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Human Rights

If you're passionate about justice and equality, this major is for you. Gain a deep understanding of human rights issues, discrimination, inclusion, and justice, all while preparing for a career dedicated to making a difference.

Human rights are an increasingly prominent aspect of contemporary issues here and around the world. Current examples include systemic racism, equitable access to healthcare, the voting age, #MeToo, modern slavery, asylum seeking, climate justice, reproductive rights and inclusive education. These concerns are anchored in the present and their resolution focuses on the future.

This major crosses the boundaries of traditional university subjects to prepare you for employment in government agencies and private companies in sectors like health, law, housing, immigration, education and social welfare. Work for NGOs like the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and Amnesty International.

A major in Human Rights pairs well with many other majors the University offers, especially in the fields of Law, Management and Social Sciences, to provide you with further employment pathways.

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Key information

Study Location:Hamilton
Area of Study:

Study Human Rights in these qualifications

Study Human Rights as a specialisation of

Career opportunities

  • Corporate social responsibilty officer
  • Immigration consultant
  • Human rights lawyer
  • Human resources officer
  • Policy analyst
  • Disability & inclusion advocate

100 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
GNSEX101Gender and Sexuality: Representations and Realities15.024B (Hamilton) & 24B (Tauranga)
This paper considers issues related to gender, sexuality, and the body including health issues, media representations, gender based violence, and forms of resistance.
HUMRI100Human Rights Foundations15.024A (Hamilton), 24A (Online) & 24A (Tauranga)
In this paper we discuss the foundations of the modern Human Rights regime, and address important controversies for Human Rights, including, accusations of Western-Centrism; protections for gender and sexuality; and issues of self-determination.
IRSST103Introduction to International Relations15.024A (Hamilton) & 24B (Tauranga)
This paper provides an introduction to the study of international relations in an era of globalisation. It covers the historical background, key concepts and theories, case studies, and contemporary developments in the study of world politics.
MAORI150Te Tiriti o Waitangi: An Introduction to the Treaty of Waitangi15.024A (Hamilton), 24B (Hamilton), 24I (Hamilton) & 24X (Hamilton)
This paper seeks to provide a sound understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It reviews historical and contemporary interpretations and takes into account the interplay of contextual issues of the time.
PHILO106Social and Moral Philosophy15.024A (Hamilton), 24A (Online) & 24A (Tauranga)
An investigation of contemporary moral and social issues from a practical ethics perspective. Issues may include abortion, animal welfare, discrimination, euthanasia, freedom of speech, genetic enhancement, privacy, punishment, and your online life.

200 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
ANTHY208Protest Movements in the Asia-Pacific15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper is about how people across the Asia-Pacific region act collectively to challenge the status quo of powerful political, social, economic, and cultural systems.
GEOGY209Health, People, Place0.024B (Online)
This paper draws on critical analysis of health, people and place to introduce contemporary developments in socio-cultural geography. Attention is paid to spatial well-being at a range of scales.
MAORI200Mana Wahine15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper examines foundational aspects of mana wahine scholarship, the impact of colonisation on Maori and Indigenous women, and the resistant spaces negotiated by Maori women including their contributions to decolonisation.
MAORI203Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples15.024A (Hamilton)
The paper looks at the detrimental effects that research has historically had on Indigenous peoples and the relatively recent creation of research methodologies by Indigenous peoples to counteract Imperial research, and to empower and decolonise.
POLCY212Public Policy Analysis15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper introduces students to public policy analysis. Students focus on the role of politics, public participation and policy in addressing society's big problems, how they are framed and defined, and how solutions are developed and implemented within the context of the policy process.
POLSC224Terrorism, Violence and the State15.0No occurrences
Terrorism is an increasingly prominent global phenomenon. We will clarify it conceptually and situate it historically with theory and case studies in situating it in comparative political and International Relations analysis.
SOCIO20121st Century Activism and Radical Thought15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper will offer insight into the historical legacies of systemic racism, sexism and class oppression by taking an in-depth look at key issues raised in 20th century social movements in New Zealand and the United States and mapping those issues into the 21st century.
SOCPY202Addressing Precarity: A Global Perspective15.024B (Hamilton) & 24B (Online)
This paper considers human precarity: past, present and future. The focus is on its contemporary forms under global market competition, and ways to make a more secure world in the future.

300 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
ECONS304International Economics Issues15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper covers in-depth analysis of the global economic environment, including international trade, access to markets and cross-border movement of factors of production including capital and labour.
GEOGY309Social and Cultural Geographies of Difference15.024A (Hamilton) & 24A (Tauranga)
This paper is a forum for debate in critical geographies of difference. Key concerns are intersections between gender, ethnicity, nationality and other social divisions in relation to place and environment.
GNSEX303Intersectionalities: Identities and Inequalities15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper provides a comprehensive review of the historical context for understanding contemporary issues of race, gender, sexuality, and social class. It investigates micro and macro level experiences and the social construction of identities. In doing so, this paper looks at how power is distributed in society, the theories that...
HISTY302Blood, Land, DNA: Contemporary Indigenous Histories and Archives15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper explores critical questions about power, sovereignty, and belonging in contemporary Indigenous history, focusing on Aotearoa, the Pacific, and North America. Students will work with diverse archival sources to develop independent research questions.
HMDEV320Disability, Diversity and Inclusion: Intersecting Identities and Experiences15.024B (Online)
This paper looks at the emergence of disability as a social and political identity. Using a rights perspective, it critiques inclusion in the spaces and places of everyday civic society.
MAORI304Sustainability in Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Contexts15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper looks at Indigenous epistemological formations of sustainability as one of the most pressing issues for Indigenous peoples particularly in the Pacific, and also as a concept where Indigenous peoples can be prominent in influencing discourses.
POPST305Migration, Mobilities and Displacement15.024A (Hamilton)
An examination of contemporary international migration with a particular focus on the drivers of migration, the social and structural forces that influence migration and the implications of different modes of governance.
PSYCH302Community, Culture and Diversity15.024B (Hamilton) & 24B (Tauranga)
The focus of this paper is the study of social justice, intersectionality, transformative interventions, and social change strategies that are central to community, indigenous and liberation psychologies. Issues covered include inequalities, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and (dis)ability. Key considerations are the broader co...

400 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
LEGAL440Pacific Peoples and the Law15.024A (Hamilton) & 24A (Tauranga)
A critical study and comparison of legal systems and issues within the Pacific Region.
LEGAL442Human Rights Law15.024G (Hamilton) & 24G (Tauranga)
An introduction to the laws governing the protection of human rights both at the national and international level. Students will explore the framework of human rights protection and the enforcement mechanisms.
LEGAL469International Indigenous Rights15.024B (Hamilton) & 24B (Tauranga)
A detailed examination of law relating to the historical and developing space in international law of the rights of indigenous peoples, including the influence of the state on this process together with the coinciding indigenous rights to development, education, environmental and economic rights.

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Contacts

School of Social Sciences
Phone: 0800 800 145
General Enquiries: [email protected]