International Politics

Kemi is amazing!! He is very passionate about his work which shows in his lectures; but also in the amount of readings assigned. There were 50+ pages assigned in the very first class and this trend was consistent throughout the semester. I never read all of the readings and I felt that if you just pay attention during the lecture Kemi does a pretty good job at summarizing them, but you are encouraged to skim them. The class is self-assessed and Kemi is very understanding when it comes to late assignments and anything really. I would definitely recommend taking International Politics with him!!

Kemi is amazing!! He is very passionate about his work which shows in his lectures; but also in the amount of readings assigned. There were 50+ pages assigned in the very first class and this trend was consistent throughout the semester. I never read all of the readings and I felt that if you just pay attention during the lecture Kem …Read more

Professor Williams was incredibly passionate about the material in the class and was an excellent lecturer. He’s fairly accommodating to all his students and tries his best to ensure to material is interesting. There was a large amount of reading every week and almost all of your grade depended on how well you did on the various papers he had you write. Overall his Int'l Politics class was extremely rewarding if one is willing to do most of the readings.

Professor Williams was incredibly passionate about the material in the class and was an excellent lecturer. He’s fairly accommodating to all his students and tries his best to ensure to material is interesting. There was a large amount of reading every week and almost all of your grade depended on how well you did on the various pape …Read more

Winslett was very clear and fun to listen to in lectures. He definitely knew what he was talking about, and he cared a lot. Something I really appreciated about his teaching also is that he didn't use too much jargon. In the beginning of the course he established all of the frameworks and major concepts that we would need to know, and spent a long time making sure that our knowledge of the concepts was absolutely solid. Then, as he got to how it was applied and in what situations which frameworks would be helpful his language was very straightforward and he was very comfortable explaining and entertaining every question any student had. His grading is divided into four main categories--a project, a test, an essay, and class participation. The readings are only sort of necessary for discussion but it's doable without them. I would absolutely recommend this course for anyone interested in learning more about international politics even if you're not going to major in a humanities subject.

Winslett was very clear and fun to listen to in lectures. He definitely knew what he was talking about, and he cared a lot. Something I really appreciated about his teaching also is that he didn't use too much jargon. In the beginning of the course he established all of the frameworks and major concepts that we would need to know, a …Read more

I absolutely loved this class. The readings were a lot sometimes, and the lectures are very fast with a lot of information packed into them, but I have left this class feeling so much more knowledgeable because of it. This is so largely due to the professor. Professor Winslett is fantastic. great personality, makes learning all this heavy, dense, complicated material fun, very engaging lectures and discussion sections, and all around just a fantastic guy. I'm not a polisci or IPE major, but I would absolutely love to take another class with him. Definitely my favorite class I took this semester.

I absolutely loved this class. The readings were a lot sometimes, and the lectures are very fast with a lot of information packed into them, but I have left this class feeling so much more knowledgeable because of it. This is so largely due to the professor. Professor Winslett is fantastic. great personality, makes learning all this …Read more

Kemi is hilarious, brilliant, and an amazing lecturer. The readings assigned are a lot, and if you do them all, you can end up spending a lot of time on homework outside of class, but I found 97% of the readings to be extremely helpful in contextualizing not only what was taught in the class, but real-world events as well. I definitely learned a lot from this class, a large portion of which was thanks to the readings, but there were other people in my section who barely ever did the readings and also were able to do well, based on the lectures alone. Would definitely recommend this course.

Kemi is hilarious, brilliant, and an amazing lecturer. The readings assigned are a lot, and if you do them all, you can end up spending a lot of time on homework outside of class, but I found 97% of the readings to be extremely helpful in contextualizing not only what was taught in the class, but real-world events as well. I definite …Read more

This is a tough course, but one of the best I've taken at Middlebury. Set me up with theoretical knowledge and a broad overview of the problems in the world that help throughout the Poli Sci major, and taught me to think and write in a way that was helpful in classes outside the major too. Would come in prepared to work, but more than worth what you get out of it. Williams is an exceptional lecturer and discussion leader, somewhat tough grader, but is willing to work with you if you show you're trying.

