Arts & Sciences Events
[PAST EVENT] Author Howard Mansfield: "The Habit of Turning the World Upside Down"
Access & Features
- Free food
- Open to the public
Howard Mansfield's recently-published book, "The Habit of Turning the World Upside Down: Our Belief in Property and the Cost of That Belief," is about property, property rights, and what he has discovered about how these ideas are processed by the American psyche. He will be speaking about how property fits with the culture, the competing narratives attached to the notion of ownership, and the often-contradictory way in which we view the idea of property and possession, illustrated by the issues burned into the headlines: pipelines, adaptation to climate change, the border wall, and cultural rights.
"I absolutely love this book, a thoughtful, sometimes heart-breaking examination of the American idea of property. This powerful book will slice you to the bone with its sweeping intelligence, austere poetics, and utter kindness."
Janisse Ray, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
"There comes a point early on in the reading of Howard Mansfield's newest book when you realize that you thought you understood what 'property' meant, but in actuality, you didn't. This book is a path-clearing work; the idea of property as most of us understand it has been occluded by so many branches consisting of conflicting ideas, legalese, lawsuits and the idea of eminent domain that one needs a person like Mr. Mansfield to clear away the brush and show us the path again."
The Miramichi Reader
Sponsored by the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at William & Mary Law School, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert, and Waldo & Lyle.