|
The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization Era | 
 enlarge | Author: Micheline Ishay
Publisher: University of California Press
Category: Book
List Price: $27.50
Buy Used: $19.95
You Save: $7.55 (27%)
New (31) Used (10) from $19.95
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 102883
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 0520256417
Dewey Decimal Number: 323
EAN: 9780520256415
ASIN: 0520256417
Publication Date: June 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Micheline Ishay recounts the dramatic struggle for human rights across the ages in a book that brilliantly synthesizes historical and intellectual developments from the Mesopotamian Codes of Hammurabi to today's era of globalization. As she chronicles the clash of social movements, ideas, and armies that have played a part in this struggle, Ishay illustrates how the history of human rights has evolved from one era to the next through texts, cultural traditions, and creative expression. Writing with verve and extraordinary range, she develops a framework for understanding contemporary issues from the debate over globalization to the intervention in Kosovo to the climate for human rights after September 11, 2001. The only comprehensive history of human rights available, the book will be essential reading for anyone concerned with humankind's quest for justice and dignity.
Ishay structures her chapters around six core questions that have shaped human rights debate and scholarship: What are the origins of human rights? Why did the European vision of human rights triumph over those of other civilizations? Has socialism made a lasting contribution to the legacy of human rights? Are human rights universal or culturally bound? Must human rights be sacrificed to the demands of national security? Is globalization eroding or advancing human rights? As she explores these questions, Ishay also incorporates notable documents--writings, speeches, and political statements--from activists, writers, and thinkers throughout history.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Human rights history is great, and badly needed. July 7, 2005
Francesco Lovecchio (Rome, Italy)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
Highly recommended to everybody. The book is an attempt to provide an account of the evolution of human rights over time and through political and philosophical thought. The author is well versed in political science and shows it off in this book while surfing in a very wide literature. It is well written. Two drawbacks in this beautiful book: not enough history of human rights; a scarce attention to those movements which paved the way to future developments but were unsuccessfull at first. Great piece of work anyway! Look forward for Vol. II.
 Reads like a well researched book report September 27, 2007
K. Mclenaghan (Palo Alto, CA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Ishay's introduction outlines an ambitious book, tracing human rights' origins and evolution over an immense historical period. However, what the introduction promises the body fails to deliver. Ishay spends most of her time simply recounting European history, and even that is done in such a maddeningly tangential way as to render it essentially useless. The book is a collection of facts, utterly lacking a cohesive argument or understanding. And some attempts are simply laughable - her attempt to explain the hegemony of the Western conception of rights is bland paraphrasing of Jared Diamond and leaves a question that could occupy the entire volume to be answered in mere pages. Please save your time and buy something else!
 European History? November 5, 2006
M. Ruddy (Michigan)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Although much of the book provides a good background for much of Western history though the goggles of Human Rights, it at time seems to skip and distort aspects of it. How did benevolent religions sanction large scale war? Robespierre was not a champion of human rights by killing 20,000 people. Why are human rights still so in danger today? Don't get me wrong though, if you are looking for a historical read and do not have a lot of knowledge about European History, pick this up.
Readable, interesting, well-researched November 4, 2006
Katherine Wallace (Rochester. NY)
This book is a great overall history of human rights. I really liked how it talked about the origin of ideas and then wove those ideas throughout the book. It's a very well-researched and complete work. One thing that does is make several assertions that are extremely contentious among human rights scholars; for example it contends that human rights is a concept that is western in origin.
Good overview November 23, 2006
Melybelly (St. Petersburg, Florida)
What I really liked about this book was its emphasis on human rights and how previous and current laws help or hurt human rights. This book is very useful if you want to know where some of the laws we have today came from. It also compares the religious traditions and their laws. Overall, I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in human rights history.
|
|
|
|
| |
