A Human Rights View of the Past

This Element explores human rights' theoretical and practical contributions to the study of time, memory, and history. It clarifies the concept of a human rights view of the past, reviews its contributions to each dimension, and highlights the benefits it can bring to historical theory and practice.

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The idea of human rights has been much criticized from a historical perspective but curiously enough its theoretical and practical contributions to the study of time, memory, and history have never been systematically explored. How is it to look at the past from a human rights perspective? How can historical writing benefit from applying human rights principles? In tackling these questions, the book first clarifies what a human rights view of the past is. The constituent dimensions of the past – time, memory, and history – are then reviewed, indicating what a human rights perspective can add to the study of each. Finally, the benefits accruing from a human rights view of the past to historical theory and practice are highlighted.