Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will explore the complex relationship between sociological theory and human rights. Owing to the recent institutionalization of the sociology of human rights as an academic field, a space has opened for a more sustained exploration of how classical and contemporary sociological theorists have either engaged or neglected the subject of human rights. Accordingly, the Special Issue will emphasize three questions. First, in what ways have sociological theorists addressed human rights? Second, how has sociological theory contributed to our understanding of the origin, evolution, and implementation of human rights norms, laws, policies, and institutions? Third, how might the theoretical insights of sociologists inform human rights claims-making by social movement organizations or policymaking by elected officials?

In establishing a dialogue between sociological theory and human rights, authors are encouraged to follow one or more of the following paths:         

• An excavation of the contributions of classical sociological theorists—including Marx, Durkheim, and Weber—to our understanding of human rights
• An extension of the work of contemporary sociological theorists, including exemplars of Critical Theory, feminism, post-colonial theory, subaltern studies, and other major schools
• An evaluation of the theoretical approaches adopted by sociologists of human rights
• An exercise in sociological theory-building on human rights

Prof. Mark Frezzo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Sociology of Human Rights
• Classical Sociological Theory
• Contemporary Sociological Theory
• Political Sociology
• Social Movements Research