Currently I am working on several inter-related projects in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The common thread is the question of changing land tenure and cadastral systems. The projects encompass ethnographic studies, document analysis, and statistical surveys.
The main research project is supported by a three year National Science Foundation grant. The title of the project, Administrative Technologies and the Governance of Agrarian Reform: Liberal Modernization of the Polish Cadastral Infrastructure, highlights the focus of this project on studying the role of administrative technologies of the cadastre and its impacts on land tenure. Relying on a theoretical framework grounded in work on governmentality, previous studies of land tenure (particularly Katherine Verdery's work and her concept of elasticity), and science and technology studies, this research aim to contribute to studies of post-socialist change as well as aid in comprehending the impacts of EU-orientated reform measures in agricultural areas of Poland.
Related to this project, however with a stronger educational focus, is a project supported by the Center for German and European Studies (CGES) at the University of Minnesota. This project is jointly organized with Peter Bloch from the Land Tenure Center at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. We will be organizing a seminar and conference to consider the broader issues of land tenure and cadastral system related changes in Central and Eastern Europe with a focus on EU related changes. More information about the seminar and conference will be posted shortly. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me.
Francis Harvey, 8Nov2005