohort. This will be a shortened form of the same kind of assessment questions that you will have in your summative assessment and will be the same kinds of assessment questions that you discuss in your seminars and large group sessions as the unit progresses.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
This unit will be assessed by one coursework (4,000 words). This coursework will require students to write a research essay in response to one of several questions relating to topics covered in the syllabus. It will require a critical assessment and will assess all intended learning outcomes for this unit. The students are expected to conduct research beyond the unit reading list in their coursework.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0089).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
