HUMAN RIGHTS IN HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher:
GIORGIA AGATA COSTANZO
Expected Learning Outcomes
Within the framework of globalization processes, the course will examine
the affirmation of political doctrines concerning natural law and natural
rights through the study of articles and essays written by important modern and
contemporary philosophers. Students will be able to better understand the
origins of what we now call "human rights" in a perspective that is
based on the tradition of predominantly western thinking. The course focuses on
the historical path that marked the transition from natural law and natural
rights to human rights, identifying continuity and changes related to human
rights debates and claims during this long-lasting period of time, in order to
explore how these rights have been historically affirmed, denied, justified and
violated. The course aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of
the history of fundamental claims that have certainly influenced the human
rights documents drawn up in the contemporary age
Course Structure
The course will be held by frontal lectures but also interactive seminars, training workshops, simulations and role-playing games.
Required Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the western history of
political thought
Attendance of Lessons
Compulsory
attendance. Absences are permitted up to a maximum of 30%
Detailed Course Content
The course is divided into three parts (9 CFU), the first (3 CFU) deals with the history of Western natural rights as they developed in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries thanks to the contribution of important philosophers, the second (3 CFU) focuses on 'declarations' concerning 'human rights' produced in the past and the third (3 CFU) concludes the course by focusing on recent debates concerning the so-called 'new' human rights of the contemporary age on a global scale. Although human rights continue to be discussed and debated, their long history has often been insufficiently analysed and sometimes even forgotten. Rather than being regarded as a 20th century phenomenon, as some authors claim, human rights may also represent that high point of development reached by Western law and natural law as well as an important and peculiar moment of transition to more recent notions of human rights. The content of the course is therefore designed to offer a prismatic and multifaceted view on the complicated and delicate topic of human rights through a historical reconstruction that starts from the modern age with references to antiquity and goes as far as the present day. The course is conducted through lectures with PPT presentations, workshops, class discussions, simulations and gaming.
Textbook Information
BOOKS:Micheline Ishay, The History of Human Rights from ancient times to the globalization era, University of California Press, 2008 Samuel Moyn, The Last Utopia - Human Rights in History, Harward University Press, 2012 (paperback edition)
Lynn Hunt, Inventing Human Rights - A History, W W Norton &Co, 2008.GENERAL ESSAYES:Spasimir Domaradzki - Margaryta Khvostova - David Pupovac, Karel Vasak's Generations of Rights and the Contemporary Human Rights Discourse, Human Rights Review, 2019, pp. 423 - 443Maurice Cranston, Are there any Human Rights? Daedalus, vol. 112, n.4, Human Rights, 1983, pp.1 -17.Robert Lamb, Historicising the Idea of Human Rights, Political Studies, vol. 67, 2019, pp. 100 -115Brian Tierney, Natural Law and Natural Rights: Old problems and recent Approaches, pubblished on line by Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 389 - 406.Stephen P. Marks, From the "single confused page" to the "Decalogue for six billion persons": The Roots of the UDHR in the French Revolution, Human Rights Quarterly,1998, pp. 459 - 514.Richard P. Hiskes, The Right to a Green Future: Human Rights, Environmentalism, Intergenerational Justice, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 27, 2005, pp. 1346 - 1364.Giorgia Costanzo, Tolerance and Toleration towards the Uncertainty Virus in the Pandemic Era, Dis-ordine virale – politica e linguaggi della crisi, Roma-Tre press, 2024, pp. 229 - 242.
Nick Bostrom, Existential Risk Prevention as Global Priority, Global Policy, vol. 4, 2013, pp. 15 -31.
Course Planning
| | Subjects | Text References |
|---|
| 1 | History of Human Rights or Human Rights in History? | S. Moyne The last Utopia. M. Ishay, The History of Human Rights + essayes |
| 2 | Natural Law and Natural Rights | M. Ishay, The History of Human Rights + essayes |
| 3 | Declaring rights: documents and struggles to claim civil rights | L.Hunt,Inventing Human Rights + documents |
| 4 | From UDHR to 4th generation rights.The last utopia? | S. Moyne The last Utopia + essayes |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Ongoing evaluation - written test - final oral exam. The assessment is divided into three parts: two ongoing tests and a final one. The average mark obtained by the students in the three tests constitutes the final grade achieved for this subject. As for the first test, the students are asked to present an essay with PPT support on a topic chosen from those proposed by the professor. The students who select the same author or the same topic will alternate in the roles of speaker and debater simulating international conference work thus stimulating class debates. The second assessment deals with a written test with 4 open-ended questions on topics chosen by the professor and delved into during the lectures. The third and last test consists of a brief interview based on the final part of the course. The students who do not pass these two previous tests will have to produce a 4,000-word essay on a topic chosen from those proposed by the professor. They will also have to answer oral questions regarding the entire course syllabus.
In Italy, grades for individual courses range from 18 (minimum pass) to 30 (maximum). The highest grade may be awarded with “lode” (cum laude, distinction) for outstanding performance. The scale is not directly convertible to percentages or GPA, but it is roughly comparable to “sufficient–excellent” ranges used internationally.
Failed (0–17): The student does not demonstrate knowledge of the basic concepts of the course and/or has not completed the required share of work.
18–20 (Pass – Sufficient): The student demonstrates a basic knowledge of the topics of the course but shows significant difficulties in discussing or applying them, with limited capacity to engage critically.
21–24 (Fair – Discrete): The student demonstrates an adequate knowledge of the topics of the course and can engage with materials, cases, or discussions in a simple way, though often requiring guidance.
25–27 (Good): The student demonstrates a solid knowledge of the topics of the course and can address assignments, case analyses, or discussions independently, with only minor inaccuracies.
28–30 (Very Good – Excellent): The student demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of the topics of the course, engaging autonomously with readings, cases, and debates, and making appropriate connections across themes, with very few errors.
30 e lode (Distinction): The student demonstrates outstanding mastery of the course topics, addressing assignments and discussions with originality, critical insight, and virtually no errors.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
1. Are Human Rights an ancient inheritance to preserve or a recent invention to remake?
2. What is the relationship between Natural Law and Natural Rights?
3. Are Human Rights a western idea?
