COP1 - Cultural Rights: A Promising Global Discourse?

25 July 2018 – 10 August 2018
Hosted by University of Copenhagen

Migration and advances in technology have increased the level of cultural exchange and intermingling, but they have also fostered cultural clashes and incompatibilities that were previously masked by distance. Can cultural rights become a global discourse for supporting inclusive social and political development, and for fostering intercultural dialogue for the mutual understanding of cultures? And can cultural rights become a prime mover – an enabler and driver for development by providing a much-needed cultural legitimacy for human rights? Among the topics focused on in the course are the right to science and culture; ownership of cultural heritage; and the relationship between global, national, and regional law.

Costs

Figures are estimates only. Click on each item for details.

Field Trip

The program includes various field trips and workshops throughout Copenhagen, i.e. to the UN Live – Museum for Humanity and to the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The program will also include a welcome dinner, a farewell dinner and other possibilities for socializing.

Target Audience

Bachelor students and Master students. This course is open to 3rd and 4th year bachelor students and 1st year graduate students.

Prerequisites

Students from Law, Anthropology, Ethnology, History, Literature, and Political Science with an interest in cultural rights are encouraged to apply.

Good English skills are required.

Delivery Method & Learning Outcomes

Migration and advances in technology have increased the level of cultural exchange and intermingling, but they have also fostered cultural clashes and incompatibilities that were previously masked by distance. Can cultural rights become a global discourse for supporting inclusive social and political development, and for fostering intercultural dialogue for the mutual understanding of cultures? And can cultural rights become a prime mover by providing a much-needed cultural legitimacy for human rights?

Cultural rights have traditionally been underappreciated. There is support for these rights in the International Bill of Human Rights. The UDHR contains two articles of relevance – Article 26 on the right to education and Article 27 on the right to participate in cultural life and in scientific progress. The same is true for the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which mentions the right to education in Article 13, and cultural participation, the right to benefit from scientific progress and artists’ rights in Article 15. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) recognizes the right of minorities to enjoy their own culture and to use their own language in Article 27. UNESCO has produced both soft law within several distinct areas of cultural rights and policy – the right to education, linguistic rights, traditional culture and folklore, and cultural diversity – and binding treaties relevant to the area of cultural rights such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and to the protection of cultural heritage, both material and immaterial.

This course will take a multidisciplinary approach to cultural rights, exposing students to fields outside their respective core disciplines of study and will use the multinational nature of the students attending to focus on the national versus the global perspective.

Among the topics focused on in the course are copyright and patents; speech and culture, including religion; and the relationship between global, national and local law.

The program consists of lectures and talks by Danish and international scholars of standing; seminars and group tutorials run by the summer school team; and field trips.

Students are expected to:

• Write a brief essay before the summer school starts on a cultural right of their choice;
• Complete all reading assignments;
• Attend all sessions;
• Actively participate in group work, discussions and field trips.

Students should develop general skills in:

• Applying relevant theories, methods and tools to current problems in the study of cultural rights;
• Identifying, analyzing and understanding the potential of and the challenges that threaten cultural rights;
• Negotiating between the universal and the relative, as well as between the individual and the collective;

Contributing to the new and developing field of cultural rights.

Assessment

1. Submission of Essay: select a cultural right (e.g. the right to education; to take part in cultural life; to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications; or to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which one is the author) and describe why it matters to you (2 pages).
2. Participation in group work, including:
   1. Submission of group project synopsis (5 pages); and
   2. Oral presentation of project proposal (5-10 minutes pr. group member)
3. Individual oral exam based on 300-400 pages of primary literature. The exam will be graded according to the Danish 7-point scale and will take place toward the end of the summer school.

Credits equivalent at host university & contact hours

7,5 ECTS credits (30 credits is a full semester load)

28 total contact hours (classroom) incl. group work hours + 10 field trip hours (excluding self-study hours).

Lecturer(s) / Tutor(s)

Scientists from Centre for Studies in Legal Culture at UCPH and foreign experts within cultural law, including researchers from other IARU universities.

Accommodation

Accommodation is available through:

• airbnb.com
• Hostels
• Hotels, e.g. Arthur Hotels or Cabin
• Housing Foundation

Students must arrive by Monday 23 July 2018.

Required and/or Recommended Insurance(s)

Please visit: http://studies.ku.dk/welcome/living-in-copenhagen/health-and-safety/insurance/.

Further Required Application Material

The applicants are encouraged to write and submit an essay (max. 1 page) together with their application about their interests and plans for their future studies.

Further Information

http://jura.ku.dk/crs/english/

http://studies.ku.dk/welcome/

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