Rhonda L. Evans

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Human rights feature prominently in contemporary world politics. The decades since World War II have witnessed the construction of a large and complex international human rights regime that consists of the United Nations and several regionally based human rights systems. This course, focusing primarily on the UN, introduces you to the legal, political, and policy dimensions of international human rights. In so doing, it: (1) explores the philosophical and moral foundations of these rights; (2) surveys the legal and institutional infrastructure and processes that exist at domestic and international levels for the promotion of human rights; (3) examines the main actors involved in human rights advocacy, including states, international organizations, tribunals, activists, nongovernmental organizations, and national human rights institutions; and (4) emphasizes the role of law and quasi-judicial institutions in international human rights advocacy. The following questions animate this course. What exactly are international human rights?  How do they matter, if at all?  In other words, do human rights work? And if so, under what conditions do they work? These are very important questions considering the significant resources and efforts that are devoted to international human rights institutions and advocacy each year. And yet, you may be surprised to learn that we actually know relatively little about the efficacy of international human rights. In exploring why this is so, we will consider the various challenges to studying international human rights from an empirical (as opposed to a normative) perspective. This will require us to cover the basic mechanics of political science research. Students should emerge from this course with an enhanced understanding of the mechanics of human rights advocacy and an improved ability to evaluate its effectiveness. 

c)   Grading Policy

The final course grade will be based on a student’s performance on three exams, a five-page paper, and an assigned research project.

d)   Texts

We will only use a course packet.  No textbooks are required.

Rhonda Evans

GOV 365N Australian Society and Politics

38805

TTH 12:30-2:00 PM

WAG 201

Description: Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived.  In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney.  Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states.  It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, including energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.  

Requirements: (1) Three exams, each worth 25% of the final grade.  The last of these will be cumulative and administered during the final examination period. All exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions. (2) A research project that involves data analysis and visual presentation of data plus a written assignment will be worth 25% of the final grade. Students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll as are students who are unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles.

Required Reading Materials:  (1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 4^th ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2016); (2) Textbook to be determined.

Course Description:  GOV 365N Human Rights and World Politics

Spring 2017

Rhonda L. Evans

Course Description

Human rights feature prominently in contemporary world politics. The decades since World War II have witnessed the construction of a large and complex international human rights regime that consists of the United Nations and several regionally based human rights systems. This course, focusing primarily on the UN, introduces you to the legal, political, and policy dimensions of international human rights. In so doing, it: (1) explores the philosophical and moral foundations of these rights; (2) surveys the legal and institutional infrastructure and processes that exist at domestic and international levels for the promotion of human rights; (3) examines the main actors involved in human rights advocacy, including states, international organizations, tribunals, activists, nongovernmental organizations, and national human rights institutions; and (4) emphasizes the role of law and quasi-judicial institutions in international human rights advocacy. The following questions animate this course. What exactly are international human rights?  How do they matter, if at all?  In other words, do human rights work? And if so, under what conditions do they work? These are very important questions considering the significant resources and efforts that are devoted to international human rights institutions and advocacy each year. And yet, you may be surprised to learn that we actually know relatively little about the efficacy of international human rights. In exploring why this is so, we will consider the various challenges to studying international human rights from an empirical (as opposed to a normative) perspective. This will require us to cover the basic mechanics of political science research. Students should emerge from this course with an enhanced understanding of the mechanics of human rights advocacy and an improved ability to evaluate its effectiveness. 

Grading Policy

The final course grade will be based on a student’s performance on three exams, a five-page paper, and an assigned research project.

Texts

We will only use a course packet.  No textbooks are required.

Rhonda Evans

GOV 365N Australian Society and Politics

38565

TTH 2:00-3:30 PM

GAR 0.120

Description: Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived.  In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney.  Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states.  It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, including energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.  

Requirements: (1) Three exams, each worth 25% of the final grade.  The last of these will be cumulative and administered during the final examination period.  All exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions.  (2) A research project that involves data analysis and visual presentation of data plus a written assignment will be worth 25% of the final grade. Students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll as are students who are unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles.

Required Reading Materials:  (1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 4th ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2016); (2) Ian Ward and Randal G. Stewart, Politics One,4th ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); additional readings will be made available on Canvas or in a course packet.

Human Rights and World Politics

Dr. Rhonda Evans

Spring 2016

Prerequisites:  None that I know of

Grading Policy:  Three exams and participation in a simulation exercise

Course Description:  Human rights form a central part of contemporary international politics. International human rights provide activists with a powerful discourse that can be used to frame and legitimate contested claims. Moreover, its legal and institutional manifestations offer activists new political opportunities for pressuring human rights violators to change their behavior. This course takes human rights activists as its focus, examining them from a distinctly political perspective. It traverses the ways in which advocates and their organizations give meaning to human rights and mobilize these meanings in pursuit of political and policy objectives. In so doing, the course engages three key questions: (1) What are the mechanics of international human rights advocacy? (2) Does international human rights advocacy work? (3) And, does it ultimately promote democratic practices and values? This course introduces you to the political and policy dimensions of human rights. It explores the philosophical, legal, and moral foundations of human rights and surveys the legal and institutional infrastructure and processes that exist at domestic and international levels for promotion of human rights. In so doing, the course examines various actors involved in human rights advocacy, including states, international organizations, international tribunals, nongovernmental organizations, and the media. Answers to the three key questions that animate this course will be pursued through critical engagement with important contemporary issues in human rights policy. By the semester’s end, you should understand basic laws, policies, institutions, processes, and debates in the evolving international human rights regime and appreciate the role of human rights advocacy in world politics.

