This five-week course will provide an introduction to human rights and democracy, focusing especially on U.S. government policies and programs. The course will explore the theoretical underpinning of human rights and democracy, and the relationship between these two concepts and why these issues are part of foreign policy. We will also look at the process of democratization in various countries, including examining some examples of democratic transitions. We will examine U.S. efforts to promote human rights and democracy through projects around the world. The course will have a particular focus on policy application by looking at international efforts to promote human rights and democracy. Students will gain insight and skill into studying, designing, evaluating and critiquing human rights and democracy projects in non-democratic countries. As a final project students will design a human rights and democracy project and present it to a funding panel.
This class meets from 2/27/15 through 4/3/15.