I’ve taken Professor Branstetter for Poli Sci 119 for two quarters in a row and both quarters I received As. He’s an exceptional professor who actually cares about his students and their learning. He goes above and beyond to ensure you understand the material. For Spring 2019 I took Political Theory in Translation. This class consisted of three short essays which were based on a prompt he gave us. They had to be about 4-5 pages double spaced and you don’t even have to read the materials to get an A on them. He doesn’t believe in the standard grading scale because he thinks it’s arbitrary so he only does whole numbers 100,90,80,70...etc. This kinda sucks because he rarely gives out 100s which he will tell you at the beginning of the class. The grade for this class is the average of your three essays so add your scores up and divide by 3 and that’s your grade in the class. This was kind of nerve wracking because if you mess up on one paper you’re pretty much screwed from getting an A so just don’t mess up lol. In Fall 2019 I took him again for Intro to Comparative Political Theory. This class was a lot more Political Theory heavy unlike the other class I took. Here we discuss political thought and different political thinkers and actors. For this class you have no midterm no final no tests and no quizzes!! It’s just 18, 400-500 word statement journals that are argumentative papers essentially. He gives you a quote from the reading and you either have to agree or disagree and defend your position utilizing the reading. These are spread out throughout the quarter but aren’t due until exam day of finals week at midnight. This is bittersweet bc theres no one to hold you accountable for procrastinating but you also have less stress during midterm szn. Also, attendance is not mandatory to succeed in this class, however if you want to attempt to score an A+ I would attend lectures because he goes into detail regarding the readings you’re going to have to write about. If you do ALL 18 journals you get an A- , if he thinks they are ALL superb you get an A+. If you don’t do at least 400 words for ALL of them or you miss some statement journals you get a D, and if you don’t do at least 12 of them you FAIL. So essentially if you do all the work somewhat decently then you get an A-. If you don’t want an A- which does affect your GPA I would NOT take this class. The readings were dense but they weren’t too long and it wasn’t a lot of them. I love Professor Branstetter so even though I didn’t really like the class bc the material was kind of boring to me I would recommend taking it just for the sole fact that he’s teaching it!!

Branstetter is by far one of the most caring and considerate professors at UCLA. His lectures make something as complex as Karl Marx understanding, and he is very forgiving if he sees you putting in an effort. The class is very reading dense and requires rereading of a very big and dense book, but rest assured Branstetter is so helpful in his lectures. His course has 7 pop quizzes but he drops 2. He also has one midterm worth 30% of your grade and a final making up 45% of your grade. Overall, I highly recommend this class.

Im currently taking prof Branstetter during my first quarter at UCLA & he is the the best! He actually cares about his students so much and is very passionate about the material he teaches. He's also super smart and open to hearing all of our different ideas. Highly recommend!

I really like the professor. He is very kind and helpful. The course is comprised of reading quizzes (given out randomly), a take home midterm, and a take home final. You really have to understand Branstetter's interpretation of Marx to get full credit on the exam. It was a lot harder than I was expecting based on the reviews. I would suggest going to office hours and copious notes during lectures to get full credit on the midterm and final.

Best professor at UCLA. It makes no sense to me why UCLA hasn't already given him tenure status.

Please take Professor Branstetter. He is so amazing. Not going to lie the material is a big fat whattttt but you get use to it after a while. There is no purpose of explaining the orientation of the class as he changes it with each class he teaches. I took pre-modern East Asia and it consisted of a midterm, final and 5 short fill in the blank quizzes. Just try to read the material and if you don't understand it reach out to the professor as he is the most kindest and helpful professor I have ever met. The quizzes are not hard as long as you read, yes they were overwhelming but they are not impossible I promise. Extra credit is given here and their. I don't really know what to say besides he is the best, and he is so understanding.

Branstetter is simply the best. If you have the chance to take a class with him, do it.

Definitely one of my favorite classes that I have taken here just because of how awesome John is. He makes the material interesting even if you know nothing about it, and is very fair in his grading system. There was only a midterm, final, and then 7 short MC quizzes with 2 of the lowest ones being dropped. He offered a few points of extra credit but not enough to really change anything unless you are about half a percent away from a grade bump. Midterm and final are both framed so that you get to choose 8/10 short answer questions of about 200 words, along with a short essay that answers another longer question. I thought the class was more than fair and would definitely take it again.

I really enjoyed PS119 - Premodern East Asian Political Thought with Branstetter. The subject itself is very interesting, and Branstetter covers a wide range of thought - from Confucianism to Zen Buddhism and beyond. Lectures are very well-paced, and Branstetter always answers questions and keeps students engaged. Even though some of the material can get a bit complex, he does a great job in conveying the important parts of the information in an engaging, helpful manner.

The graded material consists of a midterm, a final, and some reading quizzes. The quizzes are fairly straightforward and easy, and just test whether you've read the material or not for the day. The midterm and the final both consist of a series of short answer questions and a longer essay question. I found that none of the exam questions were out of left field or confusing. While the questions covered expansive topics, they were all explained thoroughly throughout the course. Doing the readings is also very important, and lectures can become bewildering if you haven't engaged with the assigned readings.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this class. Branstetter was a fair grader who consistently engaged with students throughout lecture. The readings, as I mentioned, are important to do even if they can be quite dense at times.

Branstetter is one of my favorite profs - this is the second class of his that I've taken! He's really smart, funny, and cares about his students. This class mainly goes over Marx's Capital Vol. 1, which is a *very* heavy read. However, Branstetter does an amazing job of breaking down the reading and pulling out the most important points. The course itself has 7 unannounced quizzes to make sure you keep up with the reading (lowest 2 scores are dropped), a midterm, and a final. Overall, the quizzes/exams aren't too bad as long as you've done the readings and paid attention in class to get a real understanding of the material. You definitely have to put in the work to do well in this class, but it's worth it!