Law, Nature, and Agency: Towards a Critical History of Property

​We are pleased to announce the First International Conference​ “Law, Nature, and Agency: Paths Toward a Critical History of Property,” which will take place from 12 to 14 November 2025 at the Federal University of Southern Bahia (UFSB), Sosígenes Costa campus, in Porto Seguro, Brazil.

The event is a joint initiative of CEAP–Abya Yala (UFSB), the IberLAND project – Beyond Property: Law and Land in the Iberian World (ERC–Leibniz University Hannover), and the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory (Frankfurt am Main).

The meeting aims to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars, activists, Indigenous peoples, and traditional leaders from Bahia and Mozambique, as well as other interested participants. It will address the complex relationships between human and non-human agencies, nature, and law, with a focus on socio-environmental justice, territorial conflicts, and the preservation of socio-biodiversity.

Discussions will critically examine the historical construction of property rights, the enduring legacies of colonization, and the ways in which Western legal traditions continue to shape contemporary disputes over land and territory.

The program will include keynote lectures, thematic panels, a field activity with the Pataxó community of Aldeia Velha (Arraial D’Ajuda), and a film workshop with filmmaker Lara Jacoski, director of the award-winning documentary “Eskawatã Kaiwai: The Spirit of Transformation.”