This seminar introduces students to international human rights law as an evolving set of doctrines, practices, and actors. The course traces the development of contemporary concepts of human rights, including issues of universality, whether or not certain categories of rights have priority over others, and the means of creating and enforcing human rights law. Students will also learn how ideas of human rights and social justice are applied in the constitutional, legal and political arrangements of the United States and the international community. Readings will include authoritative texts and interpretations from United Nations, regional and national human rights law, primary and secondary materials on the intersection of advocacy and doctrinal shifts, and critical scholarly literature.