Human Rights Syllabi: Anthropology 476/876: Human Rights, Environment, and Development

Anthropology 476/876: Human Rights, Environment, and Development
Fall Semester, 2002, Bessey Hall 129, MWF 10:30-11:20 A.M.

Robert K. Hitchcock
Department of Anthropology and Geography
121 Bessey Hall
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68588-0368
(402) 472-2480
rhitchco@unlnotes.unl.edu

Goals and Aims of The Course (Human Rights, Environment, and Development)

The aim of this course (Human Rights, Environment, and Development, Anthropology 476/876) is to ground students in anthropological approaches to human rights and sustainable development. It will address issues that are of significance in the area of international human rights, paying specific attention to issues such as (1) universalism vs cultural relativism, (2) Western and non-Western perspectives on human rights, (3) individual rights and collective (group) rights, (4) the debates over civil and political rights and social, economic, and cultural rights; (5) indigenous peoples' rights and minority group rights, (6) women's rights, (7) children's rights, and (8) planetary (environmental) rights. Particular attention will be paid to the rights to food and to development.

A major focus of the course will be on the environment, and it will address issues relating to abuse of the environment (e.g. pollution), environmental racism, ecocide (the planned and purposeful destruction of the environment), and the victimization of those supporting environmental and human rights. A primary emphasis of the course will be on eco-justice, the linkage between human rights, the environment, and social justice. Anthropological contributions to the study of individuals, communities, ethnic groups, classes, gender, states, nation-states, environmental, development, and human rights-oriented non-government organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and transnational corporations (TNCs) will be explored. The human rights framework for sustainable development and environmental management will be addressed in detail.

This course attempts to do the following: 1) serve effectively to integrate environmental and social sciences; 2) provide a systemic view of human rights, development, the environment, and cultures; and 3) draw together a broad range of issues relating to contemporary global problems and solutions. The course will emphasize strongly a number of major theoretical and policy issues concerned with human rights, development, the environment, and social systems. The course is designed to encourage students to think critically about their own behavior vis a vis other people, the environment, and the states in which they live. Students are also encouraged to undertake activities with community, state, or national organizations involved with minorities, health and human services, the elderly, women, children, gays and lesbians, and the environment. These experiences can be drawn upon for course discussions about institutions and individuals and why humans, communities, and organizations behave the ways that they do.

Students are encouraged to raise issues in class and to take part in class discussions. Students are also encouraged to work with one another and to meet individually and in groups with the instructor and with each other. Students are also invited to make comments and suggest resources that they feel may be of use to other people in the class. Students are also invited to provide comments and suggestions and detailed feedback to the instructor on issues that they feel are of significance or that need to be addressed in order to enhance the quality of the course.

Course Requirements

All students in this course will be required to write a research paper (12-15 pages for undergraduates, 20-25 pages for graduate students). Alternatively, they can work on a project relating to human rights, environment, and development and do a poster session or summary report on the activities that they engaged in.

By the middle of the semester, all students will be required to submit an abstract of their proposed paper, research project, or poster presentation. Research papers receive written evaluations in terms of (1) significance of research topic(s), (b) depth and breadth of research conducted, (3) quality of the literature review, (d) clarity and directness of writing, (e) structure and organization of the paper, and (f) analytical strength.

Examinations are required in the course, with a mid-term and final examination being part of the activities in which students must take part. Quizzes over the readings are also a possibility, so students are encouraged both to keep up on the readings and to attend class. These examinations and assignments will be graded with an eye toward similar concerns as outlined above for the research papers.

Students will be asked to address issues raised in class lectures and class discussions as well as in the readings, guest lectures, and audiovisual presentations. Students who choose to get involved in an activity or project will also be required to keep journals and to write up experiences gained during activities with community, state, or national institutions or non-government organizations involved with human rights, environment, and development.

The major point of this course is to deal with human diversity and rights through time and across space. It deals with both Western and non-Western perspectives on human rights, environment, and development and will draw on examples from many of the world's 5,000-plus ethnic groups. Special emphasis is placed on gender, age, ethnicity, and class factors as they relate to human rights and development. Emphasis will be placed on topics ranging from equity to environmental justice, and from promoting of cultural rights to the protection of religious and intellectual freedom.

Office Hours of the Instructor

The office hours of the instructor are Monday and Wednesday from 1:30-5:00 p.m. or by appointment. You can also contact me by phone or by email.

Required Readings:

Rahnema, Majid with Victoria Bawtree (1997) The Post Development Reader. London: Zed Books.

Johnston, Barbara Rose (1997) Life and Death Matters: Human Rights and the Environment at the End of the Millennium. Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press.

Jacobson, David (2000) Rights Across Borders: Immigration and the Decline of Citizenship. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Wyckoff-Baird, Barbara, Andrew Kaus, Catherine M. Christen, and Margaret Keck (2000) Shifting the Power: Decentralization and Biodiversity Conservation. Washington, D.C.: Biodiversity Support Program. (To be given to the students by the instructor).

Student Rights and Responsibilities

As in all courses at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the rights and responsibilities of students in this course are governed by the Student Code of Conduct, a copy of which can be found in the UNL Undergraduate Bulletin.

Examinations and Grades

There will be two examinations in the course, a midterm and a final. There will also be quizzes which will be given, and a research paper.

Grading Scale

Mid-term Exam 50 points
Final Exam 50 points
Research Paper 50 points
Quizzes 5 points each
TOTAL 200 points

Format

The format of the course will include lectures, guest lectures, audiovisual presentations, mediation exercises, and recommended attendance of outside lectures, including ones from the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues, the Human Rights and Human Diversity Initiative lecture series, and other lectures series at UNL or in Lincoln.