Texts: 

Beth A. Simmons, Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009)

A course packet of readings

Rhonda Evans Case

GOV 365N, Australian Society and Politics

38963

TTH 12:30-2:00 PM

MEZ B0.306

Closing Limit: 75; no known prerequisites

Description: Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived. In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney. Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states.  It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, such as energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.  

Requirements: (1) Three exams, each worth 25% of the final grade. The last of these will be administered during the final examination period. All exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions. The final will also have a take-home essay component. (2) A research project that has both an individual and a group dimension will be worth 25% of the final grade. It will involve data collection, coding, and analysis with a significant writing component. Students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll. Likewise, reading and absorbing assigned materials will be important, with roughly half of each examination concentrating on their content. Students unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles are advised not to enroll.

Required Reading Materials:  (1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2009); (2) Ian Ward and Randal G. Stewart, Politics One, 4th ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); additional readings will be made available on Canvas.

GOV 365N Human Rights and World Politics

Rhonda Evans

Human rights as codified in various international instruments form a central part of contemporary politics. International human rights provide activists with a powerful discourse that can be used to frame and legitimate contested claims.  Moreover, its legal and institutional manifestations offer activists new political opportunities for pressuring human rights violators to change their behavior.  This course takes human rights activists as its focus, examining them from a distinctly political perspective.  It traverses the ways in which advocates and their organizations give meaning to human rights and mobilize these meanings in pursuit of political and policy objectives.  In so doing, the course engages three key questions:  (1) What are the mechanics of international human rights advocacy?  (2) Does international human rights advocacy work?  (3) And, does it ultimately promote democratic practices and values? 

This course introduces you to the legal, political, and policy dimensions of human rights. It explores the philosophical, legal, and moral foundations of human rights and surveys the legal and institutional infrastructure and processes that exist at domestic and international levels for promotion of human rights. In so doing, it examines various actors involved in human rights advocacy, including states, international organizations, international tribunals, nongovernmental organizations, and the media. The course also engages critical social science questions about the study of human rights, including: How do we operationalize and measure human rights abuses and advances over time and geopolitical space? And, on what basis can we assess the effectiveness of international human rights advocacy?

Answers to the all of the questions that animate this course will be pursued through critical engagement with important contemporary issues in human rights policy.  By the semester’s end, you should understand basic laws, policies, institutions, processes, and debates in the evolving international human rights regime and appreciate the role of human rights advocacy in international and domestic politics.

Course Requirements:  Final course grades will be based upon the following:  participation in a simulation exercise (15%); a midterm exam (30%); a final exam (30%); and, a group research project (25%).  Note that all electronic devices, including laptop computers, will be strictly forbidden absent documentation of need by an appropriate university official.

Books: Beth A. Simmons, Mobilizing for Human Rights:  International Law in Domestic Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2009); Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience (Princeton University Press, 2001).

Description:

Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived.  In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney.  Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states.  It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, including energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.  

Requirements:

(1) Three exams, each worth 25% of the final grade.  The last of these will be administered during the final examination period.  All exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions.  (2) A group project that involves data analysis and visual presentation of data plus a written assignment will be worth 25% of the final grade. Students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll. Likewise, reading and absorbing assigned materials will be important, with roughly half of each examination concentrating on their content. Students unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles are advised not to enroll.

Required Reading Materials: 

(1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2009); (2) Dennis Woodward, John Summers, and Andrew Parkin, eds., Government, Politics and Policy in Australia, 9th ed. (Pearson/Longman Publishers, 2010); additional readings will be made available on Blackboard.

PREREQUSITES: 

There are no special prerequisites for this course.  I don’t know if there are any standard prerequisites for 365N courses.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Human rights play an important role in contemporary politics.  International human rights provide activists with a powerful discourse that can be used to frame and legitimate contested claims.  Its legal and institutional manifestations offer activists new opportunities for pressuring human rights violators to change their behavior.  This course examines human rights activists from a distinctly political perspective.  It traverses the ways in which advocates and their organizations give meaning to human rights and mobilize these meanings in pursuit of political and policy objectives.  In so doing, the course engages three key questions:  (1) What are the mechanics of international human rights advocacy?  (2) What is the role of law?  and (3) Does international human rights advocacy work?  This course introduces you to the political and policy dimensions of human rights.  It explores the philosophical, legal, and moral foundations of human rights and surveys the legal and institutional infrastructure and processes that exist at domestic and international levels for promotion of human rights.  In so doing, the course examines various actors involved in human rights advocacy, including states, international organizations, international tribunals, nongovernmental organizations, and the media.  Answers to the key questions that animate this course will be pursued through critical engagement with important contemporary issues in human rights policy.  By the semester’s end, you should understand basic laws, policies, institutions, processes, and debates in the evolving international human rights regime and appreciate the role of human rights advocacy in world politics.

