Required Courses for the BA in Human Rights

Learn more about 3-year and 4-year sample course mapping for a Major in Human Rights and sample course mapping for a Minor in Human Rights.

Academic Calendar requirements for the 3-year BA, 4-year BA and the Minor in Human Rights

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REQUIRED COURSES

Courses required for the 3-year BA in Human Rights are as follows:

HR-1200-510(3) Introduction to Global Citizenship

In this course students trace the historical development of the idea of “global citizenship,” interrogating the meanings, contradictions and contentions associated with this term. Through guest speakers and student research on specific issues and injustices that are present in Manitoba communities, and which also have global connections or manifestations, students examine current practices aimed at fostering global citizenship. The future of concepts or related to global citizenship is addressed by analyzing the rights and democratic citizenship and asking how such rights should be articulated and advanced.

CROSS-LISTED: IDS-1200

WGS-1232(6) Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

This course is an introduction to the theories, methods, and issues of Women's and Gender Studies, focusing on contemporary feminist scholarship and movement in North America. It explores how gender intersects with systems of power and inequality, including sexism, colonialism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and class discrimination to shape lived experience. It builds on the premise that sex, gender and sexuality are inextricable from other social differences, such as race, ethnicity, religion, language, age, and (dis)ability in the construction of identity. Course materials drawn on include scholarly literature, case studies, fiction, new media, film and video, art, and feminist cultural production.

Restrictions: Students with standing in WGS-1232(6) may not receive credit for the former 95.2332(6) offered prior to 1988.

HR-2100-001(3) Concepts and Conventions in Human Rights

The course explores the historical development of human rights concepts, and the major international human rights conventions and instruments. Students become familiar with the breath of the landscape of human rights including political, civil, social, economic, and cultural rights.

RESTRICTIONS: Students may not hold credit in both this course and former HRGS-2101(6) or POL-2101(6).

HR-2200-001(3) History of Human Rights in Canada

This course examines the history of human rights within the Canadian context including key federal, provincial, and municipal legislation as well as critical human rights institutions. The course explores the evolution of the human rights Canada in relation to their international counterparts, and historical discrimination in Canada in areas such as immigration, employment and housing, internment of minority populations, gender, sexuality, antisemitism, and treatment of Indigenous peoples.

RESTRICTIONS: Students may not hold credit in both this course and former HRGS-2101(6) or POL-2101(6).

CROSS-LISTED: HIST-2512

UIC-2020(3) Colonization and Indigenous Peoples

This course examines the Indigenous colonial experience, particularly in Western Canada, and the impact colonization has had and continues to have on the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and Canadian governments. This course emphasizes the contemporary effects of colonization, particularly as regards identity issues and how they play out in the urban and inner-city environment, and also processes and strategies for decolonization.

CROSS-LISTED: POL-2020 and IS-2020

HR-3210-001(3) Human Rights Institutions 

This course analyzes the role of specialized Canadian and international human rights institutions, such as human rights commissions and tribunals. The course provides an understanding of the legislative frameworks for select institutions and procedures for accessing selected human rights institutions, and assesses the societal impact of such commissions and tribunals through their educational functions as well as case decisions.

PREREQUISITES: HR-2100(3) or HR-2200(3) or the former HRGS-2101(6) or POL-2101(6)

HR-3410-001(3) Models of Transitional Justice

This course examines transitional justice, the processes by which societies deal with the legacy of widespread human rights abuses after a period of oppression or violent conflict in order to achieve the transition to a just and stable society. The course investigates a variety of transitional justice mechanisms, such as reparations, truth commissions, reconciliation activities, and criminal tribunals.

PREREQUISITE: HR-2100(3) and HR-2200(3) or the former HRGS-2101(6) or POL-2101(6)

CROSS-LISTED: CRS-3410

In addition to the courses listed above, students completing a 4-year BA in Human Rights are required to complete the following courses:

HR-3510(3 or 6) Practicum in Human Rights

In the Practicum, students integrate theory and classroom knowledge with practice through supervised field work and structured assignments and reflections. The practicum involves volunteer work related to Human Rights in a relevant organization, and participation in specified seminars and/or written analyses.

Note: Enrolment is subject to approval of a practicum proposal submitted by a student with a declared major in Human Rights. Interested students are advised to consult the Human Rights Practicum Coordinator well in advance of the term in which they wish to enroll.

PREREQUISITES: HR-2100 and HR-2200 or the former HRGS-2101 or the former POL-2101.

HR-4001-001(3) Capstone in Human Rights

This capstone course examines theories and practices of human rights and contemporary global issues, and evaluates on-going cultural, economic, religious, legal, sociological, and ideological debates that continue to influence the evolution of human rights. The course is taught within a multidisciplinary theoretical framework. Topics such as war, child labour, genocide, economic ideologies, gender discrimination, and humanitarian work are covered from regional, national, and international perspectives.

PREREQUISITES: HR-2100(3) and HR-2200(3) (or the previous HRGS-2101(6) or the previous POL-2101(6)

Updated: January 16, 2023