Fall 2024: September 9 – December 27
Subject: HRA (Human Rights and the Arts)
Course Level: 500
Number of Credits: 4 U.S. / 8 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Wednesday 16:10 – 19:10 CET (Berlin) |10:10 – 13:10 EDT (New York)
Language of Instruction: English
Course Prerequisites: English B2 / Equivalent or higher

This interdisciplinary course combines the study of scholarly texts on human rights with media theory and political philosophy analysis. The goal of the course is to explore the relationship between human rights and spectatorship. Students will be invited to read key texts about the origin of human rights and contemporary political violence. They will also be encouraged to participate in the debate about the capacity of images to prevent or stop this violence.

Should we consent that today’s spectator, overwhelmed with visual information, typically remains indifferent to documentary records showing the suffering of others? Or, conversely, accept that the idea of human rights exists as a response to the spectator’s emotional shock caused by a picture of suffering? Through the study of textual and visual documents pertaining to several cases of violation of human rights, including colonial oppression in Africa, Stalin’s Gulag, Shoah, and the Rwandan genocide in 1994, we will try to find out what is the difference between bearing a witness through narratives, photographic records and documentary footage, and what are respective limitations of each medium in terms of representing trauma experienced by each victim.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.