This module focuses on a human rights perspective to intergroup relations and culture which is relevant for issues of discrimination and intervention programs. Students will develop a broad understanding of how a thorough knowledge of culture and a community-focused approach interact with political decision processes and activism to determine the success of interventions in order to ensure and implement human rights.

This module aims at giving the students an introduction to international human rights with special focus on ways of dealing with serious human rights violations in the aftermath of these based on psychological knowledge and a psychological perspective. An overview of international provisions and implementation in relation to justice, accountability and reparation after gross human rights violations will be presented. Furthermore an overview of ongoing legal processes, first of all criminal court proceedings taking place in different parts of the world will be presented, with special focus on the situation for witnesses, participants and persons otherwise involved and affected by the serious human rights violations. The course aims at introducing ways in which psychology can contribute with respect to reconstruction of democracy and justice following violence and conflict. Different consequences of international conflict will be discussed. In particular, engaging in wars outside one's own territory, a phenomena that today is often called "foreign fighters", will be dealt with, trying to understand what attracts persons to engage in this form of warfare. As part of the discussions and analysis of these phenomena, a culture and gender perspective will be given emphasis. A central feature of this course is to develop the students' capacity to understand and apply principles and standards from international human rights into a community context. Insight into and knowledge about conflicts and consequences of these, will be given weight. Likewise a focus will be given to the development of critical analysis and understanding of these social phenomena based on a psychological approach. The module is structured in 4 main topics/parts, as follows: 1. International provisions in relation to justice, accountability and reparation after gross human rights violations as well as an overview of legal processes across the world focusing on those involved and affected by the serious human rights violations 2. The theoretical framework of democracy and how human rights are implemented and understood 3. Community psychology and its potential to contribute to the reconstruction of democracy and justice following violence and conflict 4. Human rights interventions at the social and societal level. The students will after their examination have acquired skills and knowledge within the field of post-conflict and reconstruction of societies after war, violence, lack of stability and obtained insight into ways of dealing with the abuses of the past, such as forms of transitional justice, programs of reparation etc., as ways of dealing with reconstruction after conflict.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: - demonstrate their knowledge of human rights, both historical, as ideas and as principles for application and respect. - demonstrate knowledge about democratic development and different forms for interventions in societies in transition. - apply theory and research in order to explore or present such phenomena and be able to relate the knowledge to social and cultural psychology as well as health, social and developmental psychology. - analyze and discuss issues related to human rights and consequences of serious violations of these, in a psychological context and be able to refer to models for interventions both on social, group and social level. - analyze and discuss rights as well as well as how these can be ensured and implemented, in both a gender and a cultural perspective.

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Teaching will be given as lectures and seminars and requires active participation from all students. Students will be required to work in groups and prepare presentations for the seminars related to topics discussed in lectures. Attendance is compulsory in both seminars and lectures. Evaluation involves individual coursework.