Current Courses

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

This course will explore various human rights questions through an examination of relevant legal documents paired with literary works from a variety of genres (from drama to memoir) that address each issue. The course is intended to give students an understanding of some of the most pressing human rights issues of the past and today, ranging from slavery to economic inequalities.

This course will critically examine the role of women in the Third World. It will concentrate largely on the changes in these roles and their correspondence with the transition from traditional to new forms of economic organization,production, and power.

This course will introduce students to philosophical questions concerning the foundations of human rights. What are human rights based on? What makes something a human right? Are human rights universally and permanently valid or is the notion of human rights merely a construct of modern Western culture? The course will familiarize students with alternative theoretical answers to these and other related questions.

This course will examine strategies to prevent, investigate and punish genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Students will explore the protection of victims and their fundamental rights in emergency situations, the rights and duties of relevant stakeholders, and the role of international law in addressing grievous human rights violations. Prerequisite: HMRT 1003: Introduction to Human Rights.

This course primarily examines the impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After an introductory discussion of the Bill of Rights and the development of the Charter, instruction focuses on a number of Supreme Court decisions interpreting the meaning of the Charter's provisions. Prerequisite: HMRT 1003: Introduction to Human Rights

This course explores how the rise of social media has both advanced and hindered the protection of human rights by examining how social media provides a platform for instantaneous global information-sharing, rendering it increasingly difficult for state or business interests to shield human rights abuses from public scrutiny. Topics will be examined through several case studies. Prerequisites: HMRT 1003 - Introduction to Human Rights.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

This course explores socially constructed customs and structures of society that enable legal regulation of gender identity and human sexuality through the history, policies and norms that shape government action. Basic theories of gender and sexuality studies are explored before critically examining the same theories in practice through case studies. This course explores other identity issues such as race, age, disability, and class intertwine with gender and sexuality identities, and how experiences and identities shape the ways in which people resist inequality and lobby for change.

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

The purpose of this course is to give students an introduction to research methods used in the study of human rights. The course will include methods of data collection as well as analysis of data. The course will begin with a general introduction to the aims and methods of research projects. Students in this course will do a research project in human rights under the supervision of the instructor. Students will be expected to present periodic reports on the status of their work.

This course covers core theoretical concepts and the enduring debates in human rights theory. It will not only introduce students to the main ideas, major schools of thought, and key disputes but also prepare them to identify and critically analyze the often unspoken underlying theoretical perspectives employed in human rights discourse by scholars and by advocates in their human rights practice. Prerequisite: HMRT 1003: Introduction to Human Rights

This course exposes students to the practice of human rights by completing a supervised internship with a local community partner organization. Students are required to complete short weekly reports and a detailed final report that encourages them to reflect on the relationship between that experience and their formal human rights studies. Instructor's consent is required to register for this course. Students should request registration as soon as possible once registration opens for the academic year. New registrations cannot be accepted once the course has officially commenced. Prerequisite: HMRT 1003: Introduction to Human Rights.

This course explicates the principal international and regional systems in place for the protection and promotion of human rights, including the Inter-American, European, African, and United Nations systems. Students will study the most important human rights instruments, such as the International Bill of Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

This course examines the legal human rights structures in Canada and internationally, as they apply to children, adolescents, and seniors in unique and rapidly evolving ways. The primary focus is domestic human rights legislation under provincial and federal human rights Acts. Various legal regimes, both local and international, related to immigration/refugee law, privacy law, health law, criminal law, education law, Aboriginal law, welfare law, and other areas are surveyed.

This course will consist of an in-depth investigation of one or more human rights problems. The specific topic will change from year to year. Students will be expected to examine the issue(s) in light of their knowledge of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights as well as their understanding of the fundamental questions of value that surround contemporary social issues. The course is normally reserved for students in their final year of the human rights Major.

Students will study the different types of research and be able to discriminate between primary and secondary research as well as qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research. Students will also learn and practice various oral communication skills and be expected to defend and support their arguments. The major work in the course will consist of a research essay of approximately 2000 words that will follow the general format of a thesis. Students, in their studies on communications, will learn how to recognize argumentative fallacies and propaganda and how to discern bias in reporting.