Historically, forests have been one of the main arenas of class struggle: as areas of subsistence for the poorest, they have also served as a laboratory for the rise of capitalist private property. Drawing on K. Marx's text on timber theft and E.P. Thompson's book on forest wars, Sarah Vanuxem sets out to rewrite the history of enclosures in England before presenting the case of Epping Forest near London, the “green lung” of the City.

Sarah Vanuxem's research (MCF-HDR, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis) lies at the intersection of property law and environmental law, with forays into environmental philosophy, anthropology of nature, legal history and, more recently, the arts.

The event is organised as part of the FNRS-WelChange project “NarChorFor” (Children's Narrative Chorus of the Forest), with the support of iiTSE, the REVIP seminar, attached to the REPI research centre, and Philixte.

The lecture will be followed by a seminar from 2pm to 4pm in room AZ4.103. It is entitled “Forest commons: rights of (wooded) environments and new enclosures”.

Registration: here