WGS 293L: Literature & Human Rights

This course focuses on literary expressions and representations of the desire for and the crises of human rights. The various literary genres (poetry, fiction, drama, memoir, and essay) evoke the yearning of peoples to be awarded the right to live in safety and with dignity so that they pursue meaningful lives, and these literary genres record the abuses of the basic rights of people as they seek to lead lives of purpose. This course will examine the ways in which the techniques of literature (e.g., narrative, description, point of view, voice, image) compel readers' attention and bring us nearer to turn to human rights abuses and peoples' capacities to survive and surmount these conditions.