CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE (CHRP) CHR 609: Human Rights and Culture Lecturer: Jefwa Mweri, PhD jmweri2000@yahoo.com CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS The place of culture in social, economic and political life; culture and identity; indigenous people s rights; cultural relativism and the definition of human rights in different cultures; human rights as a cultural practice; culture and development; cultural practices that inhibit and promote human rights: language, marriage, family systems, religious practices, ownership of property, taboos, initiation rites, division of labour, the age factor and children s rights; culture and environmental concern; cultural -identity boundaries, separatism; conflict and human rights; culture, ethnicity and democracy; the centre-periphery model of culture, space and rights; tradition, modernity and the problem of human rights. COURSE SYNOPSIS: This course is about the study of cultural issues in their relation to human rights. It analyzes how cultural difference and human rights operate both in theory and in practice. The course also addresses challenges that particular cultures play to recognition of universal human rights and the notion of building a human rights culture. The course will also examine how different cultures view human rights and the degree to which cultural differences in the conception of human rights affect the universality of those rights. This way we hope to forge a new perspective of looking at critical issues that recognizes that the establishment and defense of cultural rights can provide a means of preserving cultural integrity and heritage, and, second, achieving social justice for all. COURSE ORGANIZATION: The course is divided into four main topics with several subtopics First, the course begins with an examination of the place of culture in social, economic and political life; culture and identity; indigenous people s rights. The concept of the universality of human rights which also touches on the ethics of human rights will also be examined. Students will be required to examine both the global origins and foundation of human rights. Second, the course analyzes intercultural dialogue and its different approaches. What are the challenges particular cultures play to recognition of universal human CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 1

rights and the dilemmas which different conceptions of human rights language and practice pose for diverse cultures. Students will examine human rights as a cultural practice and issues of culture and development. Third, the course turns to the notion of cultural rights and violations and examines the different causes of human rights violations. This is aimed at building a human rights culture, as a means of understanding who human rights actors are, how human rights norms form, and engaging with issues of how human rights may function across cultures and in unique ways within cultures. Finally, the course analyzes the concept of multiculturalism which focuses on coexistence and tolerance to diversity so as to apply the notions of culture and human rights into the empirical lens of how a new human right forms and functions. Syllabus change policy This syllabus is a guide and every attempt is made to provide an accurate overview of the course. However, circumstances and events may make it necessary for the instructor to modify the syllabus during the semester and may depend, in part, on the progress, needs, and experiences of the students. Changes to the syllabus will be made with advance notice Questions to be considered: The universality of human rights Moral universals do they exist or is it a question of cultural imperialism? Is morality linked to culture? Or is it cultural relative? What is the role of culture for people and their identity? Do cultures really differ with respect to human rights? Are cultural differences in some sense real, or are they constructed, or both, and why does it matter? Are Human rights universal or are they an imposition of the cultural norms of the west on other cultures? Is the perception of human rights and democracy the same world over? Is democracy the best form of government and should it be culturally sensitive? Intercultural dialogue Is it possible to develop culturally sensitive approaches to the issues of human right? How possible is it to establish linkages between local cultural values and universally recognized human rights? Which approach is best in establishing intercultural dialogue? CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 2

Is it possible to achieve universality of human rights through intercultural dialogue? Cultural rights and violations What role do different institutions play in the violation of cultural rights? Is selfishness a factor in the violation of rights? What role does culture play in rights violation? Multiculturalism Is it possible to develop a human rights culture? Can we talk of equality and still be tolerant to diversity Is there a way to bridge the gap between human rights universalism and cultural relativism? How significant is local adaptation of human rights discourse? What are the main obstacles to creating a strong human rights culture in all societies of the world? Will a stronger human rights culture necessarily lead to better practices? What else should be done? LEARNING OBJECTIVES: This course is generally aimed at analyzing how cultural difference and human rights operate both in theory and in practice and to impart knowledge about the nature and significance of the interplay between human rights and culture. By the end of this course, students should be able to: Understand the main debates in the field of human rights as they relate to culture and be able to contribute to these debates with clarity, personal reflection, empirical examples, and theoretical foundations; Identify key literature, debates, and ideas in the field of human rights and culture Debate with authority contemporary developments pertaining to generating a culture of human rights; Conduct analysis of a case study about culture and human rights as relates to the main debates in the field; Think creatively and effectively about human rights and cultural difference in current practice. Teaching Methodology: Lectures Group discussions, workshops Research and presentation of case studies CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 3

Use of audio visual material ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: For successful completion of this course, you will be expected to adhere to the following: CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION (10% grade): The students will be expected to not only attend class regularly but also to respond thoughtfully to other student s presentations as well as to any instructor units. Students are however reminded to be constructive in their criticism and respectful to their colleague s efforts. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS(30% grade) Students will be required to write at least three scholarly papers based on their class presentations that will demonstrate their ability to analyze, apply and integrate knowledge on culture and human rights issues These papers must present evidence and provide a critical analysis of the issues presented. The Papers must present a scholarly, fair and systematic discussion of the evidence. Papers must be typed, double-spaced, in accordance with a recognized citation style, and include a title page, appropriate endnotes, and reference list. (The notes and references are not included in the page count). FINALEXAM: 60% COURSE CONTENT FOR CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS: Week 1: Introductions & setting rules of engagement The place of culture in social, economic and political life The universality of culture the global origin and foundation of Human rights - The universal declaration of human rights Moral universals Do they exist? Human rights and international law: real and normative universality of Human rights Week 2. Cultural relativism: challenging the universality of Human rights Importance of culture for people and their identity & indigenous people s rights Human rights values Vs. cultural values Link between culture, universal values and universal human rights CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 4

