2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Nov 23, 2024

2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

IDCE 329 - Property and Community

“Property is not a thing, but a social relationship,” is this course’s point of departure. Owning or accessing land often implies exercising social control and power over others. There are ways to make land ownership more inclusive. In many areas around the world, women can neither access nor control land without permission of a man. In instances where colonial powers, expropriated land from native communities, land restitution slowly moves ahead. We will explore how development interventions to improve land access change community relations, family dynamics, and influence environmental outcomes. Among the questions we will address include: How do countries reconcile traditional law and Constitutional Law introduced during colonialism? How has the process of land grabbing changed across time? Can access to land make communities more resilient to climate change? How is land inextricably linked to cultural identity and well-being? Course readings are global and comparative in nature, allowing us to examine land relations and policy around the world. Students are involved in setting some of the collective learning objectives and course content. UG Capstone eligible seminar; Fulfills IDCE Conservation and Development & Gender and Identity concentration.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Varies