Human Rights: An Introduction

Description

Human Rights: An Introduction is an important text that provides a comprehensive overview of human rights and related issues from a social science perspective. First, this book does more than discuss theory, it uses case studies and personal testimonies in the debate. Human rights as an area of academic interest cannot be easily divorced from human rights struggles and the reality of contemporary conditions. Second, the book is aimed at what is an emerging and growing cross-disciplinary field of study. Human rights issues are increasingly coming to the fore in a number of academic debates. Whereas the study of human rights has traditionally been included in departments of law, international relations and philosophy, a number of courses are now being set up in departments of sociology and anthropology. Consequently, there is an increasing need to bring these disparate approaches together. Cover Human Rights Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction Thinking about human rights Human rights abuses in the world today The scope of human rights research Human rights and theoretical traditions Chapter One Theorising human rights What are human rights? A brief history of human rights theory Are human rights universal? Are human rights incontrovertible? Are human rights subjective? Ethics and social practice Modernity and democratisation The state and human rights theory Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Two Regulating human rights Who protects human rights? A brief history of human rights regulation Human rights and world politics The United Nations Human rights and the law Human rights and social movements The state and human rights regulation Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Three Censorship What is censorship? A brief history of censorship Censorship and democracy The theoretical discourse on censorship Pornography and obscenity The state, censorship and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Four Political prisoners What is a political prisoner? A brief history of political prisoners Political policing Political prisoners and just punishment Exile and house arrest 'Disappearances' and extra-judiclal executions The state, political prisoners and human rights Essay questions Notes Chapter Five Torture What is torture? A brief history of torture Torture methods The theoretical discourse on torture Understanding torturers Medical involvement in torture The trade in torture equipment The state, torture and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Six The death penalty What is the death penalty? A brief history of the death penalty Execution methods Understanding the death penalty The theoretical discourse on the death penalty 'Race', class and the death penalty The experience of Death Row Medical involvement in the death penalty The state, the death penalty and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Seven Apartheid What is apartheid? A brief history of apartheid Understanding apartheid Apartheid, caste and social stratification Gender and apartheid The state, apartheid and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Eight Slavery What is slavery? A brief history of slavery 'Race', citizenship and slavery Understanding slavery The experience of enslavement The state, slavery and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Nine Genocide What is genocide? A brief history of genocide Understanding genocide Political genocide The experience of the concentration camp The state, genocide and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Chapter Ten Refugees What is a refugee? A brief history of refugees 'Race', citizenship and refugees Refugees and border controls Refugees and the media The experience of displacement The state, refugees and human rights Essay questions Notes Further information Conclusion New directions in human rights research Women and human rights Children and human rights Business and human rights Poverty and human rights The environment and human rights Human rights in a globalised world Essay questions Notes Further information Appendix Universal Declaration of Human Rights International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Name index Acts and Conventions index Subject index Plates