Fall Quarter 2026

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Catalog Descriptions

Undergraduate Course Descriptions

HMR 001 Human Wrongs/Human Rights
Keith Watenpaugh
Introduction to Human Rights and the problems they seek to address. Using key episodes of inhumanity like slavery, genocide, and racism. Examines how international movements for social justice led to the emergence of the international Human Rights system.
HMR 130 Topics in Human Rights: Human Rights and the Revolutionary Left
Lucia Luna Victoria Indacochea
This course delves into the complex and often contentious relationship between revolutionary leftist movements and human rights struggles, with a focus on case studies from Latin America (Montoneros, the Shining Path, and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement). Students will explore the historical context of leftist movements and revolutionary guerrillas in Latin America, and investigate the theoretical underpinnings and ideological frameworks of revolutionary leftist groups and their impact on human rights discourse. In the course, students will also learn how to analyze primary sources and conduct original research in the Digital National Security Archive. The class structure will combine both lecture and group discussions. For more information you can contact Professor Luna-Victoria, [email protected].
HMR 134 Human Rights
Keith Watenpaugh
Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the origins, evolution, denial and protection of Human Rights.

Courses Outside of the Department

Elective Options for Human Rights Minors
1 elective course outside of the department can be used toward the Human Rights minor. Students may also seek the approval of the program advisor for an unlisted course that treats a human rights related topic.

Human Rights Elective Course Options:
AMS 156 - Race, Culture & Society in the United States
CHI 130 - United States-Mexican Border Relations
HIS 172 - American Environmental History
MSA 150 - Women & Islamic Discourses
POL 168 - Latino Politics
SOC 160 - Sociology of the Environment
WMS 145 - Women's Movements in Transnational Perspective

Graduate Courses for the Designated Emphasis in Human Rights

HIS 202I Historiography of 20th-century Latin America
Monday 3:10 - 6:00 PM

This intensive reading course provides graduate students with an in-depth exploration of the historiography of Latin America in the twentieth century. The course covers a range of topics, including state formation and the influence of mass politics and populism, the Cuban and Central American revolutions, the military dictatorships and democratic transitions in the Southern Cone, and the social, economic, and cultural consequences of neoliberalism. Scholarship produced in the past four decades has addressed traditional questions in Latin American history, such as land, labor, politics, social relations, economic development, and external pressures. However, these scholars have applied new conceptual frameworks, including gender, race/ethnicity, and subaltern studies, and employed methodological approaches such as oral history, post-structural analysis, and discursive analysis. These approaches challenge conventional assumptions about periodization, agency, and interpretation.

In addition to acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the region’s historiography, students will develop the skills to identify potential dissertation topics and align their emerging research interests with the broader paradigms and turning points that have shaped Latin American history. Graduate students from all disciplines are encouraged to enroll in this course. This course fulfills elective requirements for the Women and Gender History (WGH) minor field and the Human Rights DE. It is a prerequisite for any history graduate student completing a preliminary exam or minor field in 20th-century Latin America. For the reading list, please contact the professor at [email protected].