Use the Tab and Up, Down arrow keys to select menu items.
Special Topic: Human Rights: Agendas. Issues and the European Union
A general introduction to human rights and human rights agendas and issues in relation to the European Union.This course gives an overview of the concept of human rights and a deeper understanding of human rights agendas and issues in the context of the European Union. It looks at different conceptions of human rights, human rights regimes particularly in a European context, and human rights issues around the world. A particular focus of this course is to discuss the role of the European Union as a normative actor and review human rights discourse in relation to the European Union from both an internal and external dimension in relation to global civil society. The intensive nature of the summer school environment provides the opportunity for combining lectures and seminars with online reflection. The course content is divided into three thematic blocks: the concept of human rights; the EU human rights regime; and agendas and issues in human rights, with a particular focus on the EU and external action in relation to human rights. As the course is an intensive summer school it is taught in seminar format with classes over three weeks in November. This introductory course is suitable for students with no prior knowledge of the European Union, but with a keen interest in human rights issues.
On completion of the course students will be able to demonstrate the ability to analyse the impact of human rights, in relation to current political, social and economic developments; critically evaluate emerging trends in relation to the EU and human rights; review the impact of human rights and the development of the idea of global civil society; discuss the links between human rights and contemporary challenges to the individual, member states, the EU and the international community.
Any 15 points in EURO 100-level courses OR any 45 points at 100-level in Arts, Commerce, Law OR any other 45 points at 100-level with the approval of the Course Coordinator.
Katharine Vadura
Armstrong, David. et al; Civil Society and International Governance : The role of non-state actors in the EU, Africa, Asia and Middle East ; Taylor & Francis, 2010.
Bindi, Federiga M; The foreign policy of the European Union : assessing Europe's role in the world ; Brookings Institution Press, 2010.
Bourdet, Yves. , Gullstrand, J., Olofsdotter, Karin; The European Union and developing countries : trade, aid, and growth in an integrating world ; E. Elgar Pub, 2007.
Boylan, Michael; The morality and global justice reader ; Westview Press, 2011.
Brysk, Alison; Global Good Samaritans : Human Rights as Foreign Policy ; Oxford University Press, USA, 2009.
Goodhart, Michael E. , Mihr, Anja; Human rights in the 21st century : continuity and change since 9/11 ; Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Laidi, Zaki; EU foreign policy in a globalized world : normative power and social preferences ; Routledge, 2008.
Seitz, John L. , Hite, Kristen A; Global issues : an introduction ; 4th ed; John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Whitman, Richard G; Normative power Europe : empirical and theoretical perspectives ; Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Willetts, Peter; Non-governmental organizations in world politics : the construction of global governance ; Routledge, 2011.
Wunderlich, Jens-Uwe , Bailey, David J; The European Union and global governance : a handbook ; Routledge, 2011.
There is no single text book for the course. Readings will be made available to students via the course page on LEARN.
Library portal
Domestic fee $619.00
International fee $2,688.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see National Centre for Research on Europe .