Professor
John Branstetter
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Professor John (as he likes to be called) is obviously very passionate about the material. That being said, he assigns a LOT of reading. However... I did not do any of it. You just need to have a basic concept of it (like a 3-4 paragraph summary), and if you do you can easily follow along in lectures. TAKE NOTES. Tie what you learned in the lecture into your paper and you'll get a 100%. The class consists of a weekly essay, 1-2 pages single-spaced. If you are not doing the readings, know a summary and go to lectures, and tie those notes into your paper. If you are doing the readings, tie what you learned into your paper and only go to lecture if you feel like it. You can submit your essay up as many times as you want to get a 100%, and it being said that these papers are the only things you do in the class, it is very easy to get an A+. Discussion sections are obviously mandatory and if you weren't feeling like going to lecture, the section often covers similar material you can use in your paper. No midterm and no final. This class is very low stress if you avoid the readings... however, if you are not going to lecture and not doing the readings at the same time, it may be very time consuming and stressful to research enough to make your paper sound good. So either do one or the other and this class will be a breeze. I really enjoyed it and Professor John offers two opportunities throughout the week to connect about the material or honestly anything else. If you are really passionate about Political Science and not just looking for an easy GE, definitely show up to office hours. Professor John is amazing and I highly recommend this class.
Fall 2025 - Professor John (as he likes to be called) is obviously very passionate about the material. That being said, he assigns a LOT of reading. However... I did not do any of it. You just need to have a basic concept of it (like a 3-4 paragraph summary), and if you do you can easily follow along in lectures. TAKE NOTES. Tie what you learned in the lecture into your paper and you'll get a 100%. The class consists of a weekly essay, 1-2 pages single-spaced. If you are not doing the readings, know a summary and go to lectures, and tie those notes into your paper. If you are doing the readings, tie what you learned into your paper and only go to lecture if you feel like it. You can submit your essay up as many times as you want to get a 100%, and it being said that these papers are the only things you do in the class, it is very easy to get an A+. Discussion sections are obviously mandatory and if you weren't feeling like going to lecture, the section often covers similar material you can use in your paper. No midterm and no final. This class is very low stress if you avoid the readings... however, if you are not going to lecture and not doing the readings at the same time, it may be very time consuming and stressful to research enough to make your paper sound good. So either do one or the other and this class will be a breeze. I really enjoyed it and Professor John offers two opportunities throughout the week to connect about the material or honestly anything else. If you are really passionate about Political Science and not just looking for an easy GE, definitely show up to office hours. Professor John is amazing and I highly recommend this class.
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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.
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