Histories of the Concept of Human Rights

Abstract

Is there a “correct” history of human rights and what would it look like? Is "our" concept of human rights ancient, medieval, early modern, modern? Did it find its shape in the late eighteenth century, as Lynn Hunt claims, or is it a much later product of political and religious debates in the twentieth century, with no conceptual connection to anything prior to that, as Samuel Moyn argues? The focus of this panel is the political and historically contingent character of conceptions of human rights in theory and practice. The emphasis is on the 20th century, but also on earlier ideas to the extent that they can be fruitfully related to theoretical and political concerns in our own time.

Title	Details
On the Past Uses of Human Rights	View Paper Details
The 'invention' of human rights as an emancipatory concept: an analysis of the debate between orthodox Marxism and the New Left in Argentina	View Paper Details
Human rights in the Nordic countries	View Paper Details
Human rights, histories and politics – a reading of the post-war debates	View Paper Details
Republican Human Rights. On the Centrality of Power in 18th century Rights Philosophy	View Paper Details