In mapping out the field of human rights for those studying and researching within both humanities and social science disciplines, the Handbook of Human Rights not only provides a solid foundation for the reader who wants to learn the basic parameters of the field, but also promotes new thinking and frameworks for the study of human rights in the twenty-first century. The Handbook comprises over sixty individual contributions from key figures around the world, which are grouped according to eight key areas of discussion: foundations and critiques; new frameworks for understanding human rights; world religious traditions and human rights; social, economic, group, and collective rights; critical perspectives on human rights organizations, institutions, and practices; law and human rights; narrative and aesthetic dimension of rights; geographies of rights. In its presentation and analysis of the traditional core history and topics, critical perspectives, human rights culture, and current practice, this Handbook proves a valuable resource for all students and researchers with an interest in human rights.

The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law provides a comprehensive and original overview of one of the fundamental topics within international law. It contains substantial new essays by over forty leading experts in the field, giving students, scholars, and practitioners a completeoverview of the issues that inform research and a "map" of the debates that animate the field. Each chapter features critical and up-to-date analysis of the current state of debate and discussion, assessing recent work, and advancing the understanding of all aspects of this developing area ofinternational law.Addressing all aspects of international human rights law, the Handbook consists of over forty chapters, divided into seven parts. The first two sections explore the foundational theories and the historical antecedents of human rights law from a diverse set of disciplines, including thephilosophical, religious, biological, and psychological origins of moral development and altruism, and sociological findings about cooperation and conflict. They also trace the historical sources of human rights through comparative and international law by conducting a case study of the anti-slaverymovement. Section III focuses on the law-making process and certain categories of rights. Sections IV and V examine the normative and institutional evolution of human rights, and discuss its impact on various doctrines of general international law. The final two sections are more speculative,examining whether there is an advantage to considering major social problems from a human rights perspective and, if so, how that might be done. Section VI analyses several current problems that are being addressed by governments both domestically and through international organizations, and issuesthat have been placed on the human rights agenda of the United Nations, such as state responsibility for human rights violations and economic sanctions to enforce human rights. The final section then evaluates the impact of international human rights law over the past six decades from a variety ofperspectives.The Handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and practitioners of international human rights law. It provides the reader with new perspectives on international human rights law that are both multidisciplinary and geographically and culturally diverse. It should become the newstandard reference work in this area.