Intro to Comparative Politics

Prof Bleich was an extremely good lecturer and very helpful if you are having trouble understanding the material. The class itself was not too hard but the way Bleich structured the exams (as timed research papers with a randomly selected prompt) was a little stressful at times. Overall a great class.

This class was awesome. Sebnem is awesome. Everything is awesome. Due to the nature of it being an intro class it's a little boring at first, but give it time and it will get really interesting. Sebnem is a great professor. Not only does she care about her student's well-being (very understanding with extensions) but you can tell she has a passion for this the minute she walks into the room. The class consists of 2 lectures a week 1 discussion section; some reading quizzes (but if you pay at least 70% attention you'll ace them); 3 essays (6 pages, 8 pages, 10 pages); one end-of-year reflection assessment type. Such a good class.

This class was awesome. Sebnem is awesome. Everything is awesome. Due to the nature of it being an intro class it's a little boring at first, but give it time and it will get really interesting. Sebnem is a great professor. Not only does she care about her student's well-being (very understanding with extensions) but you can tell she …Read more

Honestly, this course is very chill, with about two 15-page readings a week, no exam, and just two 4-page papers in the entire year with quite generous grading. Professor Verghese is very nice and extremely accommodating (you can pretty much automatically get an extension if you ask for it, I literally send my second paper after Christmas). We mostly just discuss our readings in class, even in lectures. Professor Verghese is quite good at facilitating them, even though my feeling is that he lacks a bit of input, and the actual substance of what you will learn is not very significant. However, the readings he chose were great, he knows what will feel engaging to students, and it really makes his class worth it. If you are just looking for a chill fun class with lots of discussions, or if you have to take the class for your major, you probably won't regret going with Professor Verghese.

Honestly, this course is very chill, with about two 15-page readings a week, no exam, and just two 4-page papers in the entire year with quite generous grading. Professor Verghese is very nice and extremely accommodating (you can pretty much automatically get an extension if you ask for it, I literally send my second paper after Chri …Read more

Professor Verghese is a great, understanding professor. He made taking this course a great experience for me. The readings and lectures were interesting and light. There were only 2 short papers that you could choose the topic of and were graded very fairly. I highly recommend this course (it is a gem)!

This course is very reading based. Expect 2-3 30ish page articles each week. Prof. Verghese goes over the documents in class though so you can get away with not super deep reading but I still recommend at least skimming so you can do well in the discussions. The papers are also nice because it's open ended and opinion based prompts. Prof. Verghese is also very accommodating. He helped me catch up if I missed a class and even let me switch discussion times without hesitation when I couldn't make my original one. Highly recommend!

This course is very reading based. Expect 2-3 30ish page articles each week. Prof. Verghese goes over the documents in class though so you can get away with not super deep reading but I still recommend at least skimming so you can do well in the discussions. The papers are also nice because it's open ended and opinion based prompts. …Read more

Loved taking this class with Sebnem! Confirmed my interest in majoring in IP&E. Lectures and discussion with a few essays during the semester. While some of the content was a bit boring she is extremely engaging and a fairly relaxed grader (I think I received a 93 on every paper).

While this is an intro political science course and is therefore pretty general, I thought that we went into sufficient detail in each topic, which helped me select areas of interest that I explored in the final paper. Professor Bleich is a very clear lecturer and a fair grader. He also makes himself very available for extra help, and is intentional about creating discussion sections in which everyone feels like they can contribute to the conversation. Every political science major should take this course.

While this is an intro political science course and is therefore pretty general, I thought that we went into sufficient detail in each topic, which helped me select areas of interest that I explored in the final paper. Professor Bleich is a very clear lecturer and a fair grader. He also makes himself very available for extra help, an …Read more

This class was very interesting, and I'm very happy I took it with Prof.Sebnem. She makes the lectures interesting and you can tell that she knows the topic really well. Sometimes, I found the reading a bit much, but the assignments were pretty spaced out. We had to do 3 papers and some short discussion posts. Sebnem is also very understanding and will help you if you ask for it. Would definitely recommend.

This class was very interesting, and I'm very happy I took it with Prof.Sebnem. She makes the lectures interesting and you can tell that she knows the topic really well. Sometimes, I found the reading a bit much, but the assignments were pretty spaced out. We had to do 3 papers and some short discussion posts. Sebnem is also very und …Read more

This class was not difficult and enjoyable to take. Professor Verghese's lectures are interesting and thought provoking, and he is very approachable with any questions or comments. The only assignments were 2 three page reading response papers that could be at any point of the semester. Definitely an easy class, especially if you get ahead and do the papers early.

