Human Rights — including issues related to political systems, power, war, peace, violence, terrorism, wealth, poverty, privacy, religion, gender, women, children, disabilities, labor, aging, incarceration, torture, etc.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about human rights.

2. Collaboration: Effectively work on a team.

3. Problem solving: Design and evaluate an approach to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.

4. Integration: Apply knowledge from experiences and multiple disciplines to new, complex situation. 

Courses

AAA/WGS 352 — Black Women’s Cultures and Communities
A historical and theoretical analysis of the distinct identities African American women constructed for themselves (and had constructed for them) in response to the forces of patriarchal domination and political colonization. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Fulfills Cultures – U.S. Diversity. Skills: collaboration, ethical reasoning, integration, problem solving, written communication 

ANT 421 — Anthropology of Social Movements
This course overviews a wide range of processes and practices related to social movements, and anthropology’s central role in expanding the definition of collective resistance beyond the scope of formalized protest (and strategic outcomes) to include and examine everyday forms and
lived experience of resistance and dissent. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

CJ 325 — Criminal Justice and Human Rights
A comparative study of criminal justice in relation to past, current, and emerging human rights claims, violations, protections, and enforcement locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

CJ/EDF 365 — Education and Juvenile Justice Systems: Who Gets Served?
This course explores connections between U.S. PK-12 education systems and juvenile justice systems. Emphasis will be placed on ways these two systems interact and how different groups are served by these systems. Topics include the school-to-prison pipeline, zero-tolerance policies, restorative practices, and roles of racism, gender, family, and communities.

CLA 367 — Thinking Like a (Roman) Lawyer
Many legal concepts we take for granted come directly from Roman Law, the influence of which continues to be felt worldwide today. This course introduces legal reasoning and analysis through a discussion-based, case-by-case approach focusing on primary sources in translation. Especially valuable for prelaw students. Prerequisites: Junior standing and Fulfillment of GE Foundations - Writing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

EDI 312 — Child Guidance
Focuses on understanding the child as a full person deserving of human rights as articulated UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Develops understanding of the social context, child development, needs and rights; diversity, vulnerabilities, methods and strategies that foster social emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving

ENG 384 — Literature of War
This course uses literary texts to explore the representations of war and conflict from a variety of perspectives. Works may include short stories, novels, poetry, nonfiction essays, or memoir. Ultimately, this course will examine how we write about war and ask how or if violence can become art. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisites: Junior standing and Fulfillment of GE Foundations - Writing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

HST 318 — History of Democracy in America
Examines the historical development of democratic principles, ideologies, and practices in American history through case studies of particular crises in American democracy. Focuses on limits of democracy and debates among Americans and between scholars about practice of democracy in a 
variety of areas and from a multiplicity of viewpoints. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

HST/LAS 372 — From Slavery to Freedom
Ironically, modern concepts of freedom emerged from societies deeply invested in its opposite, slavery. This course looks at the history of slavery and its abolition in three Latin American societies, Haiti, Cuba, and Brazil, to distinguish the distinctive ways in which each of them defined and constructed freedom. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

HST 378 — Contesting Human Rights
This course takes a game-based approach, based on written and oral analyses of primary sources, to explore key historical moments when human rights and questions of who should have them were contested. Students engage through collaborative role-play with complex historical situations in which rights were defined and fought over. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

INT/HRT 320 — Voices of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
This interdisciplinary course integrates numerous expressive genres, including autobiographies, oral histories, and music, to examine how activists challenged human rights violations. Narrations of individual transformations show how shared experiences, ideologies, and opposition expanded understandings of human rights nationally and globally during the civil rights movements in the United States. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Fulfills Cultures – U.S. Diversity. Skills: collaboration, integration, oral communication, problem solving, written communication 

INT 350 — The Immigrant Experience in the United States
An interdisciplinary course framing immigration in the United States as part of a global struggle for human rights. Students develop an understanding of the experiences of diverse immigrants and how migrations shape the U.S. historically, economically, politically, and culturally. Examines policies and perspectives about citizenship and human rights. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Fulfills Cultures – U.S. Diversity. Skills: collaboration, integration, oral communication, problem solving, written communication 

