MVV373K Film and Human Rights: The Czech and American Experience

Právnická fakulta
podzim 2023
Rozsah
0/1/0. 3 kr. Ukončení: k.
Vyučující
prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D. (cvičící)
Paul Von Blum (cvičící), prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D. (zástupce)
Garance
prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D.
Právnická fakulta
Kontaktní osoba: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Dodavatelské pracoviště: Právnická fakulta
Rozvrh seminárních/paralelních skupin
MVV373K/01: Po 18. 9. 18:00–19:40 041, Út 19. 9. 16:00–17:40 041, 18:00–19:40 041, St 20. 9. 16:00–17:40 041, 18:00–19:40 041, Čt 21. 9. 18:00–19:40 041, P. Von Blum
Omezení zápisu do předmětu
Předmět je určen pouze studentům mateřských oborů.

Předmět si smí zapsat nejvýše 54 stud.
Momentální stav registrace a zápisu: zapsáno: 54/54, pouze zareg.: 3/54
Mateřské obory/plány
předmět má 80 mateřských oborů, zobrazit
Cíle předmětu
Films have powerfully and dramatically recorded human rights abuses throughout the world. This mini-course will focus on the Czech and the American experiences from the mid 20th century to the early 21st century. Specifically, it will show how both totalitarian and democratic governments have abused and ignored legal processes to create and perpetuate horrific abuses of human rights. Three dramatic films will reveal specific examples from Czechoslovakia during the Soviet era and the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and following the response to the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001. “Milada”, “Awakenings” and “Fighting Back” from the series “Eyes on the Prize,” and “The Mauritanian” are the film sources for this class. Throughout our time, we will examine how this traditional form of expressive culture can provide valuable intellectual and ethical stimuli for members and prospective members of the legal profession.
Osnova
  • 1.The Czech Experience
  • In this section of the course, the emphasis will be the persecution of Czech lawyer and political activist Milada Horakova. She was a Czech lawyer, politician, and a member of the resistance against the Nazis during World War II. She was imprisoned during that time and later emerged as an opponent of the Communist government in Czechoslovakia. She was a victim of a show trial and a judicial murder when she was convicted of fabricated charges of treason and conspiracy. She was hanged in Prague in 1950. The film “Milada” is a 2017 Czech biographical effort, in English, directed by David Mrnka. It details Milada’s life through 1950, including dramatic trial scenes before her execution. Students will view the film in advance and we will discuss the historical, political, legal, and ethical issues that arise from it.
  • 2.The American Experience: Civil Rights
  • In the mid 1950s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education. But even before, human rights were almost nonexistent for Blacks in the American South. Students will view the documentary films “Awakenings” and “Fighting Back” from the award-winning civil rights series “Eyes on the Prize.” These 55 minute documentaries show (1) the tragedy of the Emmett Till murder and the absurd “trial” of his white murderers and then (2) how two prominent Southern governors refused to obey the federal courts and declined to allow Black students to enroll in high school and university classes. Students will view these films in advance. First, we will consider the Till lynching and its implications and subsequently the governors’ defiance of the law that led to major riots in Arkansas and Mississippi. This second film reveals the stories powerfully, with dramatic footage and narration from the participants themselves. I will summarize the Brown decision and then students will discuss the implications of this massive rejection of the law of the United States and the need of the federal government to intervene with military force. Again, major political, legal, historical, and ethical issues emerge from these materials.
  • 3.The American Experience: Respone to Terrorism and Abuse of Human Rights
  • Following the horrific terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, the U.S. government, in response, engaged in a series of questionable actions that abused human rights and violated international legal standard against torture. The most notorious of these abuses occurred at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The film “The Mauritanian” is a 2021 legal drama based on the story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who was held for fourteen years without being charged with any crime. His American lawyers during this ordeal discover a pattern of abuse and torture at Guantanamo. The two women lawyers are depicted as working vigorously against injustice and Mohamedou is finally returned to Mauretania. Students will again view the film in advance and discuss issues of torture, due process of law, human rights, the role of lawyers, and related issues.
Výukové metody
lectures and discussions
Metody hodnocení
The students will write an essay of approximately one-page in the final class session offering their personal reactions to whichever materials or topics covered in class that they find most important or personally engaging. They will have wide latitude here and they may draw on any of the films covered or any of the instructor’s presentations.
Vyučovací jazyk
Angličtina
Informace učitele
COURSE DISCUSSIONS:


These comments are based on my previous experience teaching here for many years. It has been an exciting and very satisfying experience.



I would like to encourage maximum student discussion, even if we don’t cover all the material in this short course description. My view is that it’s more educationally valuable for you to take an active role than to “cover” material that you could easily forget soon after the course finishes. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you would like; there really are no “bad” questions. I will try to speak clearly in English and if there are any words or concepts you don’t understand, please let me know immediately. Also, I am available after class for any personal discussion as much as possible and I will do my best to answer emails promptly, as I do at UCLA.



Email: pvonblum@ucla.edu

Další komentáře
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