This course aims to develop students' understanding of the relationship between business and human rights, and the mechanisms by which corporations can be made more responsible and accountable for the human rights impacts they have and the risks they pose.

10 x 2-hour seminars on-campus, and 6 x 1-hour tutorials. Readings will be available on Moodle, students will be expected to prepare and participate in group discussion in person.

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1. Written assignment, including essay; Group; 2750 words; 25%; ILOs 1-7. 

2. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 2100 words; 60%; ILOs 3-6.

3. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 1050 words; 15%; ILO 7.

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

The aim of this course is to develop students' understanding of the relationship between human rights and business, and in particular the foundation and implications of the responsibility to respect human rights. The course will provide students with an opportunity to critically examine competing theories of human rights and the associated responsibilities of business. The origins and modern rise of human rights will be critically examined and the potential of human rights law, discourse and rhetoric to help make complex business organisations more responsible will be examined. The difficulties of implementing accountability for human rights by business organisations and in particular the problems measurement of human rights impact and risks will be critically considered; The problems presented by globalisation, Including that of "governance gaps" will be considered, as will the role of international governmental and non-governmental institutions in the promotion of business respect for human rights. The course will favour interdisciplinary perspectives rather than narrowly legal conceptions of issues and the implications that an imperative of respect for human rights has for various business functions will be considered.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

1. Explain and evaluate alternative conceptions of human rights, their foundations, meaning, and implications for business.

2. Evaluate the respective responsibilities of states and business for the protection and advance of human rights in an era of globalization.

3. Discuss the rise in modern times of the discourse of human rights and the potential impacts of business activities on human rights.

4. Analyse the challenges associated with the development of effective mechanisms of corporate accountability for human rights.

5. Evaluate corporate practices of accountability for human rights.

6. Evaluate the role that networks of power and knowledge can play in the regulation and promotion of human rights in the economic sphere.

7. Work effectively within a group work environment, and be reflective about the process.