ANTHRO 126W: Rethinking Land: Anthropological Perspectives on Power, Property, and Environment

Course Description

In this class, we will dive into the various interdisciplinary conception of land situated within anthropological scholarship to understand and situated different contestations over land. Through historical and ethnographic case studies and examples from various parts of the world, we will explore - how land becomes central to the colonial project and decolonial struggles; how property and ownership are tied to citizenship and rights, how is land governed in contemporary settler-colonial and post-colonial context, how climate change and environmental planning disproportionately affects some people; and so on. By the end of this class, students will have a nuanced understanding of land and the ways in which its diverse conceptions intersect with one another.