This seminar will explore the conceptual and practical ties between ownership and stewardship. Blackstone famously described ownership as “that sole and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world.” But many intellectual traditions regard the human relationship with the natural world as one of interdependence and community, not dominion. The course will start with some classic readings in environmental ethics, focusing especially on those that emphasize the obligations of humans within an ecological community. We will then examine the law of property, particularly the common law of real property though statutory law and personal property will also be considered. Across a range of concrete legal contexts, property rights operate to shield owners from obligations to the rest of the world. But there are also ways that the law of property functions to assign responsibilities to owners and to manage resources. This seminar will examine the tensions and also the harmonies between legal ownership and responsibilities toward the natural world. Students will write a seminar paper on a particular doctrinal issue, including potential legal reforms.
For details on class times, days of the week, instructors, and grading and exam details, please view the Michigan Law Class Schedule.