This is a tough course, but one of the best I've taken at Middlebury. Set me up with theoretical knowledge and a broad overview of the problems in the world that help throughout the Poli Sci major, and taught me to think and write in a way that was helpful in classes outside the major too. Would come in prepared to work, but more tha …Read more

Loved the lectures! Only 45 min and prof is very passionate about the course. He's up to date with stuff happening right now, so it's very interesting to talk to him even outside of the required material. I struggled with the paper, but the midterm exam was easy - he provided a list of questions to get ready for it.

Professor Winslett makes sure you will never fall asleep in his class. He is passionate about the content and that makes it easier for the students to be passionate as well. The grading is fairly tough—you can't expect to get an A in this course without putting in some serious effort. There was never a time I could finish all the readings, but I still enjoyed the class and the professor a lot.

Professor Winslett makes sure you will never fall asleep in his class. He is passionate about the content and that makes it easier for the students to be passionate as well. The grading is fairly tough—you can't expect to get an A in this course without putting in some serious effort. There was never a time I could finish all the rea …Read more

I enjoyed Gary's class generally. I felt like he graded my test extremely hard, but I could see where he was coming from. He was a great lecturer, went through course material really well but it is quite difficult to end with an A in this class, especially given his unclear grading expectations. He's still an excellent professor and I would definitely recommend taking them.

Easy and fun class, lots of readings but you can skim through them, professor is very passionate about what he teaches and make class material interesting. Highly recommend taking a class with him in order to learn more about diversity in international affairs

Mark was a great professor, but the readings are dense and your knowledge of the readings are crucial to your success in the class. He also loves to go over the designated class time, so don't schedule his class with another one right after it. It's very difficult to get better than an A- on any of his papers, but he is overall pretty fair with the grading. As a course requirement for my major, there could have definitely been worse classes than this to take. Fun class and good experience overall.

Mark was a great professor, but the readings are dense and your knowledge of the readings are crucial to your success in the class. He also loves to go over the designated class time, so don't schedule his class with another one right after it. It's very difficult to get better than an A- on any of his papers, but he is overall prett …Read more

Gary is a very passionate prof but he is very critical when it comes to grading. your paper need to be written by gary himself to get an A. hes very helpful in office hours. he does not inflate grade. if her thinks you wrote a good paper, you will get a B average in the class

Love Yuen as a professor, but personally would not take it with her again. The course material is engaging but I felt that she was not accommodating enough. Discussion sessions were extremely boring as we were often asked to do group work that felt meaningless. Very, very tough grader, especially for the essays.

Kemi is a really good lecturer and overall professor. His lectures explain the material very well and often summarize the readings, which encourages students to attend classes and simply skim the readings. All assignments are self-assessed which makes the class a lot less stressful.

Prof Yuen is excited about the course material and eager to help with any questions. Her exams are a bit tricky but if you do the readings there are no problems. She is a wonderful professor and makes some of the terminology of the course much more engaging.

This class was very interesting, and it is clear the Professor Williams is extremely knowledgable and passionate about the subject matter. There is a large amount of reading every week, and the grading is based mostly on papers. Overall, the content is engaging.

Ridiculous amount of reading but its certainly readable. Three response papers required that are "ungraded" (you get a grade in reality). Got a "check plus" on all the response papers. Take home final and midterm that you have a week to write. One person got an A on the midterm (he tells you). Got an A- in the class and was super pressed because I dont think anyone got an A.

Amy Yuen is an incredible professor - smart, dedicated, fair, engaging, and happy to re-explain if necessary. She also takes no BS, which I love in a professor. The content was very concept-oriented, and while I love a good case study the WWI/WWII case study examples did feel a little rote. But I took this as a first-semester student and got an A.

Professor Fuentes-George is by far one of the best lecturers I have had at Midd. He is passionate about the material and makes class fun. Understanding the readings is critical to your success in the class since the essays rely heavily on them. while some of them are quite dense he is very open to questions and welcomes clarifying questions.

