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Course Details

Property (Gordon)

Spring 2025   LAW 508-001  

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Faculty
Sarah Barringer Gordon

Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of History, Emerita

sbgordon@law.upenn.edu
Additional Information

Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Other Professional Skills:

Grading
15% Participation,
85% Exam,
Other (The 3-hour exam will be divided into three sections, including a fact pattern, short identifications, and an essay on a larger question of the potilics or philosophy of property that we have engaged with throughout the semester.)

Exam
Short Answer,
Essay,
In Class,
Partial Open Book (casebook and course outlines (max 30 pp) are allowed)

Satisfies Senior Writing Requirement

No

Location

Class meets in person.

Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.

I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:

- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.

- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, contact Felicia Lin, the Dean of Students. Upon receipt of her authorization, I will email instructions to you for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.

- I have asked for volunteers in the class who are willing to take and share their notes on a regular basis with others who are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance.

- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.

Meeting Times/Location
W 3:00PM - 5:40PM
Gittis Hall 214

Category
First-Year

Credits
3.0

The law of property governs relations among people regarding control of resources. Property rights give owners the power to control things, especially by requiring non-owners to respect an owner’s decisions about how to use hheir property, unless that use actively harms others. This course explores the extent and limits of property rights, including the law of possession, nuisance, access, zoning, co-ownership, and family property. In addition, the course explores major questions of self-ownership and sovereignty, such as native title and property in humans.

The course will be a standard discussion class, with both on-call panels and lecture format. The course is designed to provide a solid background on the contours of the law of property, as well as to equip students with the skills to take more advanced courses in the field.

Course Concentrations

Property and Real Estate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of property and real estate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of property and real estate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to property and real estate law; Demonstrate an understanding of how property and real estate law affect other areas of law.