This course will be concerned with a range of philosophical issues relating to rights. It will include: (a) discussion in the history of philosophy about the origins and early character of ideas concerning rights, including ideas about rights and their relation to natural law; (b) discussion of a range of arguments about the existence and status of rights, including attempts to 'justify' them; (c) discussion about what the character of rights and correlative obligations should be, and who should be the bearers of these obligations; (d) discussion of current controversies about rights - such as aboriginal land rights, or rights and 'Asian values'. Our prime concern will be with philosophical consideration of normative issues - i.e. about what rights should be - and issues about rights and customary or positive law (national or international) will be discussed in that context.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
The course aims to give students a broad introduction to issues concerning rights, so as: (i) to develop students' knowledge of and abilities to critically evaluate arguments about rights; (ii) to understand why ideas about rights are more problematic than is sometimes thought; (iii) to provide intellectual background that will be of use to students taking other courses which discuss rights, and when they encounter issues about rights in contemporary debates about social policyIndicative Assessment
Short exercise (10%), 2 x 1,500 word essays (80%) and tutorial performance (10%).
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorialsRequisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
* Cranston, M, What are the Human Rights?, Bodley Head, 1973
* Haakonssen, Knud and Lacey, Michael, A Culture of Rights, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Majors
Minors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Students continuing in their current program of study will have their tuition fees indexed annually from the year in which you commenced your program. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-2003 | $1164 | |
| 2014 | $2478 | |
| 2013 | $2472 | |
| 2012 | $2472 | |
| 2011 | $2424 | |
| 2010 | $2358 | |
| 2009 | $2286 | |
| 2008 | $2286 | |
| 2007 | $2286 | |
| 2006 | $2286 | |
| 2005 | $2286 | |
| 2004 | $1926 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1994-2003 | $2574 |
| 2014 | $3246 |
| 2013 | $3240 |
| 2012 | $3240 |
| 2011 | $3240 |
| 2010 | $3240 |
| 2009 | $3240 |
| 2008 | $3240 |
| 2007 | $3132 |
| 2006 | $3132 |
| 2005 | $3132 |
| 2004 | $2916 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.