POL SCI 119
Special Studies in Political Theory: Pre-Modern East Asian Political Thought
Description: Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Preparation: one course in Field I. Requisite: course 10. Designed for juniors/seniors. Intensive examination of one or more special problems appropriate to political theory. Sections offered on regular basis, with topics announced in preceding term. May be repeated for credit with topic change. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2021 - Such an amazing class. If you're a Pol Sci major you should at least try to take one of Branstetter's courses because they're so engaging and relatively straight-forward. That said, I think it's time to dispel the myth that he's super easy. The workload was really pretty nice (dense readings at time but not bad compared to some other PS classes) but you had to read every single thing to pull off an A. The exams were pretty generously graded but there was no clearly defined rubric unless you went to his office hours after exam grades were returned. I ended up saying everything I knew about a topic within the frame of the question in my own words, and at times even that wasn't enough. I feel like you have very little way of knowing what is really asked of you; that said, the point penalty for coming up short on the expectations is pretty light. On the other hand, his lectures were among some of the best I've had in my time as an undergrad. Always efficiently timed, always engaging, always easily digestible, always interactive, even during Zoom. The quizzes were really not bad, and dare I say even a grade boost? I'd take a class with him again.
Winter 2021 - Such an amazing class. If you're a Pol Sci major you should at least try to take one of Branstetter's courses because they're so engaging and relatively straight-forward. That said, I think it's time to dispel the myth that he's super easy. The workload was really pretty nice (dense readings at time but not bad compared to some other PS classes) but you had to read every single thing to pull off an A. The exams were pretty generously graded but there was no clearly defined rubric unless you went to his office hours after exam grades were returned. I ended up saying everything I knew about a topic within the frame of the question in my own words, and at times even that wasn't enough. I feel like you have very little way of knowing what is really asked of you; that said, the point penalty for coming up short on the expectations is pretty light. On the other hand, his lectures were among some of the best I've had in my time as an undergrad. Always efficiently timed, always engaging, always easily digestible, always interactive, even during Zoom. The quizzes were really not bad, and dare I say even a grade boost? I'd take a class with him again.
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