POL SCI 114A
American Political Thought
Description: (Formerly numbered 114.) Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Exposition and critical analysis of American political thinkers from Puritan period to Civil War. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Quizzes (30%) Generally 4-point quizzes with two questions each throughout the quarter. I highly recommend doing the readings to be prepared for the quizzes because he will sometimes ask obscure details. However, he's very helpful by posting study guides for the readings that we will likely be quizzed on. If you want to do well on the quizzes, do all the study guides and you should be good. The quizzes also, sometimes, included questions from lecture. So definitely keep track of those. He's also very generous and drops your lowest quiz score. Close Reading (10%) He asked us to choose a quote or section from the text to analyze. It was a simple assignment and I think everyone got a 100 on it. It was only a 1-page paper. Peer Review (10%) When preparing your term paper, you will have it reviewed by one of your classmates. It was a simple one-page assignment. Term Paper (50%) According to the syllabus, a good paper is usually about 10-15 pages. I strongly recommend hitting that number of pages. Also, definitely talk to him during office hours for your paper. He was very kind and helped me outline my paper. My paper essentially contained three sections that each evaluated one of the author's arguments, a counterargument, and a summary that includes additional readings he recommends (but doesn't require for the class). He was super helpful during office hours and gave me an A for the paper. Overall: I really enjoyed the class. It was very engaging and he constantly encouraged debate. I would pay attention during his classes because he often presents opposing arguments/interpretations about the readings that you could use as inspiration for your term paper. Unfortunately, he doesn't record his lectures, so I strongly recommend going to them to succeed on your term paper. Overall, great class, great professor, and would definitely take again.
Fall 2019 - Quizzes (30%) Generally 4-point quizzes with two questions each throughout the quarter. I highly recommend doing the readings to be prepared for the quizzes because he will sometimes ask obscure details. However, he's very helpful by posting study guides for the readings that we will likely be quizzed on. If you want to do well on the quizzes, do all the study guides and you should be good. The quizzes also, sometimes, included questions from lecture. So definitely keep track of those. He's also very generous and drops your lowest quiz score. Close Reading (10%) He asked us to choose a quote or section from the text to analyze. It was a simple assignment and I think everyone got a 100 on it. It was only a 1-page paper. Peer Review (10%) When preparing your term paper, you will have it reviewed by one of your classmates. It was a simple one-page assignment. Term Paper (50%) According to the syllabus, a good paper is usually about 10-15 pages. I strongly recommend hitting that number of pages. Also, definitely talk to him during office hours for your paper. He was very kind and helped me outline my paper. My paper essentially contained three sections that each evaluated one of the author's arguments, a counterargument, and a summary that includes additional readings he recommends (but doesn't require for the class). He was super helpful during office hours and gave me an A for the paper. Overall: I really enjoyed the class. It was very engaging and he constantly encouraged debate. I would pay attention during his classes because he often presents opposing arguments/interpretations about the readings that you could use as inspiration for your term paper. Unfortunately, he doesn't record his lectures, so I strongly recommend going to them to succeed on your term paper. Overall, great class, great professor, and would definitely take again.
Most Helpful Review
Professor Wolfenstein was very intriguing. In this class you cannot just show up expecting a lecture he goes old school by actually expecting students to have read the books; considered their own opinions; considered alternate opinions; and to engage in discussions amongst each other!! With that said, there are not wrong ideas everyone who gave their input was respected and able to develop within the safety of the class. There were very interesting thoughts and proposed solutions amid these difficult and emotionally provoking stories. Advice: Read the books, check out the cliff notes, ask questions and let yourself enjoy the class. I got an A, and I admit I missed a lot of the class. But when I was there, I was really a partner in the class. When I wasnt there, I was still a partner because I really did the reading and ingested the materials.
Professor Wolfenstein was very intriguing. In this class you cannot just show up expecting a lecture he goes old school by actually expecting students to have read the books; considered their own opinions; considered alternate opinions; and to engage in discussions amongst each other!! With that said, there are not wrong ideas everyone who gave their input was respected and able to develop within the safety of the class. There were very interesting thoughts and proposed solutions amid these difficult and emotionally provoking stories. Advice: Read the books, check out the cliff notes, ask questions and let yourself enjoy the class. I got an A, and I admit I missed a lot of the class. But when I was there, I was really a partner in the class. When I wasnt there, I was still a partner because I really did the reading and ingested the materials.
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