POLS W4471

A TON of reading. Form reading groups and enforce clean and clear note-taking, these notes will be necessary for the exams and papers of the class. Grading varies for grads and undergrads. Discussion section for undergrads only (15%). Midterm (25%), very harshly graded (but then curved SLIGHTLY), 10-15 page analytical paper on almost any subject for undergrads/15-20 pg for grad students (25%), and final (35%)

Almost none if you choose not to do the readings. Three discussion posts, an in-class midterm, a final.

Medium- lots of reading assigned; few to none were essential 2 short papers 1 final research paper (11-15 pg)

Manageable. A couple of info summaries, a midterm, a paper, and a final. Sounds worse than it is. Tough grading, but not unfairly so

Not bad until the end of the semester, when she hoists a 15 page term paper and a 20 page final on you in three weeks time. Reading is pretty normal

I second the review below this one. Although Kay Shimizu is a kind woman, through her teaching it is evident that she is the newest addition to the political science department, and this means dis-organization and ambiguity. She posted slides for each lecture, but the words on the slides were so few that copying them was essentially meaningless. Her explanations of the slides were also incoherent, rendering lectures completely confusing. The only chance you will have to truly understand the material is in the discussion sections, where the TA will pose questions presumably crafted by Shimizu, as all sections answered the same questions throughout the semester. Regardless of her future growth as a professor, now is NOT the time to take Shimizu. I guarantee you that her ambiguous and ever-changing syllabus, combined with the bizarrely specific and random answers for the midterm (which were IDs), you will feel overhwelmingly frustrated. DO NOT TAKE Shimizu.

I have reservations about what is being said in the other review. When I took Chinese Politics, the midterm average was around 90 and the midterm and the final was not difficult at all -- you have to synthesize lecture materials and write a short, hand-written cohesive essay on some topics related to Chinese politics. Professor Jiang is a very effective lecturer and his notes on the slides and sent after class essentially captures the lecture, so you don't have to take notes. He is very accessible outside of the classroom and assign very interesting readings that are central to Chinese politics, sometimes from other disciplines. That being said, the reading is not entirely related to the lecture and therefore is more optional. Overall Professor Jiang's class try to cover the most recent 200 years of Chinese political history in the first half and special topics in the second half. Very interesting class for people who want to know more about China.

Eh not the greatest. His class was okay because he is such a nice professor but he tends to let some students run the class just because they are the only ones that participate. The subject matter is quite interesting but the course material itself was nothing special so I have no idea why this is a 4000 level class. The one thing that really bugged me about this class was that Professor Su only graded/read the grad papers. He left the undergrad grading to his TA and boy, she was the worst! She gave no commentary or reasoning behind her methodology for the harshly graded essays.The mandatory discussions, which was led by her, were an absolute disaster-- no one ever showed up and she's horrible at facilitating conversation. The excruciating experience of dealing with her has ruined the class for me.

Before giving a review of Lucy, let me give a review of my class performance, so everyone can review any potential biases on my part. I got an A- in this class with a majority grad students. The A- would have been an A if I had managed my time better at the end of the semester, as I screwed up on the final. Of the 30 or so class meetings I probably attended 15, and made about 2 of the 10 weekly TA meetings. So overall, I was one of those students that the professor quickly realized knew the material well but was clearly not giving a full effort in the course. I was the guy most profs love to hate. Despite my above behavior, Lucy Goodhart treated me like I was just another student, and for Lucy, that means enthusiastic and eager support for any possible question you may ever have. I wrote my term paper on a subject she is quite knowledgeable on, and to which I never attended lecture, and she still took the time to discuss the relevant subject matter with me and was always offering praise for my work. In my columbia experience, most professors essentially ask you to romance them (By this I mean showing up to all the classes, going to office hours, basically pretended like their class is the reason for your existence). Lucy does not care. She treats the class as a learning experience for herself as well, so she is quite forgiving and open with the course. In summation, Take any c…

First of all, the above review was just inaccurate - the class spent only 2 or 3 weeks on history. Secondly, the reading list was a who's who of Chinese scholarship - while isssues were examined from several different angles much of the time, occasionally only one article was included b/c the author offered the best analysis of the issue. This class is not for someone who wants an intro to comparative politics, nor is it for someone who is just looking to cover a major cultures. Domestic Politics very often deal w/dry issues, so be prepared if you aren't fascinated by Chinese environmental policy. While Economy is definitely not a seasoned lecturer, her teaching style is simple and straightforward - probably the result of having been trained to brief politicians and diplomats at the CIA. That being said, she is very generous with her time and encourages students to email, call and visit her with questions or comments. All in all, a great class if you are interested in the material. If not, go elsewhere b/c she won't sell it to you.