New Property Theory Syllabus

I had a great time at AALS, and it was a lot of fun meeting so many readers of this blog.  Thanks for coming by!

Last year, I posted the syllabus for my property theory seminar.  Below the fold, I've posted the my property theory syllabus from last semester, which varies quite a bit from the first one.

Ben Barros

Class 1:  Conceptualizing Property

Thomas C. Grey, “The Disintegration of Property”
Stephen R. Munzer, “Popular and Sophisticated Conceptions of Property” from A Theory of Property
J.E. Penner, “The ‘Bundle of Rights’ Picture of Property” (excerpt)
Guido Calabresi & A Douglas Melamed, “Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability:  One View of the Cathedral” (excerpt)
James Madison, “Property”
Margaret Jane Radin, “Property and Personhood” (excerpt)

Class 2:  Property and Distributive Justice Part I

John Locke, On Property
Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia (excerpt)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality (excerpt)
Jeremy Bentham, The Theory of Legislation (excerpt)

Class 3:  Property and Distributive Justice Part II

Stephen R. Munzer, “A Rawlsian Conception of Equal Property” from A Theory of Property
Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto (excerpt)
Hernando de Soto, The Mystery of Capital, pp. 1-13; 39-67 (I recommend a quick read through the entire book, which is interesting and accessible)
Joseph William Singer, “The Reliance Interest in Property” (excerpt)

Class 4:  Property and Freedom

F.A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (excerpt)
Charles A. Reich, “The New Property” (excerpt)
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (excerpt)
“No Title”, The Economist

Class 5:  Commons, Anticommons and the Right to Exclude

Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons” (excerpt)
Harold Demsetz, “Toward a Theory of Property Rights” (lecture only)
Michael A. Heller, “The Tragedy of the Anticommons:  Property in the Transition from Marx to Markets” (excerpt)
Lior Jacob Strahilevitz, “Information Asymmetries and the Right to Exclude” (excerpt)
D. Benjamin Barros, “Covenants Against Sex Offenders”

Class 6:  More on the Commons:  Property and Natural Resources

James M. Acheson, “The Lobster Gangs of Maine” (excerpt)
Alison Rieser, “Property Rights and Ecosystem Management in U.S. Fisheries:  Contracting for the Commons?”
James Rasband et al., “Why Are Natural Resources Difficult to Manage?”
James Salzman, “Creating Markets For Ecosystem Services:  Notes From The Field” (excerpt)

Classes 7 and 8:  Does Removing One Stick Destroy The Entire Property Right?

The Right to Exclude
State v. Shack, 58 N.J. 297 (1971)
Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74 (1980)

Right to alienate:
In re Marriage of Graham, 574 P.2d 75 (Col. 1978)
Andrus v. Allard, 444 U.S. 51 (1979)
Hodel v. Irving, 481 U.S. 704 (1987)

Right to use:
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)

Right to possess:
Kelo v. New London, 125 S. Ct. 2655 (2003)

Class 9:  Homeownership and Some Intellectual Property Issues

William Fischel, The Homevoter Hypothesis (excerpt)
Kremen v. Cohen, 337 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2003) (Kozinski, J.)
White v. Samsung Electronics America, 989 F.2d 1512 (9th Cir. 1993) (Kozinski, J.)

Remainder of Semester:  Property in the Body

Newman v. Sathyavaglswaran, 287 F.3d 786 (9th Cir. 2002)
Davis v. Davis, 842 S.W.2d 588 (Tenn. 1992)
Martha Ertman and Joan Williams, Rethinking Commodification
Pages 46-132; 243-270; 303-323, 345-347; 354-359

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