29441 - Human Rights and Rights of Minors

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to analyze the theoretical content of the concept of children's rights in order to highlight the specific limitations and anomalies that characterize the history and practice of this specific category of human rights. The course will address and discuss the main interpretive paradigms of children's rights, with particular attention to the critical investigation of the capacity principle as elaborated by the Western juridical and political thought as well as to the complex relationship between children and democracy. At the end of the course the student knows the main theoretical approaches to children's rights and he/she is able to critically discuss their assumptions and limitations.  

Course contents

The course is divided into two parts.

The first part will include:

• the study of the evolution of the concept and different conceptions of children's rights within the broader context of the modern and contemporary doctrines of human rights;
• the guided analysis of the most relevant international conventions and principles on children's rights;
• the critical investigation of the limits, contradictions and ambiguities connected to the current configuration of the discourse on children's rights as well as to the new (and old) forms of paternalism.

The second part will be dedicated to the examination of the various challenges child migration poses to the Western political and juridical thought as well as to the critical analysis of the juridical/political instruments, conceptions and settings that are created, at the national and European level, to make it governable.

Readings/Bibliography

The mandatory textbooks for the course are:

1.I. Fanlo Cortés, Bambini e diritti. Una relazione problematica, Giappichelli, Torino, 2008 (selected chapters).

2. G. Petti, Il male minore. La tutela dei minori stranieri come esclusione, ombre corte, Verona, 2004.

Other materials and bibliographic references will be indicated and discussed during classes and will be made available through AMS Campus.

Non-attending students are kindly requested to contact the lecturer in due time in order to define the content and structure of their exam.

Teaching methods

The course will be mainly based on formal lectures that will be integrated with collective readings of texts, seminaries, projection of materials and documentaries relevant to the matter.

The aim is to activate the informed critical discussion of topics among students and to facilitate the interaction between the lecturer and the students.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral examination on the entire syllabus.

Non-attending students are kindly requested to contact the lecturer in due time in order to discuss the content and structure of their exam.

Teaching tools

Multimedial materials

Office hours

See the website of Annalisa Furia