Summer Course on Human Rights, International law, and Cosmopolitanism (HIC)

In this intensive summer Ph.D. course an international team of experts explores the philosophical foundation of human rights and the legitimacy of the institutions that establish them in practice. Topics include the nature of human rights, the legitimacy of international courts and political institutions, intervention and the limits of sovereignty, cosmopolitanism, and the prospects for democracy in an international order.

The course is co-organized by the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas (UiO), MultiRights: The Legitimacy of Multi-Level Human Rights Judiciary, PluriCourts: Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order (UiO), and the Norwegian Kant Society.

16. June, Monday James Nickel: Introduction: Philosophers turn their attention to human rights James Nickel: "Moral" versus "political" approaches to theorizing human rights  

17. June, Tuesday James Nickel, James Nickel, Agency-based approaches to the foundations of human rights Seyla Benhabib: International Law, Human Rights and Sovereignty  

18. June, Wednesday Howard Williams: The origin of human rights - the Kantian perspective Howard Williams: Individual human rights in the international sphere: is there cosmopolitan right?

19. June, Thursday Howard Williams: Humanitarian wars, humanitarian intervention and the critique of just war Johan Karlsson Schaffer: The practice of human rights  

20. June, FridayJohan Karlsson Schaffer: The authority/legitimacy of international human rights regimes Johan Karlsson Schaffer: TBD

Application

The conference is open to a limited number of Ph.D. students world wide. You are invited to submit a CV and a one-paragraph application describing your interest in the course to [email protected] by February 20. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by February 27. The organizers are able to refund travel and accommodation expenses up to 3000 NOK (around 355€) for each participant. Lunches and two conference dinners will be provided.