Intro to Political Philosophy

Murray Dry is probably one of the most passionate teachers I have ever met but he will not engage with you if you are not interested in the content. Overall, if you have drive and interest this class will be beneficial.

Dr. Fram was an extremely knowledgable about the texts, and I thought did a great job of explaining them so that we as a class could make our own opinions on what is the best regime or what is justice for example. Lectures were super engaging, and my writing analytical skills greatly improved taking his course. If you dissected passages and presented them in a coherent manner, you would get an A on papers. A decent volume in terms of reading (keep in mind, coming from a STEM student), but well worth putting in the time.

Dr. Fram was an extremely knowledgable about the texts, and I thought did a great job of explaining them so that we as a class could make our own opinions on what is the best regime or what is justice for example. Lectures were super engaging, and my writing analytical skills greatly improved taking his course. If you dissected passa …Read more

This course has so far been the most difficult course I have taken at Midd. Murray Dry keeps his students on their toes by randomly calling on people to answer questions about the readings. The readings themselves are a lot, as it includes works from Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and pretty much every famous philosopher that one can think of. I respect Murray Dry for his teaching style because it motivated me to do the readings. That being said, his class is quite intense and I wouldn't recommend it unless you are majoring in poly sci.

This course has so far been the most difficult course I have taken at Midd. Murray Dry keeps his students on their toes by randomly calling on people to answer questions about the readings. The readings themselves are a lot, as it includes works from Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and pretty much every famous philosopher that one c …Read more

Dry is pretty famous so students should know what they're getting into, but he is an excellent lecturer who is a bit of a curmudgeon. He definitely can come across as intimidating at first but he means well. The one brutal aspect of the course is the amount of reading - it is consistently ridiculous, especially because you only end up discussing the most important 10%.

Overall, I had a positive experience in the class. The material can get very dense and is naturally not always the most engaging, but one thing I appreciate is that Mr. Fram lectures with lots of enthusiasm that makes it worth it. The papers were very easy, but the final exam was multiple essays about all the course material, so it was quite a lot to parse through.

Fram is great and enthusiastic about the material for sure. There is a lot of in-depth reading of some of history's greatest political philosophers that is interesting, but time-consuming. We had 3 major papers, final, and weekly reading quizzes. Fram is nice but for me he could have been clearer on some parts during discussions and sometimes lectures because they could seem a little all over the place making it hard to follow along.

Fram is great and enthusiastic about the material for sure. There is a lot of in-depth reading of some of history's greatest political philosophers that is interesting, but time-consuming. We had 3 major papers, final, and weekly reading quizzes. Fram is nice but for me he could have been clearer on some parts during discussions and …Read more

Murray Dry is quite a well known teacher, with a reputation my dad could tell me about after being a student here in the 90s. I was a little shocked to buy 11 books at the start of the semester, but we read them all. In essence, the class is kind of like a glorified book club. You read the material and Dry discusses it, trying to get the class to pick up on his ideas, which doesn't always work. It can be interesting, but he consistently goes at least 8 minutes over the class time

Murray Dry is quite a well known teacher, with a reputation my dad could tell me about after being a student here in the 90s. I was a little shocked to buy 11 books at the start of the semester, but we read them all. In essence, the class is kind of like a glorified book club. You read the material and Dry discusses it, trying to get …Read more

Fram is a very enthusiastic professor who teaches you not only what the material says but also how to read and understand it best. Lots of readings, sometimes upwards of 200 pages a week, but as long as you do them you'll be set. Could also spark notes it and do decently well on quizzes; need to read for papers though.

Despite what many may say, taking this class with Dry was really interesting. As long as you ACTUALLY do the readings and def read the spark notes to understand, you will do fine. My only warning would be that he cold calls and in discussions he expects everyone to speak.

Dry is certainly a tough pill to swallow, but once you get into the rhythm of the class and get on top of the readings, then lectures and class discussions are more rewarding, and the exams are not as intimidating. I would recommend this class as an intellectual challenge, but be prepared to read and participate in class.

This course, while interesting, has also been difficult. There is a substantial amount of reading with a weekly quiz accompanying the reading. When the professor said that we needed to know everything about the chapter he mean EVERY DETAIL. Besides that, I have found the lectures engaging and while the grading to be tough to also be fair.

Dry is a somewhat infamous teacher, known for his direct and occasionally challenging teaching style. Coming from a background in philosophy, I found the course and readings to be relatively easy. However, for newcomers to philosophy, Dry's approach can make the subject seem more complex and intimidating than it should be. It sometimes feels as if he wants you to complete his sentences, albeit not always in the clearest manner. He does show genuine care for his students and the books we study, but his communication style may not be the most effective. The most enjoyable aspect of the course is the reading material, which often speaks for itself. In summary, Dry isn't necessarily a bad instructor, but his teaching style may not suit everyone. If you are sensitive, uncomfortable with being cold-called, or new to philosophy, I might hesitate to recommend this course as a 101-level introduction.

Dry is a somewhat infamous teacher, known for his direct and occasionally challenging teaching style. Coming from a background in philosophy, I found the course and readings to be relatively easy. However, for newcomers to philosophy, Dry's approach can make the subject seem more complex and intimidating than it should be. It sometim …Read more

Murray Dry is a really difficult professor. If you have an extreme interest in political philosophy, by all means, take the course. However, if you just need to fill your schedule or get a distribution requirement, I'd recommend finding a different class.

You have to be comfortable being cold-called, and he likes to interrogate students answers. He also runs over time a lot, I wouldn't schedule anything 15 minutes or fewer after. The material can be really dense, but there are many valuable alternate resources on the internet. The mid-term was basically an info-dump in-class essay, and you will only get a total of 3 graded assignments in the course. If you really care about grades, I wouldn't advise you take it. However, if you are interested in the materials, you will find some of the lectures and discussion sessions helpful in unpacking parts of them you wouldn't have paid attention to.

You have to be comfortable being cold-called, and he likes to interrogate students answers. He also runs over time a lot, I wouldn't schedule anything 15 minutes or fewer after. The material can be really dense, but there are many valuable alternate resources on the internet. The mid-term was basically an info-dump in-class essay, an …Read more

I personally really like the challenge - if you take this class be open to fumbling when answering questions but learning a lot. A TON of reading, pretty much at least 30 pages (and up to 80 pages) per class. Not all of it is covered in detail in class but you are expected to be quite familiar with all of it. Material is engaging if you engage with it. Makes you think about important topics like justice, human nature, the point of life, hard trade-offs, etc. Exams are essays, only three graded assignments so kind of intense pressure on those but preparation means a lot. Professor Dry's energy is great (sometimes aggressive but you know it's not ill-intentioned), his passion drives students and the class.

I personally really like the challenge - if you take this class be open to fumbling when answering questions but learning a lot. A TON of reading, pretty much at least 30 pages (and up to 80 pages) per class. Not all of it is covered in detail in class but you are expected to be quite familiar with all of it. Material is engaging if …Read more

Professor Dry is one of the most enthusiastic professors you can have at this school. He demands a lot from his students, but the class is super rewarding. Sometimes it can be hard to take notes because he goes in circles in his lectures. He will cold call.

This class is VERY reading heavy. Throughout the whole semester you go through about 8 books and other smaller readings. You will get cold called. The discussions were very helpful in understanding the material since the literature read is confusing a lot of the time. I took as a first semester freshman and I got a B in the course.

Difficult readings certainly. Fram has incredible enthusiasm for the course and that made the lectures incredibly interesting. Exams were difficult and you really had to have a thorough understanding of the readings to do well on them.