Property and habit: On the political anthropology of ownership in Western modernity
Outline
The project is dedicated to the political anthropology of ownership between the eighteenth and early twentieth century. It investigates an assumption that is widespread in the humanities: that ownership structures bring about the formation of specific habits. Its central hypothesis, which stems from the dichotomy between nomadism and permanent settlement, is the belief that private ownership gives rise to good habits, such as self-discipline, making it beneficial to the development of civilisation.
It juxtaposes the academic history of the corresponding positions and their incorporation into various patterns of interpretation and logics of development, ranging from the theory of the four humours to the psychology of peoples, with a Governmentality-based historical analysis of government through ownership.
Project activities
Publications
- Bernhard Kleeberg, Anna Möllers und Dirk Schuck (eds.) (2024): Nomad Properties. Political Anthropologies of Nomadism from the 18th Century until Today, Campus, Frankfurt Main/Chicago, (forth.).
- Schuck, Dirk (2024): "Agriculture, Property and Habits. A Comparison of Adam Smith and James C. Scott", In: Kleeberg et. al.: Nomad Properties. Political Anthropologies of Nomadism from the 18th Century until Today, Campus, Frankfurt Main/Chicago, (forth.).
- Schuck, Dirk (2024): "Letters from an American Farmer: An Eighteenth Century Agrarian Utopia?", In: Bianchi Mancini et. al.: Relating to Landed Property, Campus, Ffm/Chicago, 2024, (forth.).
- Möllers, Anna (2023): “The figure of the ‘savage’ and landed property in colonial contexts”, part V of the SFB-Blog series „Verfügung über Dinge: Historische und aktuelle Perspektiven des Eigentums im Wandel”, In: blog of the Collaborative Research Centre “Structural Change of Property”. (published 02.10.2023)
- Mulsow, Martin (2022): Überreichweiten. Perspektiven einer globalen Ideengeschichte. Berlin: Suhrkamp.
- Kleeberg, Bernhard (2020): “Factual Narrative in Economics”, In: M. Fludernik; M.-L. Ryan (eds.): Narrative Factuality. A Handbook. De Gruyter, 379-389.
Events
- Scientific conference „Nomad Properties. Political Anthropologies of Nomadism from the 18th Century until Today“ with a keynote by Elena Marushiakova and Veselin Popov (University of St. Andrews) and other contributions. (30.06. - 02.07.22)
- Conference "Naturrecht und Eigentum. Politische Anthropologie im Kontext des Kolonialismus“ in cooperation with the research network "Natural Law 1625-1850“. (08.04.2022)
