POL SCI 116A
Marxism
Description: Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Critical analysis of origins, nature, and development of Marxist political theory. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - I really enjoyed this class. I didn't think I would be interested in Marxism, but it was very interesting, and since there were no tests, I feel like I could better take in the content and interpret it instead of having to memorize things. Professor Branstetter is amazing and really knows what he is talking about. The lectures were definitely long at an hour and 50 minutes (and mine was at 8am). There were only 10 assignments, each a 500 word essay responding to the question of the week (and you worked with the same partner on all of them).They are all due finals week, although it is heavily encouraged to submit earlier, as you can edit and they will regrade it until you get the score you want. Even though there are little assignments, you read one chapter of Marx's Capital about every class period and the book is over 600 pages that you read throughout the quarter. Overall, it was a great class and I feel like I learned a lot about capitalism and the economy.
Fall 2025 - I really enjoyed this class. I didn't think I would be interested in Marxism, but it was very interesting, and since there were no tests, I feel like I could better take in the content and interpret it instead of having to memorize things. Professor Branstetter is amazing and really knows what he is talking about. The lectures were definitely long at an hour and 50 minutes (and mine was at 8am). There were only 10 assignments, each a 500 word essay responding to the question of the week (and you worked with the same partner on all of them).They are all due finals week, although it is heavily encouraged to submit earlier, as you can edit and they will regrade it until you get the score you want. Even though there are little assignments, you read one chapter of Marx's Capital about every class period and the book is over 600 pages that you read throughout the quarter. Overall, it was a great class and I feel like I learned a lot about capitalism and the economy.
Most Helpful Review
Professor Dienstag is super passionate about continental philosophy-real big into Nietzsche and Rousseau. He makes the ideas of tough thinkers like Hegel and Nietzsche comprehendible to everyone, even though I wouldn't say this is an easy class by any measure. The texts are dense, but it's all stuff that is understandable with a little bit of strenuous political theory wherewithall. This man is extremely intelligent!! Just jump on and take Dienstag's ride to pessimistic excellence!
Professor Dienstag is super passionate about continental philosophy-real big into Nietzsche and Rousseau. He makes the ideas of tough thinkers like Hegel and Nietzsche comprehendible to everyone, even though I wouldn't say this is an easy class by any measure. The texts are dense, but it's all stuff that is understandable with a little bit of strenuous political theory wherewithall. This man is extremely intelligent!! Just jump on and take Dienstag's ride to pessimistic excellence!
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Most Helpful Review
I took Public Policy 10A (Intro) with Professor Stoll and it was pretty chill. There are three policy memos and two midterms but they're all quite manageable. The reading for this class is to the point (not dense) and Stoll's teaching style is very down-to-earth. He often engages the class in discussion (tying policy theories to current events) and he's pretty funny. If you put enough effort into this class, you will do well. Final grade: A+
I took Public Policy 10A (Intro) with Professor Stoll and it was pretty chill. There are three policy memos and two midterms but they're all quite manageable. The reading for this class is to the point (not dense) and Stoll's teaching style is very down-to-earth. He often engages the class in discussion (tying policy theories to current events) and he's pretty funny. If you put enough effort into this class, you will do well. Final grade: A+
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