COVER-cIDA seminar - Rethinking Property and Hegemony: Bridging RPT and Ideology and Discourse Analy

Name: COVER-cIDA seminar - Rethinking Property and Hegemony: Bridging RPT and Ideology and Discourse Analy
Start: 2025-01-21T14:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-01-21T16:00:00+00:00
Location: University of Essex

Schedule

Tue Jan 21 2025 at 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

University of Essex | Colchester, EN

We are delighted to invite you to our joint COVER-cIDA seminar
“Rethinking Property and Hegemony: Bridging RPT and Ideology and Discourse Analysis”
Tuesday, January 21st | 2:00–4:00 PM | EBS.2.65
(and online: https://essex-university.zoom.us/j/97351029477)
with
Bram Akkermans, Maastricht University
Peter Bloom, University of Essex
Lorna Fox O’Mahony, University of Essex
Marc L. Roark, University of Tulsa
Abstract
This paper explores the transformative potential of integrating Resilient Property Theory (RPT) with Ideology and Discourse Analysis (IDA) to rethink the role of property in shaping hegemonic power structures. Moving beyond traditional liberal frameworks, RPT reconceptualizes property as a dynamic, contestable construct rooted in material and social relations. When combined with IDA’s insights into how discourses shape power and identity, this approach uncovers how property law simultaneously reinforces hegemonic orders and serves as a site for counter-hegemonic resistance. Crucially, this synthesis opens up possibilities for creating politically resilient forms of commons ownership and reimagining counter-hegemony as a process that transcends resistance and antagonism, fostering durable and transformative alternatives. Drawing on case studies and critical theory, the talk demonstrates how this interdisciplinary approach reconfigures property’s role in mediating resilience, challenging entrenched ideologies, and cultivating equitable, sustainable systems of ownership and governance.
Presenters' Bios:
Bram Akkermans is Professor of Property Law at Maastricht University. Bram specialises in sustainability and property law and combines property theory with constitutional property and property doctrine to explore how property law can accommodate sustainable thinking. He has widely published on comparative and European property law, both in the area of European economic integration, human rights and – more recently – property theory incorporating sustainability. He is co-editor of the Ius Commune Casebook on Property Law (2012, Hart Publishing), author of The Principle of Numerus Clausus in European Property Law (2008, Intersentia) and Sustainable Property Law. Reckoning – Resilience – Reform (2022, Eleven International Publishing). In 2024 the edited volume Research Agenda for Property Law appeared with Edward Elgar Publishing.

Peter Bloom, a Professor of Management at the University of Essex, explores how technology and cultural paradigms can transform contemporary work, organizations, and society. His research critically examines the intersection of economic marketization, political authoritarianism, and the “dark side” of empowerment discourses in the workplace. A central theme of his work is rethinking the human aspects of organizational life to create more equitable and empowering economic and political systems. As co-director of the Centre for Commons Organising, Values, Equalities, and Resilience (COVER), Professor Bloom investigates how principles of cooperation, collaboration, and open knowledge sharing can reshape organizations and foster societal transformation. His scholarship extends to examining the impact of technology on organizing processes and structures, offering insights into building more resilient and just systems. Widely recognized for his contributions, his work is featured in leading international journals and media, addressing urgent global challenges with a critical and innovative lens.

Lorna Fox O’Mahony, Essex Law School, focuses on the role of law in contemporary property problems, particularly in respect of land, housing and home. Her work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and she is author or editor of twelve books, including the award-winningConceptualising Home (2006, Hart Publishing) and a student-facing book, Great Debates in Land Law (3rd edition 2023). She developed Resilient Property Theory (RPT), a new theoretical and methodological approach to tackling contemporary property problems (with Prof Marc Roark). Current projects include applications of RPT to address current issues in housing, climate change, platform real estate and consumer protection, in the context of the democratic legal system

Marc L. Roark is a Professor of Law at University of Tulsa. His research primarily considers how narratives and norms are scaled in property conflicts around housing. Together with Lorna Fox O’Mahony, he is the author of Squatting and the State: Resilient Property Theory in an Age of Crisis. His primary areas of work are in the study of housing and homelessness through the lens of property norms. He is currently working on several projects focused on applying vulnerability theory in the context of resilience gaps and resilient property theory across numerous areas including housing, ruralism, Indian law, and commercial law.