Property & Social Justice 

This course provides an introduction to the relationship between the law of property (both real and intellectual) and the arguments that are made by social justice advocates. It builds on students’ understanding(s) of the conceptual role of property in a free and politically liberal democratic society and the constitutional protection of property which form the basis for consideration of the empirically-evidenced role property plays in structural social and economic inequality. Four domestic and international case studies –– on (i) the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), (ii) redlining and foreclosures in the context of the real estate market, (iii) SARS-CoV-2 and other life-saving vaccines and drugs, as well as (iv) an issue of students’ choosing –– are used to uncover the social justice implications of the property law system in America and the world, as well as consider policy options for how to address present socioeconomic injustices founded in property law. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: (1) understand and apply basic principles of American property law relative to the subject areas in which the four case studies are situated; (2) articulate key social justice arguments for and against significant property-related rules and policies in the subject areas covered in the case studies; and (3) critically engage with different sources of property law, including judicial decisions, statutes, and regulations, from a social justice perspective.