Human Rights
Administrative Information
Program Director: Prof. Samuel Moyn, 616 Fayerweather; 854-3009; sam2008@columbia.edu
Program Office: Center for the Study of Human Rights; 1108 IAB; 854-2479
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The study of human rights is central to a contemporary understanding of some of the oldest philosophical issues: the nature of freedom, equality, representation, and justice; and the meaning of human dignity, indeed, the very identity of the human. At the same time, it has a crucial bearing on some of the newest technological, economic, and social issues: the promises and dangers of biotechnology, the ethics of mass media, the logic of high-tech weaponry, the ramifications of cultural and economic globalization, and the future of global terror and the new justifications for violence that accompany it.
Over the past few decades, human rights have become crucial touchstones of contemporary ethics and politics. With the proliferation of human rights institutions, the concept of human rights has taken a central place in such contemporary debates as those over war crimes tribunals and truth commissions, the problems of humanitarian intervention, and the changing role of global economic institutions. At the same time, transformations in global culture (with increasing economic and media globalization in the wake of the cold war) have produced a new set of questions and a new generation of scholars who are rethinking the history of human rights, looking hard at the institutions and mechanisms that sustain them, and assessing their relation to their founding traditions.
The courses offered by the Human Rights Program, drawn from the offerings of individual departments, are designed to engage Columbia students in this emergent interdisciplinary discussion; provide them with a knowledge of the theory and practice of human rights; stimulate a critical examination of the historical and conceptual antecedents, selection and formulation, enforcement and violation, political and discursive uses of human rights; and allow students to reflect (alongside scholars, writers, and practitioners) on the rich past and complex future of a set of beliefs and practices fundamental to the shaping of their world.
Students interested in human rights should consider the special concentration described below. They are also encouraged to participate in the lectures, conferences, and other events sponsored by the Center for the Study of Human Rights and the human rights programs in the Schools of International Affairs, Law, and Public Health. Those interested in doing further work in this field should consult with the director or other members of the interdepartmental committee.