SDG Detail

HRTS W3996 Senior Seminar In Human Rights

Undergraduate course

Project description

This course aims to introduce students to human rights research methods, while providing them with practical research tools. The course will be tailored to students� interests, disciplinary backgrounds and research areas. The specific topics students will research and the methods they will employ will determine the substantive focus of readings. During the course we will ask the following questions: �what is human rights research?,' 'how do you carry out research in an interdisciplinary field?', 'what distinguishes academic research from applied research and advocacy'? While answering these questions, you will become familiar with the literature on human rights methodologies, and you will engage in analysis and critical assessment of important human rights research literature. In addition, the course gives a practical approach to research methodology. You will learn about a diverse set of methodologies, such as interviewing and focus groups, archival research, ethnographic and participant observation, interviewing focus groups, conducting online research; interpretive and non-empirical methods and basic quantitative methodologies to be employed in the study of human rights. As you learn about different methodological approaches, you will develop your own research project. Scholars and practitioners in the field of human rights research will present their work and engage in discussions with students about their own research, challenges, successes and publication venues.