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Unit of study_
HRTD6901: Human Rights and the Human Rights System
2025 unit information
This unit provides a foundational understanding of the content and philosophical justifications for human rights norms. Philosophical, historical and positivist perspectives will be brought together in this unit to allow students to grasp the content of human rights and the justification for norms that become domestic and international law. The unit covers institutional protection mechanisms, including UN treaty and charter bodies, and offers an exploration of core human rights treaties and their social and political context.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | Sociology and Criminology |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. have a sound knowledge of the basic content of the major international and regional human rights instruments
- LO2. debate the philosophical justifications for human rights norms, including critiques of human rights as a normative framework
- LO3. understand the historical and ongoing development of human rights norms and the ongoing contestation and expansion of the normative content of human rights
- LO4. understand some of the key critiques of a human rights approach to advocacy and some limits of the approach
- LO5. engage with cultural and religious challenges to the universality of human rights and to mount effective arguments concerning the effectiveness of human rights in diverse cultural contexts
- LO6. understand the role and obligations of non-State actors visà-vis human rights
- LO7. understand the relationship between international laws, treaties or agreements, and domestic obligations and practices.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
