HRTS UN3995

I learned how to construct a proper argument instead of simply describing a topic. I gained an understanding of what conducting human rights research actually entails, and I also learned a great deal about the interesting subjects my classmates chose to write about.

Professor Tibbitts' Senior Seminar course taught me how to conduct research for theses. It also broadened my perspective by showing me how interdisciplinary Human Rights can be.

The workload and readings are mostly set by the human rights department. Average of 75 pages per week. Professor Jones cut back a bit on the readings by the end, which was appropriate. Class participation (20%, not too tough); thesis proposal (1-2pg, 5%); op-ed (2-3pg, 10%); a thesis-related literature review/midterm essay (10pg, 15%); and a final paper OR thesis draft, depending on if you go on to take the optional thesis course in the spring (25-30pg, 50%).

I would say average in terms of what i've heard from other human rights students who have taken this class with other professors who teach this course, but other than that it is quite manageable. There's not much assigned reading (other than of course what you have to do for your final paper).

- how to write a research paper, from choosing a topic to conducting literature reviews to building a narrow, interesting argument

I learned about various types of research, some key theories from Human Rights scholarship that intersect with other forms of critical theory regarding social justice and society, and I learned from experts who came and discussed with the class about their specific field and how they got involved in this work

I did not learn anything in this course. The course was poorly structured for a Senior Seminar course, as we had little to no guidance from the professor in terms of structuring a research paper.

PROFESSOR: Thai Jones is a great professor. Friendly and accessible (he goes by Thai). The level of class participation was nothing special, but Thai's written and in-class comments were helpful. He was particularly good at explaining and reviewing assignments. His specialties are urban studies and the history of radical movements. As such, Thai's focus was on academic quality as opposed to strictly coaching us under a human rights framework. I felt that he cared about our work, which made me confident that what we wrote would be fairly and thoroughly considered by someone who knew what they were talking about...really all you can ask for in a thesis/pre-thesis seminar I guess. That said, Dr. Jones' single-minded obsession with museum laws, of all things, was out of place in a human rights class. His constant references to obscure cultural artifacts were distracting at best. He told us fanciful stories about when he discovered the Holy Grail and escaped from Nazis. COURSE: You're taking the course because it's mandatory for all human rights majors. I was cold on this class coming in (a rehash of Intro to Human Rights done by an unknown TA?) but the professor more than salvaged it. That said, the majority of our time was spent discussing yet another human rights article or listening to yet another one-off guest speaker. We're all majors, we've all read and heard way too much ab…

Inga is a fantastic professor: take this class if you have the chance! Since it is a senior seminar, much of the work is focused on making sure that all the students have the material and guidance to complete their final papers (25-30 pages long). Inga is very approachable, planned and thoughtful, and she gives you enough deadlines and ideas throughtout the semester to make sure you have the work done on time. The assignments building upto the final papers make up 60% of the grade, which is awesome because it reduces the pressure from the final paper. Inga is also a badass lawyer and super supportive: TAKE THIS CLASS.

human rights methodologies for research, in terms of various perspectives in the human rights discipline (from those that love and believe in human rights to those that are more cynical) + major paradigm questions