Current Courses

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

This course will introduce students to philosophical questions concerning the foundations of human rights. What are human rights based on? What makes something a human right? Are human rights universally and permanently valid or is the notion of human rights merely a construct of modern Western culture? The course will familiarize students with alternative theoretical answers to these and other related questions.

This course explicates the principal international and regional systems in place for the protection and promotion of human rights, including the Inter-American, European, African, and United Nations systems. Students will study the most important human rights instruments, such as the International Bill of Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights.

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of non-courtroom-based human rights advocacy and activism. As such it complements other practitioner-oriented offerings in the program, helping to prepare students for careers in human rights by providing practical tools for application in a variety of contexts - as individual advocates/activists, working in a particular human rights agency, NGO or community-based non-profit, or for broader human rights/social movement building. Recommended preparation: HMRT 1003: Introduction to Human Rights

This course will explore the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on the realization of human rights, focusing on those in the economic, social, and cultural realm, including the right to a clean environment, clean air, water, food, and health. The long-term impact of climate change will also be examined in the context of trends in migration and human security. Prerequisite required: HMRT 1003.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

The purpose of this course is to guide students interested in writing an honours thesis through their initial research process. Students will develop a research question and/or hypothesis, examine their methodology, conduct a literature review and prepare a substantial annotated bibliography. Classes are held throughout the term to assess progress towards the completion of the final proposal. A completed thesis proposal is required to move on in the honours program.

This course will consist of an in-depth investigation of one or more human rights problems. The specific topic will change from year to year. Students will be expected to examine the issue(s) in light of their knowledge of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights as well as their understanding of the fundamental questions of value that surround contemporary social issues. The course is normally reserved for students in their final year of the human rights Major.

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

This course will introduce students to the study of human rights by investigating the question What are human rights? The course will proceed primarily through a number of examples and case studies. Students will also be given an overview of the basic instruments, institutions, and ideas relevant to human rights.

The purpose of this course is to give students an introduction to research methods used in the study of human rights. The course will include methods of data collection as well as analysis of data. The course will begin with a general introduction to the aims and methods of research projects. Students in this course will do a research project in human rights under the supervision of the instructor. Students will be expected to present periodic reports on the status of their work.

This course will explore philosophic and religious sources outside the Western canon, on which Human Rights discourse can be and has been based. The culture spheres of interest will be the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. This course critically analyzes non-western theories concerning the practice of human rights as a framework for social justice. The course seeks to place Western Human Rights discourse in a global context by drawing attention to ways in which non-Western cultures have addressed questions of individual versus group or state rights, the metaphysical and political sources of rights, and the possibility of universal human dignity.

This course will focus on domestic human rights codes and human rights commissions. Special attention will be given to the New Brunswick Human Rights Code and the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission.

This course exposes students to the practice of human rights by completing a supervised internship with a local community partner organization. Students are required to complete short weekly reports and a detailed final report that encourages them to reflect on the relationship between that experience and their formal human rights studies. Instructor's consent is required to register for this course. Prerequisite: HMRT 1003: Introduction to Human Rights

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

Moot court cultivates advanced analytical skills while developing leadership qualities in students with an interest in human rights. Students learn how to develop and deliver oral legal arguments by competing in a Supreme Court simulation where they answer questions from a panel of judges. Students focus on Supreme Court precedent surrounding two different issues each year. Students are required to have permission of instructor to register for the course. No other prerequisites are required.

The purpose of this course is to guide students interested in writing an honours thesis through their initial research process. Students will develop a research question and/or hypothesis, examine their methodology, conduct a literature review and prepare a substantial annotated bibliography. Classes are held throughout the term to assess progress towards the completion of the final proposal. A completed thesis proposal is required to move on in the honours program.

This course explores socially constructed customs and structures of society that enable legal regulation of gender identity and human sexuality through the history, policies and norms that shape government action. Basic theories of gender and sexuality studies are explored before critically examining the same theories in practice through case studies. This course explores other identity issues such as race, age, disability, and class intertwine with gender and sexuality identities, and how experiences and identities shape the ways in which people resist inequality and lobby for change.

This course examines the legal human rights structures in Canada and internationally, as they apply to children, adolescents, and seniors in unique and rapidly evolving ways. The primary focus is domestic human rights legislation under provincial and federal human rights Acts. Various legal regimes, both local and international, related to immigration/refugee law, privacy law, health law, criminal law, education law, Aboriginal law, welfare law, and other areas are surveyed.

This course examines the social responsibility of corporations through a business and human rights lens. Students explore equitable employment practices, the right to a healthy work environment, equal pay for equal work, protection from discrimination, harassment, and exploitation, and the right to form and join trade unions. This course explores strategies for preventing such violations, the extent to which businesses are legally obligated to respect human rights, and the type of recourse and remedies available when rights are violated.