This course situates land and law in relation to each other, where land embodies a network of relationships that are held in a particular space and time, and which give meaning to it. From the colonial encounter to current societies, the legal codification of land has played a central role in mediating and shaping these relationships: private property, terra nullius, natural parks, all the way to the subsoil and outer space are realms in which the workings of law have translated, configured, produced, and reproduced land in different ways. Throughout the semester, we will study and understand how law has codified land, changed the way we relate to it across time and in different contexts, and shaped its politics – meaning: who owns land, who has access to it, who controls it, and who is excluded. To do this, we will be asking ourselves: how is land understood in different, situated moments? What is the role of law in shaping these conceptions, and how do they affect social relations? Who is given access to land and who is being excluded/configured, on what grounds, and by which means? No prior knowledge of law is required, but students should be willing to engage with literature on law and legal concepts. At the end of the course, you will have an overview of the multiple ways in which the legal codification of land has shaped social, economic, and political relations, thereby organizing access to land and shaping contemporary dynamics of possession and dispossession. You will have an understanding of existing approaches to analyzing the role of law in society, which you will be able to transfer to other research areas of your interest.