About the Course
Human rights are critical for achieving the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Across the globe many people’s rights are violated every day, creating injustice and instability that threatens our collective future. Human Rights, Human Wrongs: Challenging Poverty, Vulnerability and Social Exclusion is an 11-week course that focuses on human rights and their link to the sustainable development context.
The course is led by instructors who are leading experts in their field - Joshua Castellino, Executive Director Minority Rights Group International & Professor of Law and Sarah Bradshaw, Head of School of Law, Middlesex University. (You may find out more about them and their colleagues, in our "Meet the Instructors" section in the Welcome module.)
You can expect to Learn:
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International human rights frameworks,including specific frameworks for groups including women, children and indigenous peoples. -
How global politics affect and form our understanding and regulation of human rights. -
The emergence of "inclusive" approaches, and the effects of these approaches on assigning responsibility and action to excluded groups. -
The intersectionality inherent to human rights, such as gender and ethnicity and how human rights influence responses to conflict and disaster. -
How culture and human rights are brought into conflict, such as in the practice of female genital mutilation. -
The rise of "new humanitarianism" -
How human rights are not only key to Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) 5, 10 and 16 (Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), but also how they affect all of the SDGs.
Course Structure and Requirements
Course Logistics:
The course launches on September 2, 2019. Students can enroll at any time before or after that date and can complete the course materials at any time through Aug 31, 2020, until 23:30 UTC (use this time converter to figure out what that is in your local time).
Structure:
Once the course content is launched, it remains accessible for the duration of the course. You can pace yourself in this course; it is fine to browse and watch to the extent of your time and interests permit. Just be mindful of the course end date and hour, and if you are a "Verified Learner" or planning to upgrade your track - the deadlines for the upgrade and completing the assessments.
We encourage you to participate in discussions actively, as they provide an excellent opportunity, to interact with a larger audience invested in the field of Human Rights and get some great insights.
Estimated time commitment: 2-4 hours per week if you go through all video lectures, access the reading and complete the weekly quiz and discussion activities. Watching the video lectures and completing the gradable components is approx. 2 hours every week.
Requirements: An internet connection
Pre-requisites: None
Course Components include:
- Pre-recorded lectures (4-6 videos per week)
- Readings
- Comprehension questions (for all learners); Mid-term and Final Exam for Verified learners
- Pre- and post-course surveys
- Discussion Activities
Certificates
Students who successfully complete the course may choose to purchase a Verified Certificate signed by the course instructors.
In order to be eligible to purchase a verified certificate, you must achieve a 70% overall average grade (more details on the "Grading Policy" page). You may decide to purchase a verified certificate up to 10 days before the course closing date.
Please see the Course page (main landing page) for all the important dates you have to keep in mind!
Note: edX offers financial assistance to learners who wish to purchase a Verified Certificate, but are unable to afford it!
Translations
The course videos have been recorded in English, and text transcripts can be shown to scroll adjacent to the videos ( find the " button) or at the bottom by clicking "cc" at the lower right corner.
Additionally, the video transcripts are also available in Russian.
All transcripts may be downloaded for offline as either .txt or .srt files.
Contact Information
Questions? Concerns?
If you have any additional questions on the course structure or requirements, please email the course team at courses@sdgacademy.org
For technical queries, be sure to direct them to the edX Help Center by clicking on the "Help" button at the top right of your page (next to your edX username and profile)!
This course was made possible through the generous support of Svenska Postkod Stiftelsen and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.