REST 333 - Human Rights in Russia and Eurasia

Addresses human rights in Russia and Eurasia. Begins by comparing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the Soviet Union’s conceptualization of citizen rights and builds from there to understand current issues and concerns regarding rights in this world region. Part 1 provides an historical understanding of how human rights were envisioned and practiced in the Soviet era. Part 2 explores how human rights conceptualizations changed when the Soviet Union and Russia engaged openly with the West during perestroika and the 1990s. Parts 3 and 4 investigate the continuing legacy of authoritarianism in this region and what this suggests for individual (Part 3) and societal (Part 4) rights. A mixture of lecture and discussion assumes timely completion of readings and assignments to participate in small- and large-group class discussions throughout the semester. The final project asks students to develop a country profile to examine one human rights concern in one of the fifteen post-Soviet republics. Final student presentations place human rights in Russia and Eurasia in historical, cultural, and spatial contexts to understand how they are linked by shared histories and enduring entangled futures.

Credits: 1.0
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: No First-Year
Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing
Core Component: None

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