Subversive Property

"Subversive Property is a conceptually rich book that ambitiously works to redraw the relationships between belonging, property and space. Itis tremendously inter-disciplinary, engaging with debates in geography, law and society, refugee and diasporic studies, and postcolonial feminism amongst others – always adding a new spin... Fundamentally, I think, what Sarah’s book does is to show us a way of re-imagining property that – from a left-wing perspective – widens our conceptual options. So property doesn’t simply signal an unequivocal structure of possession or control where the only radical thing left to do is to decide whether, and to what extent, property should be communalised or discarded. Instead, by delineating a diverse set of relations of belonging, property gets rendered far more ambivalent." - Davina Cooper, Kent Law School
"Sarah’s work does more than open up the debate: it challenges the foundation of a dominant legal narrative which says that there can be those who are always relegated to the realm of the dispossessed, and this is where it ends." - Emma Patchett, University of Münster
"On reading Sarah’s work, I felt myself to be living proof of the soul of her contentions... The beauty in Sarah’s book is that she not only convincingly and engagingly articulates her theory of subversive property, but in doing so she grapples with personal and political realities sensitively and insightfully." - Nadine El-Enany, Birkbeck School of Law

Open access "Book Discussion: Subversive Property" from feminists@law (vol. 4, no. 2, 2014) available here: http://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/feministsatlaw/issue/view/12

"Subversive Property is at the absolute cutting edge of theory about property and space. Sarah Keenan theorises property and space in a way that is intensely imaginative, as well as having significant explanatory power. Not only does she emphasise the dynamic qualities of space, she also connects subjects to space in a manner which is both compelling and creative. The book challenges both the simplistic image of a law which is drawn onto space, as well as the idea of a pre-existing subject who owns property. The field in which property-law-the subject-space operate is described through dynamic relationships and with an eye on the future rather than the past. The book is highly readable and I recommend it to everyone interested in property theory and ideas about space." - Margaret Davies, Flinders University

"The great challenge in Keenan's work is not only in its discussion of the vulnerability of existing rights and privileges, including those in the identity of people, to social change. Rather, it lies in its choice of property-the most "conservative" (in the true meaning of the word) of all social and legal ideas-as the vehicle for identifying the nature of rights of empowerment, inclusion and exclusion, and the fissures that exist in undermining them. In a turn similar to those that Frug masterfully employed, the institution of property itself is-in Keenan's narrative-provocative of social change." - Laura Underkuffler, Cornell Law School

"Keenan’s analysis offers critical political potential for scholars concerned with social justice and inequality. It is a great read, wide-ranging, and deeply theorised but buzzing with real-world examples that demonstrate the potential of her approach to open new lines of action on the pressing property inequality issues of our time." - Lorna Fox O'Mahony, Essex University

"Subversive Property is an interesting and thought provoking book that will be of interest to legal geographers and others working in areas related to socio-legal studies and post-colonial studies. Keenan’s decentring of the legal subject, conceptualisation of the subject and space as co-constitutive, and understanding of property as a spatially contingent relation of belonging offers, new ways of thinking about the complex and interconnected forces that shape our world. Such thinking demands further research and action that seeks to deeply unsettle the existing systems, moving beyond legal reform to more radical change." - Louise Sarsfield Collins, Maynooth University

"Subversive Property is a conceptually rich book that ambitiously works to redraw the relationships between belonging, property and space. Itis tremendously inter-disciplinary, engaging with debates in geography, law and society, refugee and diasporic studies, and postcolonial feminism amongst others – always adding a new spin... Fundamentally, I think, what Sarah’s book does is to show us a way of re-imagining property that – from a left-wing perspective – widens our conceptual options. So property doesn’t simply signal an unequivocal structure of possession or control where the only radical thing left to do is to decide whether, and to what extent, property should be communalised or discarded. Instead, by delineating a diverse set of relations of belonging, property gets rendered far more ambivalent." - Davina Cooper, Kent Law School
"Sarah’s work does more than open up the debate: it challenges the foundation of a dominant legal narrative which says that there can be those who are always relegated to the realm of the dispossessed, and this is where it ends." - Emma Patchett, University of Münster
"On reading Sarah’s work, I felt myself to be living proof of the soul of her contentions... The beauty in Sarah’s book is that she not only convincingly and engagingly articulates her theory of subversive property, but in doing so she grapples with personal and political realities sensitively and insightfully." - Nadine El-Enany, Birkbeck School of Law

Open access "Book Discussion: Subversive Property" from feminists@law (vol. 4, no. 2, 2014) available here: http://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/feministsatlaw/issue/view/12

"Subversive Property is at the absolute cutting edge of theory about property and space. Sarah Keenan theorises property and space in a way that is intensely imaginative, as well as having significant explanatory power. Not only does she emphasise the dynamic qualities of space, she also connects subjects to space in a manner which is both compelling and creative. The book challenges both the simplistic image of a law which is drawn onto space, as well as the idea of a pre-existing subject who owns property. The field in which property-law-the subject-space operate is described through dynamic relationships and with an eye on the future rather than the past. The book is highly readable and I recommend it to everyone interested in property theory and ideas about space." - Margaret Davies, Flinders University

"The great challenge in Keenan's work is not only in its discussion of the vulnerability of existing rights and privileges, including those in the identity of people, to social change. Rather, it lies in its choice of property-the most "conservative" (in the true meaning of the word) of all social and legal ideas-as the vehicle for identifying the nature of rights of empowerment, inclusion and exclusion, and the fissures that exist in undermining them. In a turn similar to those that Frug masterfully employed, the institution of property itself is-in Keenan's narrative-provocative of social change." - Laura Underkuffler, Cornell Law School

"Keenan’s analysis offers critical political potential for scholars concerned with social justice and inequality. It is a great read, wide-ranging, and deeply theorised but buzzing with real-world examples that demonstrate the potential of her approach to open new lines of action on the pressing property inequality issues of our time." - Lorna Fox O'Mahony, Essex University

"Subversive Property is an interesting and thought provoking book that will be of interest to legal geographers and others working in areas related to socio-legal studies and post-colonial studies. Keenan’s decentring of the legal subject, conceptualisation of the subject and space as co-constitutive, and understanding of property as a spatially contingent relation of belonging offers, new ways of thinking about the complex and interconnected forces that shape our world. Such thinking demands further research and action that seeks to deeply unsettle the existing systems, moving beyond legal reform to more radical change." - Louise Sarsfield Collins, Maynooth University