I took this class Fall quarter of 2021 and our only grades in lecture were the take-home midterm and take-home final (both of which weren't timed). Lecture slides were posted for us online so ~technically~ you didn't have to go to in-person lectures (though he often did verbally add additional information not on the slides). In discussion, we had to do 2 reading summaries out of all 10 weeks' readings, but they were easy to complete. I had Feldblum as my TA and he was super nice and helpful. We also had a group presentation in discussion section, but that wasn't hard. This was an interesting and easy class and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get a GE out of the way.

If you are interested in economics, international relations, and history, then I recommend this class. If not, this class may be a little boring. Professor Agnew is extremely knowledgeable and an engaging lecturer. His lecturing is sometimes a bit monotonous, but I greatly enjoyed the material and all the slides he used. There is a lot of information and real world statistics, which I appreciated, which helped make the class applicable. I would walk with Professor Agnew back to his office after every lecture and we talked a lot about geography and his research, which was a really cool experience because he is truly an expert in his field.

As for the grading, there is one take-home midterm and final (both very easy because of open notes and you having a week to do them). My TA (Samuel Feldblum) was awesome, highly recommend him. There was one required group presentation (with you and two other people) during the quarter, and there were only 2 required written responses for the entire quarter. Readings are recommended but not required. Minimal homework, highly recommend this class!

Absolutely LOVED prof Agnew, such a funny and sweet guy who genuinely cares about his students. Made lecture really easy and broke down complication Econ topics really well. Great class, super interesting imo, and relatively easy A - no need to do the readings if you go to class and take notes, the midterms are take home short answer and essay tests (like a history test in high school)

If you're interested in the subject and have an actual interest in paying attention, this class is great! Actually attend lecture -- sometimes the podcasts don't come out right, and Agnew is pretty monotone so it can be difficult to pay attention unless you're sitting right there taking notes. Plus, he gave random extra credit to the few lecture attendees. The class has no papers or homework, so make sure to actively keep up with the material on your own time, otherwise the midterm and final prep becomes super overwhelming. Be sure, too, to look at the midterm practice test on the online test bank -- it helps you realize that he tests on concepts that seem super unimportant and glazed over in lecture. Other than that, just participate in discussion and show up for the tests prepared and you'll be fine.

Professor Agnew is incredibly knowledgeable and despite how intimidating he might seem is really passionate and willing to explain concepts to his students. The course is engaging but the tests are hard, and graded strictly. You need to study in this class, an if you're looking for an easy GE you're in the wrong place. If you actually want to learn from a super intelligent professor who is one of the fathers of the field and be challenged its one of the best lower division classes you can take. Not to say its impossible to get an A, but don't expect one.

He posted a very funny slide that obviously some students didn't get that said: What if I told you that reading Powerpoint aloud isn't teaching? The world is more complicated than simply lists. Listen up.

Workload is easy because you have no assignments and the textbook readings are useless. Lectures are so disorganized and he tends to ramble about useless stuff, so ask TA for help... on finals and midterms study the slides. Test bank is very helpful for the midterm.

Agnew is definitely knowledgeable and the information can be useful. However, like others have said, he is a very disorganized lecturer. His style is to put bullet points on his slides then spend 5-10 minutes talking about each point but then he digresses into random things with hit-or-miss jokes and then eventually gets back on topic. I usually write all my notes but I had to use my laptop for this class and type almost everything that came out of his mouth.

The textbook is not necessary to purchase. There is only a midterm and final purely based on lecture slides and they are all short answer and essay questions. I had to study pretty hard for the tests, its a lot of information, but I found the information I learned very useful.

Overall I wouldn't take another class with Agnew because his lectures are not only disorganized, he speaks in a very droll British accent that made me fall asleep numerous times (any though I'd get a full 8 hours for the day). His lectures make the class very difficult to focus. While he does podcast lectures, do not rely on them because 4 times throughout the quarter he either skipped recording or cut it short. Overall he is intelligent and knows what he's talking about in his field, his execution his poor.

The professor expects students to take careful notes. He does not just use bullet points but talks about slides. I thought this was hard because I am used to bullet points with every slide.

Prof. Agnew is a nice person but his lectures are disorganized though he is always trying to make them organized. Reading his slides is helpful but not enough. It's important to go to his lecture and carefully listen because he tests on what he teaches in class instead of textbook.