Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Poulson, Nancy Kason

Abstract

This dissertation comparatively analyzes the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a nineteenth century American, and Jorge Luis Borges, a twentieth-century Argentinian, within the context of human rights. Through their writings, both Emerson and Borges provided a voice to the voiceless by addressing the most egregious violations of human rights during their respective days: For Emerson, the most virulent social ill was slavery; for Borges, it was fascism. While Emerson and Borges differ in several ways, they are remarkably similar in their emphasis of natural laws and natural rights, notably egalitarianism and liberty, which underpin humanity and comprise an integral aspect of civilization. By counteracting the antithesis of civilization, barbarism, the works of Emerson and Borges ultimately embody the tenets that would ultimately constitute The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Thus, Emerson and Borges are indelibly linked through serving as harbingers of human rights.

Extent

334 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00013207

Format

pdf

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