Human Rights Fieldwork and Practice

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course introduces students to the principles and practices of conducting research in the field of human rights. Blending theory with applied methodology, the course explores how rights are claimed, negotiated, and contested in diverse contexts-from international courts to grassroots movements. Through an interdisciplinary lens drawing on law, sociology, anthropology, and feminist and decolonial critique, students examine both the epistemological foundations and practical challenges of human rights research. Core themes include methodological pluralism, ethics of representation, trauma-informed inquiry, and the politics of evidence. Discussions and case studies invite students to question the boundaries of the "human rights field" and to reflect critically on their positionality as emerging researchers. By the end of the course, students will have developed the skills to design, conduct, and evaluate human rights fieldwork that is analytically rigorous, ethically grounded, and socially engaged. The course culminates in the creation of a personal research manifesto articulating each student's scholarly and ethical commitments as a practitioner in the field.