GRADING POLICY:

There will be three exams and a 7-10 page paper.  Each will be worth 25% of the final course grade. 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (Cornell University Press, 1998);
• Jo Becker, Campaigning for Justice:  Human Rights Advocacy in Practice (Stanford University Press, 2013);
• Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience:  Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (Princeton University Press, 2001).

Course Description

Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived.  In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney.  Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states.  It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, including energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.  

Grading Policy

Course grades will be based on three exams.  The first two exams will each be worth 30% of the final grade.  A final, cumulative exam will be worth 40% of the final grade.  It will consist of a take-home component and an in-class exam that will be administered during the final examination period.  All in-class exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions.  Although attendance and participation will not formally factor into the final course grade, students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll.  Likewise, reading and absorbing assigned materials will be important, with roughly half of each examination concentrating on their content.  Students unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles are advised not to enroll.

Texts

(1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2009);

(2) Ian Ward and Randal G. Stewart, Politics One, 4th ed. (Palgrave, 2010);

(3) additional readings will also be made available on Blackboard.

Course Description

Human rights form a central part of contemporary international politics.  International human rights provide activists with a powerful discourse that can be used to frame and legitimate contested claims.  Moreover, its legal and institutional manifestations offer activists new political opportunities for pressuring human rights violators to change their behavior.  This course takes human rights activists as its focus, examining them from a distinctly political perspective.  It traverses the ways in which advocates and their organizations give meaning to human rights and mobilize these meanings in pursuit of political and policy objectives.  In so doing, the course engages three key questions:  (1) What are the mechanics of international human rights advocacy?  (2) Does international human rights advocacy work?  (3) And, does it ultimately promote democratic practices and values? 

This course introduces you to the political and policy dimensions of human rights.  It explores the philosophical, legal, and moral foundations of human rights, including both well-established civil/political rights and more controversial economic, social, and cultural rights.  The course also surveys the legal and institutional infrastructure and processes that exist at domestic and international levels for promotion of human rights.  In so doing, it examines various actors involved in human rights advocacy, including states, international organizations, international tribunals, nongovernmental organizations, and the media.  Answers to the three key questions that animate this course will be pursued through critical engagement with important contemporary issues in human rights policy.  By the semester’s end, you should understand basic laws, policies, institutions, processes, and debates in the evolving international human rights “regime” and appreciate the role of human rights advocacy in world politics.

Grading Policy

 Final course grades will be based upon the following:  participation (15%); a midterm exam (25%); a final exam (30%); and, a ten-page policy memo, including a draft (10%) and final version (20%).  Note that attendance will be mandatory, and all electronic devices, including laptop computers, will be strictly forbidden absent documentation of need by an appropriate university official.

Texts

Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (Cornell University Press, 1998); Clifford Bob (ed.), The International Struggle for New Human Rights (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008); Jo Becker, Campaigning for Justice:  Human Rights Advocacy in Practice (Stanford University Press, 2013).

Course Description

 Australia is the principal democratic, economic, and military power in the Southwest Pacific.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited the continent and its surrounding islands for some 50,000 years before Europeans arrived.  In 1788, British colonization began with establishment a penal colony near present-day Sydney.  Six distinct colonies federated voluntarily in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, the country boasts a multi-ethnic population of 22 million, dispersed unevenly across a landmass nearly the size of the lower 48 US states.  It has served as a key US ally since World War II. While Australia retains special ties to Britain and the US, it has become an important economic and political actor in the Asia Pacific region, with strong trading links to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, and, increasingly, India. This course will (1) provide a succinct overview of Australia’s history and constitutional development; (2) examine the country’s political institutions and party politics; and (3) consider distinct opportunities and challenges that Australia faces across a range of domestic and foreign policy areas, including energy, trade, immigration, welfare, and issues concerning its Indigenous population. Throughout the course, Australia will be compared and contrasted with Texas, the US, and the other Anglo-American democracies – Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.  

Grading Policy

(1) Three exams, each worth 30% of the final grade.  The last of these will be cumulative and administered during the final examination period.  All exams will include a combination of essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions.  (2) Attendance and participation will determine the remaining 10% of the course grade.  Students who anticipate missing more than two or three classes are advised not to enroll. Likewise, reading and absorbing assigned materials will be important, with roughly half of each examination concentrating on their content. Students unwilling to read two relatively compact books and a collection of articles are advised not to enroll.  

Texts

(1) Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2009); (2) Dennis Woodward, John Summers, and Andrew Parkin, eds., Government, Politics and Policy in Australia, 9th ed. (Pearson/Longman Publishers, 2010); a course packet of additional readings will also be made available for purchase from a local vendor.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.

Please check back for updates.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.

Government 312L satisfies the second half of the mandated six hours of government that every UT student must take.  Course covers analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution, and assumes basic knowledge of government from GOV 310L, which is a prerequiste. May be taken for credit only once.