Paper and Project Report Formats

The course papers and project reports should include (a) a title page with the paper title, course name and number, student name, identification number, and date, (b) an abstract - a brief, one- paragraph statement summarizing the project, (c) the body of the paper or field project document, and (d) a list of any relevant research material or references. All papers and reports should be typed. Standard referencing should be used. Full citations for website data are expected, including the http number, title, author(s), and date.

Another method of handling the field research or applied project is to do it in the form of a presentation with pictures and typed material describing the work. A poster presentation should be done on one side of a cardboard sheet, with a title, set of photographs, text describing what is shown in the pictures and what the field project or organization's activities consisted of and what the impacts were. The poster presentation should be done on one side of the cardboard sheet only. A margin of at least one to two inches on the top and bottom and left and right of the page should be used.

Field Project Option

Though most students in anthropology courses and courses dealing with human rights and conflict and conflict resolution may never have the opportunity to carry out a full-scale field project, they can enjoy a taste of what it is like to "do conflict resolution work." Ours is a large, complex culture in a sociological and anthropological sense, a culture so extensive and intricate that none of us is familiar with all of it. One can experience much of what a conflict manager gets to deal with in communities and institutions by seeking out and exploring a part of our own diverse world.

One can begin this exploration by working with a community organization, an environmental group, or an agency involved in conflict resolution or social work. During the course of this exploration, you can take part in a project or set of activities that can be documented in the form of a journal, set of notes, or audio tapes (which must be obtained with the permission of the people involved). The report on the field project can be a problem- oriented analysis of the work you did, observed, or learned about, and/or an assessment of the goals, objectives, and successes or failures of the organization.

One way to approach the field project would be to do what in development terms is an institutional analysis by looking at the structure, function, and strategies of the organization or group. Another way to do it would be to monitor the work of the group or organization, examining through time its activities. A third way to do the field project is to do an evaluation of the work of the group or organization. An evaluation is an examination of the activities at the end of the time that you observed, worked with, or interviewed them and what kinds of impacts they had.

Questions?

If questions arise about the best way in which to approach the course, the paper, the field project, or any other matter, please see the instructor.

ANTHROPOLOGY 476/876 ROBERT HITCHCOCK
HUMAN RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT Fall, 2002

COURSE SYLLABUS
__________________________________________________________________________

Week Dates Topic(s) Readings
__________________________________________________________________________

1 Aug 27-31 Human Rights, Environment, Development: Reader: intro

Introduction Jacobson, Preface
2 Sept 2-6 Human Rights: Definitions BRJ, Introduction

Reader, chs. 6, 7

3 Sept 9-13 Universalism & Cultural Relativism Reader, chs. 8-10

BRJ, ch. 1, Jacobson, 1

4 Sept 16-20 Human Rights and State Systems Reader, ch. 1

BRJ, ch. 2, Jacobson, 2

5 Sept 23-27 Civil Rights, Minority Rights Reader, chs. 2, 3

BRJ, chs. 3, 4

6 Sept 30- Basic Human Needs, Governance Reader, chs. 4, 5
Oct 4 BRJ, ch. 5, 6

7 Oct 7-11 Self-Determination, Planetary Rights, BRJ, chs. 8, 11
Rights to Peace Reader, ch. 11

WED, Oct 9 MID-TERM EXAMINATION

8 Oct 14-18 International Approaches to Human Rights BRJ, Ch. 2, Jacobson, 3
Implementation Reader, ch. 26

Fri, Oct 18 PAPER ABSTRACTS DUE

9 Oct 21-25 International Approaches to Human Rights BRJ, Ch. 7, Jacobson, 4

Implementation and the Conference on Reader, Ch. 34

Security And Cooperation in Europe

l0 Oct 28- Protecting Human Rights: The Commission Reader, Ch. 19, 20
Nov 1 On Human Rights and the Economic and BRJ 13

Social Council (ECOSOC) Decentralization

11 Nov 4-8 Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) Reader, chs. 12, 13, 14

Approaches to Human Rights BRJ, Ch. 14

l2 Nov 11-15 Multinational (Transnational) Corporations BRJ, Chs. 9, 10

and Human Rights Reader, Chs. 22, 23, 27-9

l3 Nov 18-22 National Approaches to Human Rights Issues, BRJ, Ch. 12, Jacobson,

United States Foreign Policy Reader, chs. 30-33, 37

l4 Nov 25-29 Individual Approaches to Human Rights Reader. Chs. 15-18

Rights Implementation: The Courts Jacobson, 6

Nov 28 - Dec 1 (Thurs-Sun) Thanksgiving Break

15 Dec 2-6 The U.S. Commitment to Human Rights; BRJ conclusion

Humanitarian Intervention; SE Asia Reader, 24, 25

Jacobson, 7

16 Dec 10-14 International Human Rights, Environment, Reader, Chs. 35-36

Development: Past, Present, and Future and Afterword; BRJ

Appendix

Monday, Dec. 10 Papers Due

17 Dec 16-20 Final Examination Week

Monday, Dec 16 FINAL EXAM, 10:00 a.m. 12:00 noon
_____________________________________________________________
Abbreviations of Readings:

1. READER - Rahnema, Majid with Victoria Bawtree (1997) The Post Development Reader. London: Zed Books.

2. BRJ - Johnston, Barbara Rose (1997) Life and Death Matters: Human Rights and the Environment at the End of the Millennium. Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press.

3. JACOBSON - Jacobson, David (2000) Rights Across Borders: Immigration and the Decline of Citizenship. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.

4. Decentralization - Wyckoff-Baird, Barbara, Andrew Kaus, Catherine M. Christen, and Margaret Keck (2000) Shifting the Power: Decentralization and Biodiversity Conservation. Washington, D.C.: Biodiversity Support Program.

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