LAS 325 — Human Rights in Latin America
An interdisciplinary exploration of human rights in Latin America, with a focus on regimes indicted for human rights violations during the Cold War, and subsequent efforts to reform repressive political systems and resolve difficult questions of how to define and enact justice. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

LS/WGS 370 — Women and the Law
Overview of legal limitations on sex discrimination in the United States and efforts to end discrimination; marriage and divorce; relationships outside of marriage; reproductive rights and biological factors impacting these rights; violence against women; and employment discrimination focusing on gender-based influences that contribute to these human rights violations. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

MES 370 — Contemporary Issues in the Middle East: The Model Arab League
Students in this course will learn about the current political, environmental, economic, social, cultural, military, and international affairs of Middle Eastern countries. They will research these issues and participate in the Model Arab League simulation as part of the course. May be repeated for credit if content differs. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

MUS 301 — History of Rock and Roll
This course presents an overview of how rock music has evolved from the latter half of the 20th century through current musical representations. Additionally, it is expected that students will learn the ways in which rock music of the past and present represents social commentary and has influenced societal change. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

PHI 320 — Social and Political Philosophy: Liberty and Justice
Analyzes the intellectual appropriation of the concept of freedom over time. Emphasis will be given to the dynamic interaction between freedom and social control in classics of Western philosophy from ancient times to modernity. Authors include Plato, Epicurus, Aristotle, Aurelius, Augustine,  Hobbes, Rousseau, and Marx. Prerequisite: Junior standing.Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

PHI 325 — Ethics in Professional Life
Examination of ethical principles and practice in business, medicine, education, law, and government. This course aims at providing students with the intellectual framework for an ethical analysis of situations that arise within various professions. Also seeks to foster mutual understanding across professional lines. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

PHI 330 — Law, Philosophy, and Society
Laws create and preserve rights. We will explore the nature, formation and interpretation of laws. What are they? Where do they come from? And how do we tell what they mean? We will also consider specific issues such as equality and affirmative action, and punishment and the death penalty. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

PLS 339 — Democracy and the Authoritarian Challenge
Comparative examination of theories of democratization and resilience of authoritarianism. Explores regime definitions, theoretical debates of  democracy and dictatorship, factors associated with democratic deepening, and the consequences for human rights protection. Includes contemporary case studies from Africa, East and South Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

REL 300 — Religions in the World Today: Theories, Methods, and Issues
This course explores the intersection of religion with human life, law, politics, and public culture, focusing on contemporary religions' roles in the secular world. Topics may include: human rights, fundamentalism, migration/immigration, social and political movements, gender/sexuality, nationalism, contemporary religious movements or phenomena, and environmentalism, among others. Fulfills Cultures - Global Perspectives. Skills: collaboration, critical thinking, integration, problem solving

SOC 306 — The Sociology of Human Rights
This course uses a sociological framework to examine how human rights are socially determined, theorized, conceptualized, designed, interpreted, adjudicated, implemented, enforced, violated, and contested. It does so by looking at specific human rights regimes, categories, and violations in both national and global terms. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

SOC 313 — Race and Ethnicity
Analysis of cultural, historical, and social construction of race and ethnicity in the U.S. and cross-culturally. Assesses theories of prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Grounds the examination of the interplay of group privilege and disadvantage within the context of contemporary issues related to race and ethnicity. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Fulfills Cultures – U.S. Diversity. Skills: collaboration, integration, oral communication, problem solving, written communication 

WGS 301 — Global Feminisms
This course offers a comparative analysis of local/global feminisms through history, activism, development and forms of feminism in different countries as well as an examination of the status of women in those countries as it impacts feminist activism. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Fulfills Cultures – Global Perspectives. Skills: collaboration, information literacy, integration, problem solving 

WGS 310 — LGBTQ Rights and the Law
An examination of U.S. law and policy issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity as they correspond to international human rights principles. Topics may include hate crime and anti-discrimination law, employment, family, and marriage law, HIV/AIDS policy, adoption bans and “bathroom bills,” and immigration and refugee/asylum law. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Skills: collaboration, integration, problem solving 

*You must have completed 55 credits to enroll in 300- to 400-level Seidman College of Business courses. If you are a nonbusiness major with a 2.5 overall GPA, please email your name, G-number, course, and semester to [email protected] to request a permit to register. Secondary admissions criteria applies for business majors.