Globalization and Human Rights

Instructor(s): Sarita Cargas

Course Description

This course will examine the relationship between globalization and human rights. After gaining an understanding of where globalization came from and how it helps or hurts human rights, we will use the case study of global food security to analyze how the two interact. A focus will be to analyze controversies – for and against globalization, for and against the efforts of multinational corporations, examining the costs and benefits of growing conventional, organic, or biotech crops for US farmers and for third world exports. This class will be studying the research at some of the largest food oriented organizations in the world including the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization and the US Department of Agriculture.

Texts

A course reader which includes readings from: The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Human Rights and the Ethics of Globalization, Food Insecurity, peer reviewed and articles from the popular media on GMOs, organic food, food activism and reports from international organizations including from the FAO and the World Research Institute.

Requirements

There are weekly reading and short writing assignments as well as several longer papers (2 pages and 5 pages).

No Video

About the Instructor(s): Sarita Cargas

Sarita Cargas has been teaching human rights in the Honors College for about 8 years.