Week 3 definition of human rights in different cultures; human rights as a cultural practice; Universal support for human rights and democracy Ratification of different international conventions and treaties by countries Universality of democracy; perception of democracy Is democracy the best form of Government? Should it be cultural sensitive? Week 4 sentimental approaches Vs. rational approaches to H/R Moral apathy vs. caring Cultural expansionism vs. cultural reductionism Universality of rights through dialogue Week 5 culture and development Development as a cultural process modernity, post structuralism and post-colonialism development institutions, processes and practices and the web of cultural presuppositions, values and meanings. the challenges that processes of cultural change pose to conventional understandings of development Week 6 Cultural rights violation cultural practices that inhibit and promote human rights: language, marriage, family systems Is the notion of universal human right that inhibits the practice of culture? Week 7 Cultural rights violation cultural practices that inhibit and promote human rights: ownership of property, taboos, initiation rites, division of labour, the age factor and children s rights; Week 8 Cultural rights violation Other causes of rights violation Gender discrimination Religion & Authoritarianism the state, selfishness tourism violation of sanctity of holy places CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 5

Week 9 culture and environmental concern; Cultural models on the environment Ethno cultural differences The ecology model The spiritual model of nature- society interaction Week 10 culture and environmental concern; Tourism and the environment ecotourism Cultural Dimensions of Hospitality Service Provision Forced land acquisition Pollution Week 11 the centre-periphery model of culture contemporary cultural practices in Kenya. the advanced or metropolitan centre Vs. a less developed periphery economic underdevelopment and dependency the Marxist tradition of analysis. The spatial and socio-economic dimensions. Week 12 Culture space and rights Proximics Gendered space Inscribed spaces Contested spaces Transnational spaces Week 13: tradition, modernity and the problem of human rights. Individual Vs. people centered development planning the world bank case paradoxes associated with human rights discourse in today s globalised world Post modernism and human rights Media and human rights Week 14 Multiculturalism the contextualization of multiculturalism: an approach to sifting and evaluating cultural values liberal egalitarianism vs. Culture and equality CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 6

Equality vs. tolerance to diversity Contemporary theories of justice Week 14: REVISION/FINAL EXAM WEEK REQUIRED READINGS: Akira Iriye, Cultural internationalism and world order,, Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997 Alan Boyle and Michael Anderson, eds.: Human Rights Approaches to Environmental Protection Human Rights Approaches to Environmental Protection: an Overview (chapter 1), and J.G. Merrills, Environmental Protection and Human Rights: Conceptual Aspects (Chapter 2). (p. 1-41) Beyond relativism : Raymond Boudon, cognitive rationality, and critical realism, Cynthia Lins Hamlin, London; New York: Routledge, 2001 Catherine Powell, Locating Culture, Identity and Human Rights, 30 Columbia Human Rights Law Review 201 (1999) Case study involving Shell Oil in Nigeria and the Ogoni People: L. Amedi Obiora, Symbolic Episodes in the Quest for Environmental Justice, Human Rights Quarterly, V. 21: 2 (May 1999) Case study involving the Awas Tingni people of Nigeria: Jorge Daniel Taillant, A Nascent Agenda for the Americas Human Rights Dialogue, Spring, 2004. Colin M. Turnbull, Africa and change, New York: Knopf [distributed by Random House], 1973 Farhat Haq Jihad Over Human Rights, Human Rights as Jihad: Clash of Universals in Negotiating Culture and Human Rights, Lynda S. Bell, Andrew Nathan, and Ilan Peleg, eds. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001) Giavanna Di Chiro, "Nature as Community: The Convergence of Environment and Social Justice" in William Cronon, ed., Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (1995) Greg Forster, Cultural patterns and moral laws, Bramcote: Grove Books, 1977 Morality and cultural differences, John W. Cook, New York : Oxford University Press, 1999 Human Rights Education Associates, Study Guide on the Right to Culture http://www.hrea.org/learn/guides/culture.html CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 7

Hurst Hannum, The Right of Self-Determination in the Twenty-First Century, 55 Washington & Lee Law Review 773 (1998) James L. Gibson, Truth, Reconciliation, and the Creation of a Human Rights Culture In South Africa, 38 Law & Soc'y Rev. 5 (March 2004) Klaus Bosselmann, Human Rights and the Environment: Redefining Fundamental Principles? Leonard Hammer, Human Right to Culture and Migrant Workers in Israel, 11 MSU-DCL J. Int'l L. 427 (2002) Negotiating Culture and Human Rights, Lynda S. Bell, Andrew Nathan, and Ilan Peleg, eds. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001) Penelope Andrews, Women s Human Rights and the Conversation Across cultures, 67 Alb. L. Rev. 609 (2003). Richard Wilson Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives: Introduction in Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives Jane C. Cowan, Marie Benedicte Dembour, and Richard A. Wilson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) Richard Wilson, "Representing Human Rights Violations: Social Contexts and Subjectivities," p. 134-160. In Wilson ed. Human Rights, Culture and Context. Anthropological Perspectives. Pluto Press, London. Rosemary Foot, Chapters 8 and 9 in Rights Beyond Borders (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) Simon Caney and Peter Jones (eds) Human rights and global diversity, editors, London; Portland, Or.: Frank Cass Publishers, 2001 Wolfgang Sachs, Environment and Human Rights in Development, vol. 47 iss. 1 (March 2004) CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 8

Student Acknowledgement (Please return this sheet to the instructor) I,, have completely read this syllabus and understand and agree to the course requirements. Please indicate below, any special needs or circumstances that may have some impact on your work in this class, and for which you may require special accommodations, including but not limited to physical or mental disabilities, inability to arrive in class on time or need to leave class early, observance of religious holidays, etc. Special needs or circumstances: CHR 609: CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Page 9