This course will provide practical and conceptual training in writing that advances human rights. Students will read and create advocacy in a variety of forms, including op-eds and investigative journalism, legal briefs, historical essays, public letters, screenplays, poems, and social-media campaigns. They will examine the role writing can play in advancing human rights as well as its unintended consequences; debate the ethics of bearing witness, especially in the Global South; and analyze what makes written advocacy successful, or not, and why. Students will also consider advocacy strategies in an age of social media, disinformation, and the rise of AI. The course includes a two-week case study on Haiti-related advocacy. Throughout, students will practice elements of written advocacy, including citation, analysis, and evidence-based argument. Once students receive their UNHR project assignments, they will apply the skills learned in the class to create project-based advocacy packages. |