Code and section: ANTH*4440*01

Term: Winter 2026

Instructor: Renee Sylvain

Details

Course Number: ANTH*4440	Office Hours:  TBA
Course Title:  Culture, Rights, & Development	Office: MacKinnon 601
Instructor: Dr. Renée Sylvain	Email: rsylvain@uoguelph.ca
	Tel: ext. 52721

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DESCRIPTION:

 

This course examines the various relationships among cultural values, human rights issues and the development process. Themes addressed will include: 1) the relationship between different ‘generations’ of rights (i.e., civil and political rights, social, economic, and cultural rights, and the right to development); and 2) the tensions associated with respecting local cultures, respecting human dignity universally, and development as a process of directed change. Topics covered may include: the social/cultural impact of Structural Adjustment Programs, trade and foreign investment; democracy and development conditionality; environmental justice; slavery and other forms of unfree labour; women’s rights as human rights; and the rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples.

 

COURSE READINGS:

 

• CourseLink and ARES

 

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:

                                                                 

• Participation: 20%
• Presentation: 25%
• Research Paper Proposal: 20%
• Research Paper: 35%

 

* Requirements and methods of evaluation are subject to change.