As an introductory political philosophy class, I wish we had done a more broad survey of different topics instead of spending the entire ten weeks mostly covering distributive justice. Despite the readings, which were for the most part quite dry, I think Brad did a good job of making the lectures as engaging as possible (many, many zoom polls), and illustrated topics well by going over lots of different hypothetical cases. The quizzes were somewhat tricky, but you can do pretty well on them by just relying on the handouts he provides which the lectures are based on. The first paper was far more straightforward than the final paper, which had an 11 page prompt that made writing it kind of a chore.

Honestly, the only thing that made this class hard were the quizzes. I know some people did really well on them but most of the class really struggled. Fortunately, everything was graded on a curve so even if you completely bombed it, you'd still get a reasonable grade. At the end we also had an extra credit opportunity for 1/3 of a grade raise on either the quiz overall or the first essay. I think professor Brad is a really enthusiastic and funny character in his way of teaching and i really enjoyed the evolvement of the entire class on taking live polls on how we feel about certain topics. My class in particular was very opinionated so the class never felt dull. Brad is a great professor and you can tell he cares how his students are doing in the class. He's always willing to help and answers questions in class and office hours.

The course had 3 essays with strict wordcap, and two short quizzes about 12-13 questions (all multiple choice). No book needed, all the reading material was given in class on weekly basis. As a transfer student, if I could retake the quarter, this class would for sure not be my first choice fresh off the CC boat but its manageable. Overall, 8/10.

10/10 recommend. I have never felt the need to review a professor before, but Brad is by far one of the best lecturers in the philosophy department. His lectures are extremely clear, well organized, and easy to follow. He has a dry sense of humor, and his demeanor makes him very approachable. The class readings are generally sent out by email, are reasonable length, and cost nothing-- proactive students are in a great position to stay on top of it.
His classes consists of 2 in class exams and 2 papers. The first paper was returned with a full printed page of feedback (SO organized and helpful). Brad makes himself EXTREMELY available for students outside of class, especially during the exam/paper weeks. With that being said, it is important to utilize his office hours for any unclarity. He expects accurate and precise work-- this class is not an easy A, but every student will agree that Brad plays his part to help students be successful.
If you are tired of vague, ambiguous philosophy lectures and want some structure in your life, Brad is the guy for you.

HATED THIS CLASS. and unless you have a philopsohy brain you probably will to. the course is super misleading and is basically the philosophy of property rights, not politics, and argues over land ownership for 10 weeks straight. the professor is a classic philosophy stereotype and his notes are scribbled words and pictures that make the content more confusing. It seemed impossible to achieve well in this course and seemed very bias in students performance based on previous philosophy experience, and the professor and TA were not helpful in getting your foot in there, giving no feedback on essays . dont take this class unless you love all philosophy or have a strong affinity for property rights

McHose is such an engaging professor! His notes and lectures are a bit all over the place but if you attend lecture you will understand what is going on. He repeats himself fairly often in order to provide you with different examples and explanation of the various points he is trying to convey. It may seem redundant but is incredibly helpful. Discussions are optional and very unnecessary in this class. Attending lecture helps you to actually understand the material, but you could probably pass the class just by reviewing the handouts and doing the minimal amount of reading. McHose is really funny and actually makes his lectures enjoyable! I definitely recommend this class!

Professor Mchose is easily the best professor that I have taken at UCLA. Philosophy classes are often painfully boring, however, this class was really interesting and made you think about morality in a unique and unconventional way. Professor Mchose is very generous with his time and tends to stick around after class and hosts extra office hours during weeks where papers are due to help students and answer questions. I would have never gotten an A, if it wasn't for the extra office hours. His notes are very clear and straightforward. This class does not require a lot of reading. However, participation is strongly advised and he definitely values students who engage with the material either through lecture or by going to office hours. Overall, this class was the first philosophy class I looked forward to attending and I encourage anyone to take a class with Professor Mchose because he is an exceptional lecturer.

this class was a solid 6.75/10, not bad at all but was by no means easy. you're gonna have to relisten to lectures and take notes during lecture in order to understand these tricky terms and concepts, but it is doable. Prof McHose was very clear (sometimes too clear lmao) and this helped demystify the idea that philosophy is super vague and existential and impossible to understand.

The essays are heavily factored into your grade, and while they have an easy-to-follow structure, they were definitely the toughest part of the course. for a decent essay, expect to take about a week to brainstorm and write it.

Over other philosophy courses, I think this is one of the best. But if you have easier GE options, consider taking those to spare you the mental taxation. If you have no other choice, honestly this class was fine in the end and you'll be fine, too.

This was the best class I have ever taken, period. Low key changed my life. I always looked forward to attending Professor McHose's lectures.

Really interesting class; I took it as a major prereq but it also fulfills the philosophical analysis GE. Definitely recommend choosing a different ge though if you’re looking for an easy A. The class has a really light workload, just attend lecture to understand the notes and handouts prof posts on CCLE. There’s about 3 readings assigned throughout the quarter related to the material discussed in lecture which range from 10-20 pages but if you skim them and follow lecture you should be able to understand what’s going on. Grading is based on three quizzes and two papers. Quizzes tested your ability to apply content and concepts from lecture and readings; pretty mind numbing imo. Papers were on whether abortion or medical exploitation is morally permissible or not. Prompts are given about a week in advance but are pretty dense so definitely get a head start on your paper. The TAs and prof have lots of OH so definitely make use of them. Prof McHose definitely knows what he’s teaching and explains things thoroughly, with examples, and repeats often to reinforce the material. Really smart guy and engaging lecture all-around.

Grading Breakdown:
10% - Quiz #1 (metaethics material)
10% - Quiz #2 (medical exploitation material)
15% - Quiz #3 (abortion material)
30% - First Paper
35% - Final Paper

TLDR: interesting course, not easy A, no busy work

This was my favorite class that I took this quarter. I thought the material was super interesting and the professor was good at keeping us engaged by allowing us to participate in zoom polls every lecture. The professor asks for questions periodically during lecture and repeats what we’ve gone over a lot, so that was also really helpful. I also thought he was pretty funny at times. We took 3 quizzes for the quarter, which I thought were kinda tricky but as long as you really pay attention in lecture and go over the handouts you should get an at least decent grade. Plus, he curves them to your favor at the end of the quarter. On a straight scale I would’ve gotten around a B+ average, but it was bumped up to an A. You can also get a bump in your grade if you participate, this can be done in lecture, discussion, office hours, or even just by shooting an email to the professor with your thoughts about the material. There were 2 papers, not very long and like I said for the quizzes, paying attention in lecture and following the handouts should get you through it pretty well. Both the professor and TAs held extra office hours leading up to due dates for the paper, so there’s always help if you need it. Discussion is optional but I definitely recommend going so that you get a better understanding of what’s going on in lecture. I had Amber and I liked her a lot, she was really nice and helpful. If there was ever something you were having trouble understanding, she would take the time to break it down for you until you got it. Overall, I would definitely recommend this class.