Mark Williams

DO NOT TAKE CLASSES WITH PROF WILLIAMS. An incredibly difficult course, Prof. Williams went out of his way NOT to accommodate students. He would frequently ridicule students for broad questions of personal-opinion in any way other than the one specific answer he was looking for. He would laugh at members of the class for wrong answers, and then when the toxic environment of the class led to nobody talking, would yell at us for a lack of participation. I don't know anybody who got an A in the class, and not for a lack of trying: his paper assignments are extremely broad and he is looking for you to mention a number of specific things (that he wont tell you about) in order to get the best grade possible. He will not read more than 1200 words, so you have to cram information into small essays and hope he doesn't publicly shame you for it. He held elementary school style "grammar lessons" in class one day after a few people accidentally wrote Columbia instead of Colombia on their papers. I have never felt more uncomfortable in a learning environment.

DO NOT TAKE CLASSES WITH PROF WILLIAMS. An incredibly difficult course, Prof. Williams went out of his way NOT to accommodate students. He would frequently ridicule students for broad questions of personal-opinion in any way other than the one specific answer he was looking for. He would laugh at members of the class for wrong answer …Read more

This course was challenging and some of the material felt a little irrelevant and outdated. Some of readings were very repetitive and didn't need to be completed to understand the lectures. The lectures were basically recaps of the readings, very little new material. It was pretty unclear on what we were being graded on besides the three major paper assignments, meaning that each of these assignments mattered a lot.

This course was challenging and some of the material felt a little irrelevant and outdated. Some of readings were very repetitive and didn't need to be completed to understand the lectures. The lectures were basically recaps of the readings, very little new material. It was pretty unclear on what we were being graded on besides the t …Read more

Great Power Relations is one of, if not my absolute favourite class I have taken here. Professor Williams is extremely knowledgeable on the topics and keeps lectures informative, but still digestible and interesting. There are a number of shorter (<1000-word) papers throughout the semester, and one large (13-15 page) final research project for the class. Prof. Williams is a tough grader, but gives good feedback and helps students better their writing. This is a must-take for any student interested in international relations. Outside the classroom, Prof. Williams was responsive to emails and concerns and was happy to chat with us about our views, IR in general, and contemporary politics. He modified classes throughout the semester to remain up-to-date with geopolitical developments. Great class, great instructor.

Great Power Relations is one of, if not my absolute favourite class I have taken here. Professor Williams is extremely knowledgeable on the topics and keeps lectures informative, but still digestible and interesting. There are a number of shorter (<1000-word) papers throughout the semester, and one large (13-15 page) final research p …Read more