Where do rights come from? In the modern world the idea of rights – of citizens’ rights and human rights – is ubiquitous and their source is apparently obvious. Internationally, we think immediately of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the European Convention on Human Rights, and, in relation to nation states, the constitutions of particular countries (if they have them) or specific laws (if, as in the case of the UK, they don’t). This idea of rights, however, is rather fixed and does not help use to understand the way in which rights emerge – and how rights grow. Dr William Mack and Dr Meghan Campbell will draw on their research into ancient Greek inscriptions and the modern courts to explore and contrast historical and contemporary processes underlying the invention and growth of rights.

Dr Meghan Campbell, Reader in International Human Rights Law at the University of Birmingham

Dr William Mack, Associate Professor in Ancient Greek History and Culture at the University of Birmingham

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Stele depicting Athena presenting the first olive tree to Erectheus, king of Athens, above a set of accounts of the Erectheum (Louvre, Paris; Image source: Wikimedia Foundation)