Teacher: Ellinor Isgren

Time: 13:15 - 15:00

Place: 305

Today's slides Agrarian Change.pdf

In this lecture we will the explore the topic of 'agrarian change' and different theoretical perspectives of how and why social, economic, and ecological conditions change in rural areas - and with what consequences. Land, being a central 'resource' in rural areas (for livelihoods like agriculture and forestry, but also for competing uses like urban expansion, mining, recreation, conservation, etc.) is given particular attention. How does agrarian change bring changes in land use, and what does this mean for sustainable development? What conflicting interests emerge or deepen between rural and urban communities, and within rural areas, along with processes of agrarian change? How do these get manifested in tensions over material resources (like land, but also others), and in 'discursive battles'?

Mandatory readings:

Borras Jr, Saturnino M. (2009) Agrarian change and peasant studies: changes, continuities and challenges – an introduction, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 36:1, 5-31

Recommended readings:

For an accessible primer: Tsikata, Dzodzi (2015) "The social relations of agrarian change", IIED working paper. 17278IIED.pdf

Razavi, Shahra (2003) “Introduction: Agrarian Change, Gender and Land Rights”, Journal of Agrarian Change, 3 (1-2): 2-32

Leach, Melissa, and James Fairhead. 2000. ‘Challenging Neo-Malthusian Deforestation Analyses in
West Africa’s Dynamic Forest Landscapes’. Population and Development Review 26 (1): 17–
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