POLS W3245

"Weekly" readings, 3 take-home exams in the form of 5-6 page essays (handed out over a week in advance of the due date), 1 issue brief (500-700 words, 2 drafts), 2 posts to the discussion board + responses to classmates' posts. Very light, easy A.

Took this class as an american politics elective. Really glad I did. In all honesty I was not all that interested in the topic, but rather it was the 3 take-home exam/essay format that sparked my interest. That said, I actually ended up enjoying the course (and not only because of the light, light workload), and do feel that I did gain a good amount of insight into the role that race and ethnicity play in american politics. Professor Smith is definitely old school, and opts for projecting his printed out slides rather than using the computer. Kind of quirky, but it works. Lectures really were not necessary at all since everything that was needed for the papers were in the books, but do beware that he begins taking attendance after the second take-home. Additionally, Professor Smith started each lecture with current-eventish type things that sometimes went on for half the class. Paper topics were kinda weird, and based on the discussion sections I was in I feel that the general consensus was that what was being asked for/how to craft your paper and answer the questions was a bit unclear. That being said, even though I did not feel all that confident in any of the papers I wrote, I received A's on the first two, and an A as my final grade (don't know about the third as those were due on the last day of class and were not returned). The readings for the course were not bad at all…

While Thompson may be correct in his belief that American society is in no way a meritocracy, the same can certainly be said regarding his class. Those who rejoice when they see the light workload on the syllabus should be forewarned that not only will they learn very little in this class but also that they are susceptible to seeing grades that neither they nor their friends have ever seen before in a social science class. Yes, it is true that one may be able to submit garbage and get an A, but it is also true that one can hand in a masterpiece and receive a C. Also, the class completely lacks structure and usually serves solely as a pulpit for Thompson's ultra-liberal diatribes. If you want to either learn some political science or get a grade that corresponds to the quality of your work then avoid this professor's class like the plague.

Gans is very down to earth and has a lot of patience with everyone in class. He lets students express themselves without interpretting them, although you know he probably has the answer their looking for. He gives great comments on projects.

Three short papers with really fun topics that let you do your own thing. A few online forum prompts. An issue brief (draft and final), which is basically a short research paper with some pictures and additional links.

He's a real fire and brimstone preacher type and he'll definitely wake you up at 9am. But if you hold conservative political views, be warned: this man is so liberal, he's off the spectrum. He told my class that he thinks black people are just as oppressed now as they were during the days of slavery, and that if blacks and Latinos do poorly, it is NOT their fault, but entirely due to the fact that society discriminates against them. Everything is take-home, so it's easy to get an okay or good grade. But again, be sure to express LIBERAL views only in your writings if you're going for top grades.

I took this class despite the mediocre reviews on CULPA and I was so pleasantly surprised! The class gets off to a slow start and feels like a very broad intro level course, but it is interesting and gives a basic understanding of race in America. Professor Smith is a funny and engaging lecturer. He doesn't use slides, but rather a document projector so get ready to take good notes. That being said, it's okay to miss a few classes as long as you do the readings. Keep in mind that you don't always have to agree with the course material he assigns and that you're meant to engage with it. The paper topics are engaging and creative. Professor Smith makes an effort to get to know the students in the big lecture class as best he can and is super friendly. He also includes current events in the class and leaves them up for discussion. I think his sense of humor can be hard to catch and seem pretty harsh, but if you get used to it you can see he's a really caring softy.

Professor Smith takes a statistical approach to race and American politics, a move I'm now guessing he does to promote his somewhat conservative views about race. These views seemed to be conveniently hidden beneath a very easy going demeanor. For example, I had mentioned in class that I read the book, American Apartheid, which is a groundbreaking text chronicling the history of de-jure and de-facto racial segregation in the United States. To this he responded, "Guys, apartheid is something that happened in South Africa many years ago that doesn't exist anymore. So please, don't mention it in class." This particular comment in response to one of the most important books in the field of race and American politics was a little disturbing. On another occasion, he randomly threw out this statistic by some social scientist stating that if you were to take into account all of the suffering and injustice blacks endured in America, it would amount to paying each of them $30,000. My first reaction was, "How can you quantify oppression?" I mentioned that no amount of money could ever replace the lives, culture, and quality of life lost through American slavery, Jim Crow, the Black Codes, neighborhood covenants, redlining, or the current drug war. To this he simply replied, "Yea well, it's a cruel world, what are you going to do." Don't get me wrong, professor Smith was very cordial thro…

I took Professor Smith's Race & Ethnicity in American Politics over the summer and found the class to be somewhat informative at best. Mr. Smith has a very pleasant demeanor, however, something seemed to be bothering him throughout the course that he didn't really want to tell us, and I think this was reflected in our grades. I remember him giving us a short spiel on why we shouldn't go into academia. This made me feel he was being pressured by his superiors to do certain things he didn't want to do. The most unusual aspect of the course was that I seemed to get the same grade on everything, even when I knew I put much more time and effort into some assignments than others. This grade as a B+. I don't know if Professor Smith was pressured to do this, but either way, I hope things get better for him.

3 papers, and a weird posting to a columbia wikipedia-esque website that he gets really excited about but doesn't take long to do or count for much of your grade (it's actually pretty cool to do and very low-stress.) No midterm, no final. A few books to read but I didn't even buy them.