I really enjoyed this class as Amy Yuen is very accommodating and understanding. The class is reading heavy but the exams weren't too difficult as it was writing based and not hard to understand. The essays weren't difficult as she explained clearly what she wanted to see and if you did that you'll do fine.

William is a tough grader. For a class of 30 students, he gave out only 3 As in a midterm. The average amount of weekly readings is also way above the department average and this is coming from a political science major in his senior year. Course wise, like every intro class, it is definition heavy which requires a lot of work. Only take for major/minor requirement

International Politics with Professor Yuen is an engaging and dynamic course that leaves you with a strong understanding of the concepts that shape the dynamics regarding inter-state interaction. The readings can be quite dense and theory driven, but the main points will be broken down in lectures and discussions. There are two main papers as well as two exams for the entire class that are graded fairly, and she provides extensive feedback/comments. Overall, I highly recommend this course if you intend to major in political science/IP&E, or if you just have any interest in international relations.

International Politics with Professor Yuen is an engaging and dynamic course that leaves you with a strong understanding of the concepts that shape the dynamics regarding inter-state interaction. The readings can be quite dense and theory driven, but the main points will be broken down in lectures and discussions. There are two main …Read more

Williams can appear very strict but is actually really understanding of students' questions and confusion. He gives a lot of instructive feedback on papers and going to office hours helps a lot. There're a lot of readings but they're all very fundamental if you intend for IPE or just an IR track.

While Williams initially seems very no nonsense when you start, he is really one of the more interesting and passionate professors I've had. He will call you on it if you are bullshitting but, if you do the work, it is easy to get a lot out of this class and enjoy it

Overall a pretty good class. I took it because I'm considering an IPE major. Williams is very good at lecturing, but lots of the reading is really theoretical and can be tough to get through. He's a fair grader, but he rarely gives extensions, which can cause problems if your workload lines up the wrong way. This class is interesting if you need the requirement, but upper-level PSCI classes will likely have less extraneous reading.

Overall a pretty good class. I took it because I'm considering an IPE major. Williams is very good at lecturing, but lots of the reading is really theoretical and can be tough to get through. He's a fair grader, but he rarely gives extensions, which can cause problems if your workload lines up the wrong way. This class is interesting …Read more

While this class is incredibly reading-heavy, much of the material is covered and clarified in the lectures. While Professor Williams initially appears strict, he is incredibly passionate and accommodating toward students. His lectures make the content interesting, and discussions are beneficial. Workload includes mandatory readings, three short (500-750 word) response papers, a midterm paper, and final paper.

While this class is incredibly reading-heavy, much of the material is covered and clarified in the lectures. While Professor Williams initially appears strict, he is incredibly passionate and accommodating toward students. His lectures make the content interesting, and discussions are beneficial. Workload includes mandatory readings, …Read more

Professor Williams was a great professor and very knowledgeable about the subject. The reading load was heavy, but you will definitely learn a lot in this course. Exams were written essays and not too difficult.

Professor Yuen is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about International Politics. You will come out of the course with a proper understanding of state systems and relations. You are given one week to write each essay—which are somewhat challenging. Prof Yuen grades everything fairly, yet it's not an easy class. The midterm is only three questions which makes it tough to receive a good grade if you miss part of one. This class is a solid one for non-majors.

Professor Yuen is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about International Politics. You will come out of the course with a proper understanding of state systems and relations. You are given one week to write each essay—which are somewhat challenging. Prof Yuen grades everything fairly, yet it's not an easy class. The midterm is …Read more

Professor Yuen teaches this class well and with interest, though is occasionally limited by the material. Lectures don't cover that much material, but everything they do cover is necessary. Also, the readings are pretty essential to understanding the course and you'll be asked to pull them for essays and discussions. Sometimes the readings are pretty dense, but the important parts will be summarized. Practically, you have 2 essays (10 pages total) and 2 in-class exams, none of which were graded too harshly or particularly charitably. Good foundational class for majors, not hard for non-majors and Yuen is a good Prof to take it with.

