Historical Change And Human Rights: Oxford Amnesty Lectures 1994 (The Oxford Amnesty Lectures 1994) - Hardcover

Hufton, Olwen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465030769 ISBN 13: 9780465030767

Publisher: Basic Books, 1995

Synopsis

Originally presented at an annual Oxford lecture series organized by supporters of Amnesty International, the seven lectures provide historical perspective on the contemporary discussion of human rights. The essays deal with "the tension between natural law and history" i.e., the degree to which the universalist vision of human rights is a historically-constructed phenomenon. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Seven of the world's leading historians examine the relationship between historical change and the evolution of human rights.

From Publishers Weekly:

The seven academic, thought-provoking lectures collected here are part of an annual series on a subject related to human rights. The ambit ranges widely from the mixed contributions of Protestantism to human rights to the resistance of American slave women, who sometimes managed to fashion some measure of independence for themselves. Particularly interesting is Princeton historian Robert Darnton's comparison of censorship in France in 1789 with that in East Germany 200 years later: in both places, he finds two systems-one rigid and formal, the other pliable and human-providing room "for unorthodox books to seep into the reading public." Also good is British historian Ian Kershaw's analycis of the collapse of human rights under the Third Reich, which he blames on "a historically unique set of circumstances," including Germany's cultural tradition, post-WWI radicalization and the lack of internal and external constraints on the regime. Hufton is a professor of history at Oxford. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0465030769
• ISBN 13: 9780465030767
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288