The field of human rights history has become much more crowded – and much more controversial – over the past decade. New historical accounts are often deeply provocative and at odds with each other; they have also influenced debates about the goals and general value of human rights activism. In this colloquium, we will hear from some of the new historians of human rights, both to reflect on the historiographical stakes in this field, and on the relation between history and policy. What is the proper chronological scope of human rights history? What relation, if any, do older ideas about natural rights have with current notions of human rights? What role, if any, can history play in the crafting (or the criticism) of theoretical/normative arguments about human rights?
Monday, April 6, 2015
Workshop: New Histories of Human Rights
On April 25, 2015, the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University will host a workshop on "New Histories of Human Rights." The program is here. Here's the idea:
