painting as showing the consequences of that defiance.4C . Both of these works show the point of view or perspective of two groups: those being depicted
in the artworks and those of the artists. Thus, the artwork records, reflects, and refers to
historical events and conditions. Art is a commentary, but it can also often be a call to action.
Section II, Part A: Document-Based Question
The question addresses the evolution of human rights across time and continents. You must sustain a
thesis or an argument that explains changes in the idea or scope of human rights. You should take into
consideration the following points: Are the human rights documents personal, political, public, or
private? Why were the documents created? In other words, what are the focus and purpose of human
rights declarations? You should consider the sources of the documents as you analyze them and
include outside historical events that may have influenced their creation.
A good response would draw on six or seven of these documents (that is, all or all but one of
them) to trace the evolution of human rights, particularly in order to emphasize differences between
Eastern and Western perspectives.
You should incorporate analyses of the documents. You may begin by dividing the documents into
those that focus on social/socioeconomic, religious, or political points. Since all the documents are
“official,” or produced by governing bodies, you can make the case that all of them are political. You
may also note that some of the documents focus on human rights in a national context (Documents 1
and 3); some focus on the individual (Documents 2, 4, 5, and 7); and some are clearly more global in
focus (Documents 6 and 7). There may be some overlap; that is, some documents will fall into more
than one category. Simply listing the characteristics of the documents, however, leaves open the
question of connections between documents, connections that point out similarities and differences in
the focus and purpose of human rights declarations. For example, Document 7 stands out for its
emphasis on the ties between religion and human rights; and while it focuses on the individual, it does
so within a religious context.
The thesis therefore should address both similarities over time (continuity) and differences in
point of view and purpose.
In this question, you are asked to determine what historical events or which historical context
would answer the prompt most thoroughly. For example, you might want to point out that the Magna
Carta was the King of England’s response to pressures from noble landowners who were intent on
keeping some of the power they had achieved during the feudal era. This would eventually contribute
to the formation of constitutional or parliamentary monarchies and to the expansion of bureaucratic
systems involving checks and balances.
Having considered the various points of view, you may want to discuss the nature of human rights
concerns—from national (Document 1) to more individual (Documents 4 and 5) to transnational or
global (Documents 6 and 7). Clearly the Recopilación (Document 3) reflects the somewhat idealistic
(and nationalistic) thoughts governing settlement of the New World in the Age of Exploration and
Discovery.
You may consider whether human rights are absolute, as implied in Western (although not Eastern)
documents. Or, you may want to make the case that human rights are dependent on situation or
location (Document 7). This would lead to an analysis of changes in government—from absolutism
to the revolutionary ideal of natural law, or, in other words, from the idea of power residing in the
highest earthly authority to its being inherent in human beings.