B5276 - Human Rights and Globalization

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide the historical and conceptual coordinates necessary to understand how the Western history of human rights has intersected with that of globalization, and how it has contributed to reshaping both domestic and international political debate and practice. By the end of the course, students will be able to:
a) critically analyze the main doctrinal perspectives on human rights and correctly contextualize them; b) understand the connections between doctrinal developments and the European and global political-institutional and constitutional history; c) grasp the reasons behind, and the main themes of, the wide-ranging critical debate that has accompanied the Western history of human rights since its inception—highlighting its discriminatory, paternalistic, and exclusionary outcomes—with particular attention to the critiques concerning the weakness of human rights in addressing many of the political and economic dynamics triggered by globalization.

Course contents

This course aims to trace the history of human rights in relation to the diverse set of political, economic, and social phenomena we refer to as “globalization.” The goal is to understand how human rights represent one of the main efforts to rethink politics beyond the boundaries of the nation-state. The course aims to explore the connection between human rights and globalization over a period spanning the 17th to the 20th centuries, focusing on four key categories of political modernity: humanity, sovereignty, citizenship, and political space. These conceptual categories will be explored not only through the works of classical political thinkers, but also through the contributions of female thinkers such as Olympe de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft, Flora Tristan, Harriet Taylor, Jane Addams, Virginia Woolf, Simone Weil, and Hannah Arendt, to demonstrate how women’s thought has made a decisive contribution to the redefinition of modern universalism, citizenship, and the international order. Finally, the last part of the course will be devoted to contemporary debates on the "end of globalization" and "sovereignism".

Readings/Bibliography

Required reading:

1) N. Bobbio, L'età dei diritti, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.

2) A. Facchi, Breve storia dei diritti umani. Dai diritti dell'uomo ai diritti delle donne, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2025.

3) R. Gherardi, Diritti, pace, istituzioni, Brescia, Scholè, 2026.

4) D. Zolo, Globalizzazione. Una mappa dei problemi, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006.

Students who attend classes: some (or parts of) these volumes may be replaced by texts—made available by the teacher on the Virtuale platform—by the thinkers whose works will be analyzed during the course.

Students who do not attend classes: The course covers all four volumes in their entirety. However, it is recommended that you contact the teacher before taking the exam.

Teaching methods

The course consists of 20 two-hour in-person sessions, for a total of 40 hours. The course includes both lectures and active student participation in classroom discussions, following weekly reading of the course materials. Depending on the number of participants, the instructor may also assign short oral presentations by students on specific topics and texts.

Students with learning disabilities or temporary or permanent disabilities: Please contact the relevant university office [https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it] well in advance: The office will be responsible for proposing any necessary accommodations to the students concerned; however, these must be submitted for approval by the instructor at least 15 days in advance, and the instructor will evaluate their appropriateness, taking into account the course’s learning objectives.

Assessment methods

Students who attend classes: The final exam consists of an oral interview with five or six questions designed to assess the critical and methodological skills the student has developed during the course. Students must demonstrate not only that they have a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered, but also that they are able to engage specifically with the texts studied and analyzed during the course. During the interview, students’ ability to express themselves using specialized terminology and to articulate their positions with confidence will also be evaluated.

Students who do not attend classes: Assessment of learning is based on an oral exam consisting of five or six questions designed to evaluate students’ knowledge of the course reading list, as well as their ability to analyze it critically and articulate their thoughts verbally.

Grading of final mark:

• Competence in a very limited number of topics discussed in the course and/or textbooks, limited ability to analyze the topics, overall correct language: grade 18-19;
• Competence in a limited number of topics discussed in the course and/or textbooks, sufficient ability to analyze the topics, correct language: grade 20-24;
• Competence on a large number of topics discussed in the course and/or textbooks, ability to make autonomous choices of critical analysis, mastery of specific terminology: grade 25-29
• Comprehensive competence in the topics discussed in the course and/or textbooks, ability to make autonomous choices of critical analysis and ability to make connections, full command of the specific terminology and ability to argue and self-reflect: grade 30-30 L.

Teaching tools

During the course, the teacher will use not only written materials (book chapters, academic articles, and texts written for specific educational purposes) but also digital sources (images, videos, audio files, 3D reconstructions, etc.). The teacher will also provide optional quizzes to allow students to periodically and independently assess their progress from week to week. All materials will be made available on the Virtuale platform. Some supplementary video lessons on women's political thought are available on the YouTube channel "Donne e pensiero politico" ("Women and Political Thought").

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Sciara