2014-2015 Academic Catalog

Nov 15, 2024

2014-2015 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ID 229 - Property and Community

“Property is not a thing, but a social relation,” is this course’s point of departure. Questions relevant to a “social relations theory of property” have captured attention within the social sciences on many fronts. Where does “ownership” originate in different societies? What gives property its social value (prestige, power, privilege)? How did the rise of the market and the spread of colonialism redefine property? Under what conditions and with what success do different property systems coexist? How can women’s right to property and land be strengthened? How does property act as a point of social mobilization? To answer these questions, we will investigate various forms of property creation, meaning, and control, old and new, such as the Enclosure Acts, the rise of the market, land trusts, customary law, and what is now called the global land rush (or land grab). The course readings are global in nature, allowing us to examine property as a social relation in South Asia, Africa, and Brazil.

Capstone eligible seminar

Anticipated Terms Offered: varies