Professor Yuen teaches this class well and with interest, though is occasionally limited by the material. Lectures don't cover that much material, but everything they do cover is necessary. Also, the readings are pretty essential to understanding the course and you'll be asked to pull them for essays and discussions. Sometimes the re …Read more

Very enjoyable. Yuen is obviously a professional teacher and knows her stuff. She is approachable. Her exams are very easy and there are only two of them. There is a bit of reading but very manageable and if you like politics they are also enjoyable.

Professor Kemi was such a chill and funny teacher. I thought I would struggle in this class, but he helped me through it. His office hours are super helpful, so I would definitely recommend him. I would recommend taking this class, very enjoyable.

Professor Williams really knows the material. His lectures are interesting if you are interested in the topics discussed. There are a lot of readings but you will definitely learn a lot in this class.

I love Kemi! Great professor and an even greater person. Readings are dense and difficult, but skim them, go to class, understand what's being said and you'll do just fine. All of of the essays are self-graded and fairly assessed.

Prof. Yuen was very approachable and easy to talk to about the topics in the course and outside of it. She also was able to communicate the course material in a very clear way. Be ready to read a lot!

It was hard to engage with materials at first because the first two weeks were covering the Peloponnesian war but the course got increasingly more interesting as we progressed to more modern events. Assignments for the course consist of the weekly readings (which can be a lot), three smaller essays of 500, 500, and 750 words respectively, a midterm take home essay, and a final take home assignment. Overall, it’s a useful class for evaluating international systems and gaining a deeper understanding of history and the root causes of certain events.

It was hard to engage with materials at first because the first two weeks were covering the Peloponnesian war but the course got increasingly more interesting as we progressed to more modern events. Assignments for the course consist of the weekly readings (which can be a lot), three smaller essays of 500, 500, and 750 words respecti …Read more

Winslett is the best and I had fun in the class. He definitely knows what he's talking about and presents the information in an understandable way. There is a lot of reading, but you can get away with not doing them all. If I remember correctly there were only 3 big assignments for the class (Analytical Paper, Midterm, and Final. Discussion sections were chill, but you should come in knowing at least some of the content in the readings to talk about.

Winslett is the best and I had fun in the class. He definitely knows what he's talking about and presents the information in an understandable way. There is a lot of reading, but you can get away with not doing them all. If I remember correctly there were only 3 big assignments for the class (Analytical Paper, Midterm, and Final. Dis …Read more

International Politics is one of my favorite courses I have taken so far at Middlebury, due in large part to it having been taught by Professor Yuen. She can certainly be tough when it comes to grading, but it's because she expects a lot and is more than willing to help you get there. I would take another class with her in a heartbeat.

Professor Williams is a very well-spoken and passionate professor. He clearly knows what he is talking about, and I always enjoyed his lectures. However, the required readings were almost never discussed in his lectures and only applied to the readings and discussion section. I would much rather have had the professor tie the readings in during lectures a little more since, during essays, he preferred we never even discuss information from the lectures and strictly from the reading. He grades essays harshly, but I still loved the content of the class.

Professor Williams is a very well-spoken and passionate professor. He clearly knows what he is talking about, and I always enjoyed his lectures. However, the required readings were almost never discussed in his lectures and only applied to the readings and discussion section. I would much rather have had the professor tie the reading …Read more

Professor Yuen was clearly very knowledgeable about international politics and enthusiastic about the subject, which in my opinion greatly added to the course. While this class does have heavy reading as political science classes tend to, you do not always have to do them, though obviously they do expand on the materials covered in lecture. Personally, I came into this class really only interested in learning the broad strokes on international politics, which I found tended to be covered very well in lecture and discussion. As a result, I got away with not doing the readings except for the ones required for the two essays we wrote. Professor Yuen's exams are short and fairly easy, only covering broad and important theories. She is a fair grader and I thought she gave good feedback on ways to improve in the future. She is very accessible both by email and in-person. She has designated office hours, but emphasizes that students are welcome to pop in whenever she is in her office, which she often is.

