Law, Rights and Social Justice
UndergraduateLTU-LST3LSJ2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 20 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Price from
- $2,124
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Law, Rights and Social Justice
About this subject
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Apply complex theories to examine "case studies", demonstrating an understanding of the problem of universalism, cultural relativism and human rights.
- Critically reflect on the definition, efficacy and scope of human rights law and practice, including discussing the concept of human rights, reflecting on the problems of both "conflicting rights" and human rights as "ideology", and using complex theories on rights from the literature.
- Illustrate an understanding of domestic and international human rights law and how they relate to each other.
- Locate relevant Internet material on human rights and social justice matters, summarise this material and then identify problems and/or issues raised.
- Write about the role of law in protecting human rights and preventing future human rights abuses, as well as the efficacy of law as a defender of human rights.
- Write coherently on the gap between law in theory versus law in practice in relation to human rights and social justice, reflecting on both ideals and ideology.
- History and Philosophy of Human Rights
- Critical Perspectives on Human Rights
- Indigenous Peoples and Self-Determination
- Global Poverty and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
- Women's Rights
- Humanitarian Intervention
- Climate Change and Human Rights
This subject considers various approaches to understanding the relationship between law, rights, and social justice. It focuses on how domestic and international laws can promote, hinder, or violate rights and asks critical questions about the nature and source of those rights. The subject begins by examining the philosophy and practice of rights, including within domestic and international law, and then considers the relationship between rights and various social justice issues. These include Indigenous self-determination; women's political movements; ableism; children's rights; discrimination against LGBTIQ people; poverty and homelessness; asylum seeking; counter-terrorism and torture; armed conflict, genocide and transitional justice; and environmental and animal justice.
This is a level 3 subject. Please consider the subject pre-requisites before enrolling. This subject includes live sessions with the expectation of student attendance and participation.
- 1500-word mock submission to a public inquiry (35%)
- In-class quizzes (equivalent to 1000 words) (20%)
- 2000-word research essay (45%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
The third university established in Victoria, La Trobe University has a diverse community of more than 38,000 students and staff. Its commitment to excellence in teaching and research prepares students to make a bold and positive impact in today's global community. La Trobe provides Open Universities Australia with its core tenets, entrepreneurship and sustainability.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 17
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 18
Entry requirements
Others
Prerequisites: Students must have completed 30 credit points of Level two subjects.
Past La Trobe University students who have previously completed LST2LSJ (Law, Rights and Social Justice) are ineligible to enrol in this subject.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences
UndergraduateLAT-AHS-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-ART-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-HSC-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-BUS-DEG
Bachelor of Information Technology
UndergraduateLAT-TEC-DEG
Bachelor of Psychological Science
UndergraduateLAT-PYS-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-CYS-DEG
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