About the lecturer:
Hello, I'm Fuat Gürsözlü and I teach the Human Rights class at Gateway. I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey and came to the United States for graduate education in 2003. I received my Ph.D. from the Social, Political, Ethical, and Legal Philosophy (SPEL) Graduate Program of the Philosophy Department at the State University of New York at Binghamton.
I teach courses in several areas of philosophy including Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics, Environmental and Business Ethics, History of Philosophy, and Contemporary European Philosophy. I am especially interested in the issues of Democracy, Violence, and Human Rights and I have published on these issues. I spent most of my free time with my family and friends cooking, eating, traveling, and watching good movies.
About the course:
In terms of content, the Rights course provides an introduction to human rights in theory and practice. The first part of the course introduces the definition of the concept of human rights, provides an historical introduction, and discusses the most controversial aspects of the idea of human rights.
Our discussion of several key documents, most importantly UN’s declaration on human rights, will be followed by an exploration of the historical roots of the idea of human rights and we will get a grasp of the historicity of the concept itself. We will then discuss some of the most controversial issues revolving around the concept of ‘universal’ human rights including some contemporary views that challenge human rights universalism. We will conclude the first part of the course with a discussion of the most influential approach in human rights discourse: the capabilities approach, which aims to show how the universality of human rights could be defended given the existing plurality of cultures, religions, and traditions.
The second part of the course is devoted to the discussion of some contemporary topics: Genocide, Environmental Injustice and Global Warming, Freedom of Thought and Religion, Terrorism, Women’s and Children’s Rights, Capitalism and International Business, Global Labor Justice, and Humanitarian Intervention. We will discuss how these issues relate to the topic of human rights and discuss conflicting perspectives on each topic.
At the end of the semester, you will have an understanding of the notion of human rights including historical background, and basis in order to put the idea of human rights in a critical light as well as a broad background which will allow you to recognize how human rights relate to contemporary global problems and how the concept of human rights could be used as a critical tool in different areas.
Human rights is an intermediate-level course that includes both lecture and discussion. I will lecture to introduce the topics and clarify the main ideas but the most important feature of this class will be its emphasis on discussion. We will discuss highly controversial topics, some legal opinions, and several case studies. We will also see two documentaries –Darwin’s Nightmare (documentary on poverty and environmental disaster in Lake Victoria, Tanzania) and The Devil Came on Horseback (documentary on the recent genocide in Darfur)- as well as several short videos on genocide, war rape, sex trafficking, child workers and so on.
In addition, we will have the opportunities to visit the United Nations and the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. I expect you to read the assigned texts before attending the class, reflect on what you have read, attend the classes regularly, ask your questions, and share your opinion with us.
Enjoy your time in New York City; it is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of the best places to study human rights. I hope you have a great semester.