The students learn to work with literary, legal and interdisciplinary texts and they learn to work with a number of key concepts (such as Bildung) they need to use as an analytical tool. At the end of the course students are able to interpret the concept of human rights in relation to the modern novel, both historically and conceptually and they have expanded their repertoire knowledge of contemporary literary theory in this field.

In this overview course, students learn to contextualize the concept of human rights in a specific historical setting. What do literature and the concept of Bildung contribute to the development of human rights? In addition to acquiring knowledge of a repertoire of texts, students will expand their knowledge of literary theory and learn to participate and take critical positions in the debate on Bildung. We will investigate how the subject as 'human' is represented in human rights and how this subject partly stems from eighteenth - and nineteenth - century literature and the development of subjectivity in the literature. Central secondary texts are 'Inventing Human Rights' by Lynn Hunt and 'Human Rights, Inc.' by Joe Slaughter. The course provides a thorough introduction to a number of key texts from the 18th - , 19th - and 20th - century literature.

This is the third course of the In-depth Courses Literature in conflict.

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

Lingua Receptiva (Luistertaal)
This course can be followed in Lingua Receptiva. This course is offered in English. The course is also open to students who only have a receptive understanding of this language (as lingua receptiva). If required, these students can participate in Dutch and take the exam and write assignments in that language. If you want to make use of lingua receptiva, please contact the teacher after enrolment. Please note: if you make use of lingua receptiva, this course will be registered as one of the elective modules of your programme. In this case, the course cannot count as a language-specific course within the major or minor part of your programme.