Study Group: Imagining Human Rights from Below

Rights From Below: A Critical Look at the Theory and Praxis of Human Rights and the Need for a New Emancipatory Framework

Description

This graduate study group critically examines human rights by looking at the framework’s history, theory and praxis. The course will examine how rights can be ineffectual without consequent capacity to enforce them and even oppressive, as they can be used by powerful actors to entrench and extend their power (for instance, should free speech protect reach or does the latter impede the former?). The course will also examine the inherent competition of rights which require mediation by a court system that is not equally available to all actors, and whether claims of cultural and religious rights should be confined within the universality of human rights (for instance, can we accept someone’s religious right to discriminate? Is this really a cognizable right if it in fact impedes other persons’ rights?). The course will also examine the historical and political contingency of identities and how we interpellate social constructions to be natural and immutable and consequent limits on our political possibilities. We will expose the false dichotomy between civil and political rights and economic rights and understand their interplay. We will examine whether the rights framework should extend to non-human actors (corporations, nature, animals etc.) and how and whether rights should have consequent responsibilities. We will also examine democratic deficits of a rights regime, the justice gap and envision an emancipatory framework that allows for participatory democracy without majoritarian rule. The course will examine these issues in the context of the pandemic, AI, rising inequality and nationalism and climate change.

Each session will be comprised of 45 minutes of presentation and 45 minutes of student-led discussion.

Session 4: Imagining Rights from Below

• capacity-based cognizable rights: the move to a positive framework
• intersectional redress
• the conflict and connection between rights and democracy
• participatory democracy and protecting minorities against majoritarian rule
• moving from theory to praxis: effective advocacy for a more equal, equitable, and just society.

Readings

• Rawls, John A. (1999), A Theory of Justice, Revised ed., (originally published 1971); pp 3-6; 10-15; 52-56; 118-123
• Unger R. (2007), The Self Awakened: Pragmatism Unbound (selections); pp 1-5; 62-67; 158-161
• Reclus, E. (2013), Anarchy, Geography, Modernity: Selected Writings of Élisée Reclus, Clarke J. and Martin C., eds. (selections); pp 103-110; 138-146; 188-190

Biography

Alexandra Arneri is a Partner at the bicoastal boutique firm Cittone Demers & Arneri LLP, where she practices complex commercial litigation and serves as outside general counsel to several media and tech companies. She has a robust and diverse pro bono practice, including having helped children who have been injured during illegal child labor, protected people on disability from losing affordable housing, stopped deceptive trade practices, helped people obtain healthcare and back wages and prevailed in asylum cases in the 9th Circuit. Alex spearheaded and advised GLAAD in its successful campaign to amend IMDb attribution to stop deadnaming and protect the privacy of below the line transgender artists. Alex has an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, an LLM concentrating in international law from NYU School of Law and a B.A./LLB from Sydney Universit