Professor
Daniel Treisman
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Most Helpful Review
Absolutely great teacher. Before taking the class I had no idea on the complexities of Post-Communist Russia. He does a great job of providing enlightening information that really gets to the core of how Russia looks and acts. I didn't do any of the reading except for my two papers that are take home, and I got a B+ on the midterm, still working on the final. The TA I had, Raul, was excellent and I hear the other one is very good too. Talk to your TAs about the papers and do the reading tied to the papers and go to class and you'll have no reason to walk away with less than a B in the class, and it just takes some small effort to move from a B to an A in the class.
Absolutely great teacher. Before taking the class I had no idea on the complexities of Post-Communist Russia. He does a great job of providing enlightening information that really gets to the core of how Russia looks and acts. I didn't do any of the reading except for my two papers that are take home, and I got a B+ on the midterm, still working on the final. The TA I had, Raul, was excellent and I hear the other one is very good too. Talk to your TAs about the papers and do the reading tied to the papers and go to class and you'll have no reason to walk away with less than a B in the class, and it just takes some small effort to move from a B to an A in the class.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - Professor Treisman is the real deal-- Harvard, Oxford, civilian economic advisor to the Russian government... and it shows. He's incredibly knowledgeable and is palpably very, very intelligent. He's an excellent, very clear lecturer, and is extremely organized. The class is very interesting. It's also one of the more difficult classes I've taken. I got an A on both papers, but the topical variety of the class was extremely broad, and the readings he assigned were often lengthy and difficult. Writing a successful paper was contingent on taking notes/citing the lectures (I assume this would be very difficult to do in-person where you can't rewatch lecture) and having a thorough understanding of most, if not all, of the readings (unlike some classes where you can get away with analyzing/reading just a few selected texts). My TA ended up giving me a low A minus section grade which resulted in me not receiving an A overall in the class, so I would recommend really making sure to speak a lot in section-- which is, again, predicated on you doing the readings, which are very time consuming. Overall, I'd say this class is worthwhile, mainly because the topics are interesting and Treisman is a renowned political scientist and seems to actually care about what he's teaching (a rarity in UCLA's political science dept), but you should take it with the understanding that while the class is fair and the content is clear, it is still difficult and demands a lot of reading time (took me roughly 4-5 hours a week) and effort put into the two papers.
Spring 2021 - Professor Treisman is the real deal-- Harvard, Oxford, civilian economic advisor to the Russian government... and it shows. He's incredibly knowledgeable and is palpably very, very intelligent. He's an excellent, very clear lecturer, and is extremely organized. The class is very interesting. It's also one of the more difficult classes I've taken. I got an A on both papers, but the topical variety of the class was extremely broad, and the readings he assigned were often lengthy and difficult. Writing a successful paper was contingent on taking notes/citing the lectures (I assume this would be very difficult to do in-person where you can't rewatch lecture) and having a thorough understanding of most, if not all, of the readings (unlike some classes where you can get away with analyzing/reading just a few selected texts). My TA ended up giving me a low A minus section grade which resulted in me not receiving an A overall in the class, so I would recommend really making sure to speak a lot in section-- which is, again, predicated on you doing the readings, which are very time consuming. Overall, I'd say this class is worthwhile, mainly because the topics are interesting and Treisman is a renowned political scientist and seems to actually care about what he's teaching (a rarity in UCLA's political science dept), but you should take it with the understanding that while the class is fair and the content is clear, it is still difficult and demands a lot of reading time (took me roughly 4-5 hours a week) and effort put into the two papers.
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Most Helpful Review
I took Treisman for PS169: The Roots of Democracy. I thought I would end up dreading the class based on the seemingly boring nature of the material, but I ended up really enjoying it. Treisman's lectures are clear, simple, and to the point. He uses very accessible language, which I like. He never rushes through lecture and is always willing to answer students' questions. He also ends class early most of the time. The midterm and final exams are six-page take home essays. There are two prompt options for each. It's pretty straightforward, but the TAs can be hard graders. Overall, I definitely recommend taking Treisman!
I took Treisman for PS169: The Roots of Democracy. I thought I would end up dreading the class based on the seemingly boring nature of the material, but I ended up really enjoying it. Treisman's lectures are clear, simple, and to the point. He uses very accessible language, which I like. He never rushes through lecture and is always willing to answer students' questions. He also ends class early most of the time. The midterm and final exams are six-page take home essays. There are two prompt options for each. It's pretty straightforward, but the TAs can be hard graders. Overall, I definitely recommend taking Treisman!
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