B6443 - Theories and Practices of Rights (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course is focused on the in-depth study of the most significant theories of rights and justice in the international philosophical panorama. The perspective is aimed at the applicative dimension with specific reference to some of the most urgent legal and moral problems of the contemporary world (open questions of bioethics, biolaw or, more generally, of fairness).

Course contents

What Is the Meaning of Human Rights Today?

What are human rights? Where does this concept originate? Through which historical, philosophical, and legal developments did it become established in modern political discourse? And, above all, what significance do human rights retain today, in a world marked by profound geopolitical transformations, new forms of inequality, and persistent human rights violations?

Drawing on the debates surrounding the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen (1789) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the course traces the evolution of the idea of natural rights into the modern concept of human rights. Particular attention is devoted to the major philosophical and legal issues that have accompanied their complex institutionalization within contemporary international law.

Special attention will also be paid to the various critical perspectives that have, over time, challenged the foundations, universal aspirations, and effectiveness of human rights, highlighting their potential rhetorical and instrumental uses.

Overall, the course provides students with the conceptual tools to reflect on some of the central questions in the philosophy of human rights: the problem of their justification, the relationship between universalism and particularism, the tensions between the proclamation and implementation of rights, and the challenges posed by their repeated and serious violations.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography (compulsory examination texts):

1. P. Costa, Saggi di storia della cultura giuridico-politica, vol. III: Storie di concetti: diritti, Archivio aperto dei Quaderni fiorentini, saggi-itinerari, Giuffrè, Milano, 2025, in particular the following essays:

- La retorica dei diritti: conflitti e progetti in una rivoluzione di fine Settecento

- Oltre le frontiere: ipotesi per una “entangled history” del discorso dei diritti nel secondo Settecento

- I diritti oltre lo Stato. La Dichiarazione del 1948 e la sua retorica universalistica

- Dai diritti naturali ai diritti umani: episodi di retorica universalistica

- I diritti umani in Europa: fra sollecitazioni “universalistiche” e “politica della memoria”

- Diritti umani

[The volume is available in open access on the Virtuale platform.]

2. R. Gherardi (a cura di), La Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani. Storia, tradizioni, sviluppi contemporanei, Viella, Roma, 2020.

3. E. Pariotti, I diritti umani. Categorie teoriche e sfide giuridiche, Carocci, Roma, 2026, in particolare i capitoli 1, 2, 3, 5.

For attending students, the required reading should be supplemented with the lecture notes.

For non-attending students, the required reading should be supplemented with a fourth volume: A. Facchi, O Giolo, Una storia dei diritti delle donne, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2023.

 

Legal references (full texts available on the Virtuale platform as optional supplementary material):

- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789

- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

- European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), 1950

- Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Nice Charter), 2000

- Constitution of the Italian Republic, 1948

 

Teaching methods

All lessons will take place exclusively in person and will be recorded. Both attending and non-attending students will be able to view the recordings of the lessons, which will be available in a Team created and managed by the teacher. The recordings can be intended as learning support material.

Classes will be held during the first part of the first semester (September–October 2026). Any calendar changes will be communicated by the teacher and will be indicated with a notice on the platform Virtuale.

The course includes some seminar-style sessions, some of which will be organized in collaboration with the project “TAHR – Thinking and Acting on Human Rights: An Ongoing History”. Further details will be provided closer to the scheduled dates. 

Exam sessions’ dates will be made available on Alma Esami. During the 2025/2026 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: December, January, February, May, June, July.

For any need or doubt relating to the course, please contact serena.vantin3@unibo.it

Assessment methods

Both for attending and non-attending students, knowledge will be tested through an oral examination.

"Attending" are those students who regularly participate in face-to-face lessons.

"Non-attending" are those students who do not regularly participate in face-to-face lessons.

Attendance signatures will not be collected during the lessons. Displaying the recordings of the lessons is not relevant for the purpose of being considered as an attending student.

The assessment will take into account the following verification criteria:

1. knowledge and ability to understand specific issues;

2. ability to apply knowledge, through the examination of specific topics;

3. autonomy of judgment, or the ability to re-elaborate information independently and personally;

4. communication skills, starting from the ability to communicate ideas and problems with a proper language and a good articulation of thought;

5. learning skills, i.e. correct acquisition of tools and critical judgment skills on complex concerns.

The purpose of the oral exam is to verify the student's ability to apply his or her own knowledge and to make the necessary logical-deductive connections.

Graduation of the final grade:

- Preparation on a very limited number of topics covered in the course and analytical skills that emerge only with the help of the teacher, expression in overall correct language → 18-19;

- Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and autonomous analysis skills only on purely executive issues, expression in correct language → 20-24;

- Knowledge of a large number of topics addressed in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis, mastery of specific terminology → 25-29;

- Substantially exhaustive preparation on the topics addressed in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis and connections, full mastery of the specific terminology and ability to argue and self-reflect → 30-30L.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

 

Teaching tools

For the benefit of (attending and non-attending) students, both the slides and the recordings of the lessons will be made available.

Office hours

See the website of Serena Vantin