The Anthropology of Property

(4 Credits)

This course is an exploration of theories and practices surrounding the concept of property. We will read some work from political theory and by some early contributors to thinking on property in anthropology; then we turn to work by anthropologists and others who have been contributing to this topic in recent times. We will look at a number of contemporary issues such as property restitution in the former socialist bloc, postcolonial transformations of property forms, bioprospecting, and cultural property rights.