Dispossession: Theory and Ethnography

3 credits · Undergraduate

Once almost exclusively associated with the radical leftist thought, 'dispossession' has become a household concept. This course aims to place dispossession within the historical and philosophical traditions that shape it and addresses the key question of how to think about it. We will also explore some of the following questions that are central to discourses and practices of dispossession: Why are certain forms of human deprivation and exploitation called dispossession? What is included within the framework of dispossession, and what is left out? What relationships are connected to dispossession? Recognizing dispossession as a theoretical trope, readings and discussions will cover various social processes globally. In line with the anthropological maxim that "knowledge is always situated," more theoretical texts will be complemented by ethnographies. Property at the center, and personhood always already accompanying it, the course will traverse a broad range of connected topics currently prevalent both in the discipline and public discourse.