Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW2171: Human Rights and Human Dignity

This module descriptor refers to the 2024/5 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

1. Introduction to the concept of human dignity: Historical and philosophical origins, post-1945 context, key questions and problems

2. Human dignity and human rights: human dignity as foundation of human rights, selected jurisdictions (e.g. Germany, ECHR, EU and UK), significance of human dignity as foundation of human rights; unresolved questions

3. Specific human dignity and human rights tensions and synergies, e.g. human dignity and equality, human dignity and privacy – human dignity and life – human dignity and prohibition of torture

4. Human dignity conundrums, crises and potentials, e.g. human dignity v autonomy; ‘illiberal’ models of human dignity; human dignity, time and environmental justice; dignity of the non-humans.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
26	124	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	20	10 x 2-hour lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	6	4 X 1.5 hours workshops
Guided independent study	50	Lecture preparation
Guided independent study	74	Workshop preparation and independent reading

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).