Property Law and Real Estate Commons^™

History As Ideology In The Basic Property Course, Gregory S. Alexander

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Why has history played such a prominent role in the basic property course in the twentieth century? Such a loaded question requires some explanation. Legal history is doubtless used in all the first-year common-law courses, but I have the impression that since Langdell's time it has been more conspicuous in property than in the other basic courses. At least let us provisionally accept this rather dogmatic assertion in order to examine the more interesting questions: what function has the historical perspective served in property, and what other function might history serve in the course?