Welcome to Human Rights in Global Perspective! This podcast aims to introduce listeners to the core ideas and central controversies in the study of human rights. Topics covered include the history, law, politics, and philosophy of human rights, debates over which particular human rights individuals ought to be afforded, scepticism about human rights, and real-world human rights controversies and challenges. It was created by Nin Kirkham and Lachlan Umbers. Here you can find our episodes, notes, readings for students, and links to some related material.

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Quick Links

• Episode 11: Human Rights and Armed Conflict
• Episode 10: Human Rights – A Feminist Perspective
• Episode 9: Human Rights and Cultural Relativism
• Episode 8: Human Rights and Cultural Diversity
• Episode 7: A Human Right to Democracy?
• Episode 6: Socioeconomic Human Rights
• Episode 5: The Politics of Human Rights
• Episode 4: Human Rights Law
• Episode 3: What Are Human Rights?
• Episode 2: The History of Human Rights
• Episode 1: How to Think About Human Rights

Episode 11: Human Rights and Armed Conflict

Armed conflict invariably threatens the human rights of very many people. In this episode, Lachlan and Nin discuss just war theory – the branch of moral philosophy devoted to debating and understanding the ethics of war – and how it connects to some important claims about human rights.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Seth Lazar – Just War Theory: Revisionists Versus Traditionalists, from the Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 20, Pages 37-54. Available here (UWA students, only).
• David Luban – Just War and Human Rights, from Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 9, Issue 2, Pages 160-81. Available here (UWA students, only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 10: Human Rights – A Feminist Perspective

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin consider a range of feminist critiques of human rights. This episode also features a conversation with Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray – Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies at UWA. You can learn more about Chantal here.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• V. Spike Peterson, Whose Rights? A Critique of the “Givens” in Human Rights Discourse. From Alternatives: Global, Political, Local, Vol. 15, Issue 3, pages 303-44. Available here (UWA students only).
• Jill Steans, Debating women’s human rights as a universal feminist project: defending women’s human rights as a political tool. From Review of International Studies, Vol. 33, Issue 1, pages 11-27. Available here (UWA students only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 9: Human Rights and Cultural Relativism

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin consider the challenge to human rights posed by cultural relativism. This episode also features a conversation with Michael Rubin – Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UWA. You can learn more about Michael here.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Gilbert Harman, ‘Moral Relativism’, from Harman & Thomson, Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivity. PDF available at the HUMR1001 LMS page.
• James Rachels, ‘The Challenge of Cultural Relativism’, from The Elements of Moral Philosophy, Third Edition. PDF available at the HUMR1001 LMS page.

Listeners with a particular interest in the issues discussed in this episode might also enjoy;

• Torbjörn Tännsjö, ‘Moral Relativism’, from Philosophical Studies. Available here (UWA students, only).
• John J. Tilley, ‘Cultural Relativism’, from Human Rights Quarterly. Available here (UWA students, only).
• Jack Donnelly, ‘Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights’, from Human Rights Quarterly. Available here (UWA students, only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 8: Human Rights and Cultural Diversity

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin consider the relationship between human rights and cultural diversity; how to make sense of human rights as claims of universal application in the face of deep and sincere inter-cultural disagreement. Note that this podcast contains an extended discussion of the practice of female genital mutilation, which some listeners may find confronting.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Martha Nussbaum, ‘Judging other cultures: the case of genital mutilation’, from Sex & Justice, 1999. Available, here.
• Amartya Sen – Human Rights and Asian Values. From The Morgenthau Lectures. Available here.

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 7: A Human Right to Democracy?

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin consider whether there could possibly be a human right to democracy, and how this relates to important issues around personal integrity and cultural difference.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Joshua Cohen – Is There A Human Right to Democracy? From The Egalitarian Conscience – Essays for G.A. Cohen. Oxford University Press, 2006. Available here (UWA students only).
• Thomas Christiano – An Instrumental Argument for a Human Right to Democracy. From Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 39, Issue 2, Pages 142-176. Available here (UWA students only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 6: Socioeconomic Human Rights

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin examine socioeconomic rights and the surprisingly deep controversy that surrounds them.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Henry Shue, Basic Rights: 40th Anniversary Edition, Chapter 1. Available, here (UWA students, only).
• Onora O’Neill – The Dark Side of Human Rights. From International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 81, Issue 2, pages 427-439. Available here (UWA students, only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 5: The Politics of Human Rights

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin consider the global politics of human rights; the complex interplay between the interests of states on the one hand, and the ideals of human dignity and equality on the other. The episode also features a conversation with Ky Gentry, Lecturer in Politics & International Relations at the University of Western Australia. You can learn more about Ky here.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Normand, Roger and Sarah Zaidi, ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’. From Human Rights at the UN: The Political History of Universal Justice, Indiana University Press, 2008, pp. 177-96. Available here (UWA students, only).
• Dembour, Marie-Bénédicte, ‘What Are Human Rights? Four Schools of Thought’. From Human Rights Quarterly, 32:1 (2010), pp. 1-20. Available here (UWA students, only).

