Far Beyond ‘The Early Morning Crowing of a Farmyard Cock’: Revisiting the Place of Nuisance within Legal and Political Discourse

Abstract

Private and public nuisance have been the subject of extensive legal scholarship; however, far less has been said about nuisance as a sociolegal and political concept. Bringing a normative perspective to the analysis of nuisance claims, this article seeks to draw together discussions of nuisance in very different contexts - from the tortious injuries caused by sounds, vibrations and odours crossing property boundaries to the everyday claims that particular identities or statuses represent an impediment to the pursuit of legitimate interests. In attempting to determine the common ground, if any, that exists between these different nuisance usages, the article focuses on the ways in which freedom, control, responsibility, attention, purpose and place have been articulated. My aim in doing so is threefold: first, to analyse the norms and values underlying nuisance as a discourse and regulatory technique; second, to consider whether engaging in nuisance conduct has anything to offer a progressive or radical politics; and third, to consider the limits and potential in reconceptualizing nuisance to designate new, counterhegemonic common senses.