3. Soci 355: Sociology of Children’s Rights and Social Policy

Professor: Brian Gran
Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:15-2:30 p.m.

For students interested in law and human rights, Soci 355 is the perfect course. Focusing on children’s rights in particular, the course looks at human rights treaties on an international scale, examining how they differ across countries.

“We consider a couple of different areas involving children’s rights that are important to young people, but then we also give them greater depth,” said Gran, citing children’s rights to make medical decisions, such as the right to an abortion, as an example.

The course also features a number of guest speakers from all over the world, who Skype in to speak with students. In the past, a member of the United Nations Committee on Children’s Rights spoke. Students also visit courts in northeast Ohio to talk to judges and lawyers about children’s rights on a local level.

“The course also reveals a great deal about how law, rights and politics work in the United States,” said Gran. “Not just in government, but in the activities of lobbyists and other groups in how they shape the terrain of how children’s rights are fought over and dealt with.”