Inventing Human Rights A History

This comprehensive work traces the development of human rights from its conceptual roots in the Enlightenment to its full expression in the United Nation's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hunt begins with a wonderfully detailed lexicographical survey of 18th century uses of rights language ("rights of man," "natural rights," "rights of humanity") to show the many currents that led to the first modern declaration of human rights, the Bill of Rights. She then triangulates the upswing in rights language with both the appearance of the novel of letters (such as Rousseau's Julie and Samuel Richardson's Pamela and Clarissa) and the rise of portraiture in the mid- to late-18th century. These particular art forms, she argues, fostered a sense of individuality in their audience and empathy for their subjects, most frequently "regular folks" rather than nobles, royalty, or saints. She then takes the reader through 250 years of rights legislation, covering the French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, various anti-torture measures and 20th century campaigns against human rights violations, among others. Despite the obvious academic grounding of this sweeping work, it is aimed at a wider audience and will appeal to most readers interested either in the history of human rights or in European or American history.

"This is a wonderful history of the emergence and development of the powerful idea of human rights, written by one of the leading historians of our time." Amartya Sen "...a rich, elegant and persuasive essay... there is much to be learned by drawing connections between the political events that shaped modern politics and the literary developments that shaped modern sensibilities." London Review of Books "A tour de force." The New York Times Book Review "To connect human rights to social history in this way is an original and interesting approach to the subject... She offers a lively and informative history." Wall Street Journal "Hunt's survey is fast-paced, provocative and ultimately optimistic. Declarations, she writes, are not empty words but transformative; they make us want to become the people they claim we are." The New Yorker"