Young People, Human Rights, Gun Violence

This 3-credit course aims to give students a foundation in research, policy, and practice relevant to gun violence and the human rights of young people. In the first part of the course, we look at the US. In the US gun violence against children has increased, as part of a broader nationwide rise in crime. School shootings have also risen: The Washington Post counted 42 last year in the U.S., the most on record and up from 27 in 2019.  In addition to exploring its underlying causes, the prevalence, and solutions to gun violence in homes, schools, and communities in the United States, young peoples’ participation in legislation and other efforts to address physical insecurity. In the second half of the course, students examine the ways in which US foreign policy– including in the areas of small arms waivers, direct gun sales, and migration, have shaped the lives of young people in other nations. The focus of this part of the course will be on Central America where armed violence has had a dramatic impact on young people and has resulted in forced displacement and loss of education for young people. Throughout the course, students will explore the gun-related human rights issues affecting young people through the study of cases, reports, documentaries, and other visual images including satellites and aerial images. Students will examine the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2250 and 2419-- the Youth Peace and Security Agenda (YPS), the Arms Trade Treaty, and the Optional Protocol on the Child Soldier, as well as the U.S. Youth Peace and Security Act of 2021 (HR 4838), national legislation that prioritizes the inclusion of youth in conflict resolution and recognizes that youth participation is a key component of U.S. peace and security strategy. An ongoing and significant consideration in the course will be the role of international education efforts and youth-led advocacy and legislative efforts around gun control legislation. 

In addition to the topics mentioned above, students will acquire and deepen their understandings

• the framing of gun violence and violence caused by small weapons as human rights issues for young people, including but not limited to the international and national human rights laws that protect the right to life, development, survival, and protection
• the impacts that race, ethnicity, gender, age, life experience all have on the realization of young people’s human rights   
• the debates surroun