Professor Gumuscu is an excellent professor, and does a great job of condensing political science material into easy-to-follow, digestible lectures. She is very flexible and accommodating to students, and is very enthusiastic in teaching. I have nothing but good things to say about her. For anyone looking to gain a better understanding into politics, this is a great place to start.

I loved this course. Gumuscu is a great prof, and her lectures were easy to follow and not too dull. There is the occasional pop quiz, (which she warns you about), but they are quite easy if you have listened to the very broadest of her lecture points. The grading is easy and the reading load is completely manageable. This course is perfect in my opinion, as it gives you an important baseline of Political Science knowledge and is very interesting while also being easy to succeed in.

I loved this course. Gumuscu is a great prof, and her lectures were easy to follow and not too dull. There is the occasional pop quiz, (which she warns you about), but they are quite easy if you have listened to the very broadest of her lecture points. The grading is easy and the reading load is completely manageable. This course is …Read more

Although lectures could get a little monotonous, it was fairly easy to grasp the material through discussions. The papers always connected directly to readings and the instructions were direct enough to understand what Professor Gumuscu was looking for. There were multiple readings, but it wasn't too bad and they were all pretty helpful in understanding concepts.

I took this class with Bleich and overall had a great experience. While the class was low commitment and fairly easy by nature of barely having any outside work and only minimal weekly readings, it was very interesting content-wise and Bleich is a great lecturer. Further, there is only one 1000 word paper across the whole semester and two exams where you get the question a week ahead of time.

I took this class with Bleich and overall had a great experience. While the class was low commitment and fairly easy by nature of barely having any outside work and only minimal weekly readings, it was very interesting content-wise and Bleich is a great lecturer. Further, there is only one 1000 word paper across the whole semester a …Read more

Absolutely loved taking this class with Professor Gumuscu. She's clearly passionate about the topic and that translates through to lectures. She outlines what she expects from you and gives ample amount of time for essays. As long as you do the reading and show up to lectures you can leave the class feeling satisfied.

Sebnem is an excellent instructor. While her lectures were sometimes repetitive and often repeated what we had just gone over in our homework readings, she is an excellent discussion leader. She always had time for students to answer questions and the class was super interesting like 90-95% of the time. Great introduction to comparative politics and helped contextualize how the world works. Disclaimer: IP&E major not Poli Sci.

Sebnem is an excellent instructor. While her lectures were sometimes repetitive and often repeated what we had just gone over in our homework readings, she is an excellent discussion leader. She always had time for students to answer questions and the class was super interesting like 90-95% of the time. Great introduction to comparat …Read more

Professor Bleich is a very clear lecturer and assigns readings that he really explores and evaluates in class. He also provides his presentation slides after class so you can refer back to the lecture. Exams are essays, and you are given a few possible essay questions before exam day, so you can prepare outlines for each one before you learn which you are assigned. I really like this structure.

Professor Bleich is a very clear lecturer and assigns readings that he really explores and evaluates in class. He also provides his presentation slides after class so you can refer back to the lecture. Exams are essays, and you are given a few possible essay questions before exam day, so you can prepare outlines for each one before y …Read more

I love international politics so I chose to take this class. I want to major in political science. This class was a good introduction to the field of political science. I learned that political science is as much a social science as it is a study of current events and history. Professor Bleich assigned 30 to 60 pages of reading from academic journals per class. However, during class he reviewed all of the important points during class.

I love international politics so I chose to take this class. I want to major in political science. This class was a good introduction to the field of political science. I learned that political science is as much a social science as it is a study of current events and history. Professor Bleich assigned 30 to 60 pages of reading from …Read more

Ajay was a good professor and I thought the class was really interesting. Its one of those classes where if you skim the reading and participate at least a little in class he will like you. The papers aren't the easiest but if any of the material resonates with you the papers can be pretty fun. I personally really liked this class.

It is a lecture class and its an intro class so it is boring at the beginning but it gets better... Sebnem is a great professor and does well with the 'boring' material she is teaching. There isn't that much work, and it fills pre-recs for other cool polysci classes.

Incredible professor, incredible discussions. felt as though I actually gained something from the class. I enjoyed the peer review for essays, and thought that I was able to grow my writing skills. Would love to take more classes with sebnam!

I really enjoyed this class with Professor Verghese! The class format is highly lecture-based during the class period and then he will have students bring questions for the discussion sections - super easy and chill grader.

the class is great as an introduction class to political science. Sebnem is a great professor and she is very understanding of her students. Her grading is very fair. She is always open to students coming to discuss upcoming essays.

Sebnum does a great way at being enthusiastic while teaching and tries to relate it back to current events to keep students engaged. The three essays required for the semester parent too challenging and she's always able to help at office hours. Although, there is a decent amount of reading but you don't have exams.