Listeners with a particular interest in the issues discussed in this episode might also enjoy;

• Gentry, Kynan and Mason, Victoria, ‘‘The invisible man’: H. G. Wells and human rights during the interwar period’. From Human Rights Quarterly, 41:3 (2019), pp. 620-45. Available here (UWA students, only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 4: Human Rights Law

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin ask: what does the international law of Human Rights look like? Is there any way in which we might feasibly hope to improve it? This episode features a conversation with Murray Wesson – Associate Professor of Law at the University of Western Australia. You can learn more about Murray here.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Adam McBeth, Justine Nolan and Simon Rice, ‘Chapter 1: The International Bill of Human Rights’. From The International Law of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2^nd edn, 2017) esp. 1.3-1.5. Available here (UWA students, only).

Listeners with a particular interest in the issues discussed in this episode might also enjoy;

• The South African Bill of Rights. Available, here.
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Available, here.
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Available, here.
• Henry Shue, Basic Rights. Available, here (UWA students, only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 3: What Are Human Rights?

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin ask: what are human rights? What, exactly, do we mean when we say that there’s a human right to x, or that someone’s human right to y has been violated? The episode features a conversation with Nicholas Southwood and Christian Barry – Professors of Philosophy at the Australian National University. You can learn more about Christian, here, and you can learn more about Nic, here.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Reading;

• Christian Barry and Nicholas Southwood – What Is Special About Human Rights? From Ethics & International Affairs, Vol. 25, Issue 3, pages 369-383. Available, here (UWA students, only).

Listeners with a particular interest in the issues discussed in this episode might also enjoy;

• Matthew Kramer, ‘Rights Without Trimmings, in Kramer, Simmonds & Steiner – A Debate Over Rights. Oxford University Press, 2000. Pages 8-26. Available here (UWA students, only).
• James Griffin, On Human Rights. Available, here.
• Charles R. Beitz, The Idea of Human Rights. Available, here.

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 2: The History of Human Rights

In this episode, Nin and Lachlan discuss how we came to have ideas about human rights, in the first place. The episode features a conversation with Ethan Blue – Associate Professor of History at The University of Western Australia. You can learn more about Ethan here, and here.

Notes for students are available, here.

Assigned Readings;

• Lynn Hunt – Revolutionary Rights. From Revisiting the Origins of Human Rights, Cambridge University Press, 2015. Available, here, (UWA students, only).
• Samuel Moyn – Human Rights in History. From The Nation, August 11, 2010. Available, here.

Listeners with a particular interest in the issues discussed in this episode might also enjoy;

• The Revolutions Podcast, with Mike Duncan. Available, here.
• The United States’ Bill of Rights. Available, here.
• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Available, here.
• The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Available, here.
• Frederick Douglass, What, to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July. Available, here, from Blackpast.
• Samuel Moyn, The Last Utopia. Available, here.
• Samuel Moyn, Lecture on Human Rights in History. Available, here, on YouTube.
• Lynn Hunt, Inventing Human Rights. Available, here.
• Lynn Hunt, Lecture on Inventing Human Rights. Available, here, on YouTube.

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

Episode 1: How To Think About Human Rights

In this episode, Lachlan and Nin discuss a fascinating argument from Peter Singer concerning global poverty, and introduce some essential critical thinking techniques.

Notes for students are available, here. A lecture-style version with an accompanying Powerpoint presentation is available, here.

Assigned readings for students;

• Peter Singer – Famine, Affluence, and Morality. From: Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1972, Vol. 1, Issue 3 Pages 229-43. Available here (UWA students, only).
• David Schmidtz – Islands in a Sea of Obligation. From: Law and Philosophy, 2000, Vol. 19, Issue 6, Pages 683-705. Available here (UWA students, only).

Listeners with a particular interest in the issues discussed in this episode might also enjoy;

• Peter Singer, The Life You Can Save. Available here.
• Peter Singer interview at Philosophy Bites. Available here.
• Garrett Cullity – Asking Too Much. From: The Monist, 2003, Vol. 86, Issue 3, Pages 402-418. Available here (UWA students, only).

The music in this episode is the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, played by William McColl and the University of Washington Symphony, conducted by Abraham Kaplan. Available here, and used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.