Human Rights: At Home and Abroad
This MIT course examines the international human rights movement from its historical origins to its present impact on the United States. Lectures and readings cover the theoretical foundations of modern human rights ideas, including the debate between universality and cultural relativism, the distinction between civil rights and human rights, tensions between individual and community claims, and the contentious history between Western powers and the rest of the world over sovereignty and rights enforcement. Case studies drawn from current affairs ground these debates in real disputes over intervention, cultural practice, and legal authority. Materials come from MIT OpenCourseWare and include the syllabus, reading assignments, and course structure used in the original class, free to access under MIT's open license with no certificate offered.