Professor Yuen was clearly very knowledgeable about international politics and enthusiastic about the subject, which in my opinion greatly added to the course. While this class does have heavy reading as political science classes tend to, you do not always have to do them, though obviously they do expand on the materials covered in l …Read more

International Politics with Professor Yuen was definitely... something. As a PoliSci major, this is a required course but it's also a course that piqued my interest. While I will say I learned a lot in this class, it was very challenging (not hard, challenging). the readings are DENSE and LONG (in my opinion sometimes unnecessarily long), but nonetheless pretty interesting. Prof. Yuen is insanely knowledgeable (she's like a IR human encyclopedia) she is very passionate about what she teaches, and from my experience is very accommodating and understanding of students' circumstances. You can get away with not doing *some* of the lecture readings, but she cold calls in discussion sections, so make sure you come prepared. we have 2 essays and 2 exams (a midterm and a final) which I think were hard but very fairly graded. Overall, while the amount and complexity of the class readings were sometimes a bit too much, it is definitely a class that pushed me to think. 7.8/10 lol I WOULD 10000% take one of Prof Yuen's upper-level Poli Sci classes. While it is a challenge, I would highly recommend taking one of her classes!

International Politics with Professor Yuen was definitely... something. As a PoliSci major, this is a required course but it's also a course that piqued my interest. While I will say I learned a lot in this class, it was very challenging (not hard, challenging). the readings are DENSE and LONG (in my opinion sometimes unnecessarily l …Read more

I enjoyed Yuens lecture style, and found the material interesting. There are a decent amount of readings but they aren't too difficult to get through and you could get through discussion without doing them all throughly. This class isn't too difficult as an intro class and I would take it again. She grades mostly fairly a little on the tougher side but the exams aren't too difficult especially if you take good notes in lecture.

I enjoyed Yuens lecture style, and found the material interesting. There are a decent amount of readings but they aren't too difficult to get through and you could get through discussion without doing them all throughly. This class isn't too difficult as an intro class and I would take it again. She grades mostly fairly a little on t …Read more

Gary Winslett rocks, he very much holds an international perspective and mindset. I enjoyed this class with him, and you can tell he is very interested in the content of the course, which I think is a little rarer in intro courses like this one. I thought the essay exams were a little tough, but he gave us questions before to prepare so that took some of the edge off. There definitely is a lot of reading, and you should actually read it well to do well in this course.

Gary Winslett rocks, he very much holds an international perspective and mindset. I enjoyed this class with him, and you can tell he is very interested in the content of the course, which I think is a little rarer in intro courses like this one. I thought the essay exams were a little tough, but he gave us questions before to prepare …Read more

Prof Kemi is super chill. Like many poli sci courses, there are a lot of readings - but it's definitely possible to just skim them. Prof Kemi also allows us to self-grade, but will give comments on our essays/midterms. Overall, the workload is pretty average, and the class is insightful if you're interested in international politics.

Professor Fuentes-George let us grade ourselves. This being said, he made the material so enjoyable that I found myself putting more time into this class than any other. He is a very good teacher; the only criticism I have of him is not teaching both sides of each argument.

this course was definitely difficult, and mark Williams is a tough grader, very old school professor who expects lots of reading - but it set me up with skills I use in all other PSCI classes, and it was definitely worth it IF you want to do the PSCI major - otherwise not worth it just for the elective - very very very very much so a difficult class for the 100 level, my 300 level PSCI classes have been easier

this course was definitely difficult, and mark Williams is a tough grader, very old school professor who expects lots of reading - but it set me up with skills I use in all other PSCI classes, and it was definitely worth it IF you want to do the PSCI major - otherwise not worth it just for the elective - very very very very much so a …Read more

Beware of the monotonous lectures! Professor Williams most definitely knows what he's talking about- but when its 9am, 50 minutes of straight talking and with only some brief topics written on a whiteboard to keep you oriented, it's definitely a class that can leave you dazed and clinging onto the few things you gleamed from the readings. Talking about those readings, there are a lot of them and they're all very dense and if you don't do them thoroughly it can really impact your perception of what's going in the class and then your contributions to the discussion section. Overall a time consuming class but Professor Williams seemed open and receptive to student questions.

Beware of the monotonous lectures! Professor Williams most definitely knows what he's talking about- but when its 9am, 50 minutes of straight talking and with only some brief topics written on a whiteboard to keep you oriented, it's definitely a class that can leave you dazed and clinging onto the few things you gleamed from the read …Read more

Gary Winslett is a G. Very fun discussion sections, he knows what he's talking about. The class assignments consisted of one big midsemester essay (3000 words) and one final essay assignment (3 short essays)

Kemi is amazing and everyone should take a class with him. He grades based on effort and assigns really interesting readings. I found the papers to be more exciting prompts than normal boring PSCI papers.

There is a good amount of reading, but if you're interested in international relations or global politics, they are mostly interesting and relevant. Professor Williams is clear in the lectures, and will help to make sure you understand the material.

I thought Mr. Williams was going to be a brutal professor, but after the first day I quickly learned he is actually quite nice. He is very passionate in his lectures and I find them engaging. There are a lot of readings, but I have found you can do as much or as little as you want, as long as you do enough to be able to understand the basic topics. All papers are based on the reading, so do enough so that you can cite those. If you have any interest in International issues, you will find this course very interesting. The course work isn't bad, just a couple short reading reviews and then a midterm and final-paper. I ended up deciding to take another course with Mr. Williams the next semester. His next class Future Great power Relations was also very good.

I thought Mr. Williams was going to be a brutal professor, but after the first day I quickly learned he is actually quite nice. He is very passionate in his lectures and I find them engaging. There are a lot of readings, but I have found you can do as much or as little as you want, as long as you do enough to be able to understand th …Read more

I really enjoyed the content and delivery of the course material. Yes, the reading were long however the content was often repeated in lecture. Overall the tests and essays were a fair assessment of our understanding and very helpful office hours.

He's a good prof but come exam time he wants you to be specific and reference readings which is fair. Not too much work outside of class just big assignments and readings that go toward you overall grade.

The exam was really easy as long as you studied. Most of it was based on the lecture and all you had to do was use the theory and apply it to the situation. The class is fast-paced and she doesn't give you the information from class so you have to write everything down.

I found this course to be interesting and well taught. Exams and papers were challenging but not inappropriately so. It definitely felt like an intro course in that we spent a lot of time discussing how to do things.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it very applicable to everyday politics. Standard intro course. Williams keeps lectures interesting and engaging. Tons of readings though and sometimes cold calls during discussion.

She breaks down everything so that it is easier to understand. Her slide is also very well formatted and minimalist. But the down side is that when you want to go back and look at the slide, its hard to recall because the slides have very little words.

The course was interesting and a good foundation for poly sci or IGS classes, but really fast paced and difficult to keep up with. Each week we learned about a different historical international conflict; but I found the course to be more like a history of wars class than about international politics.

It's a very reading-heavy class, and it doesn't feel like you should do all the readings, but if you don't it bites you later on. The teacher seems to be mean, to begin with, and he has kind of a cold demeanor, but he's actually nice.

This class does a good job of outlining the fundamental topics you need to study international relations as an undergrad. It has plenty of reading like any other PolySci class, and other than participation, you are only graded on 3 shorter papers, a midterm paper, and a final paper. It's not that bad, but Professor Williams is a very old-school professor, so be prepared for him to not use any slides or visuals. He just talks to you in lectures, and the discussion sections often miss the opportunity to be interesting/engaging. I would recommend taking the class with a different professor if you want something more modern, but Williams certainly covers the IR foundation.

This class does a good job of outlining the fundamental topics you need to study international relations as an undergrad. It has plenty of reading like any other PolySci class, and other than participation, you are only graded on 3 shorter papers, a midterm paper, and a final paper. It's not that bad, but Professor Williams is a very …Read more

I enjoyed this class a lot, and love Kemi as a professor. I was worried at the beginning of the class as it was very theory heavy, which I was unprepared for. Once you get through the first bit of the course, it is amazing!

Lots and lots of reading; course is self graded though. Professor was pretty checked out and cancelled class all the time. I would take it with Yuen if given the opportunity; then again, it was perfectly adequate.