Alexander Cooley

Professor Cooley is an extremely laidback guy, and you can tell he knows what he's talking about. He's done his research. He's fascinated in the material. And he's an interesting lecturer too. I went to class often during the first half of the class, but then workload from other classes got too heavy so I missed a lot the second half. Going to class isn't *necessary* to do well at all, but I do generally find the class interesting. Sometimes, though, I thought he focused too much on global regions that I'm not fascinated in (mostly Middle Eastern countries). That said, I did learn more about it because he brought it up a lot. Workload: not bad. There's a lot of reading, but I did most of it while writing the papers. There are 3 papers--one short one (4-5 pages), one long one (10 pages), and a take home final (2 prompts, 4 pages each). They're pretty straightforward and you only need the readings as sources. And if you actually do your readings, it should be fine. Even not doing the readings (like me), you can read what you need and write the paper. I usually wrote them pretty last minute, but still managed to pull decent grades, which leads me to my next point: it seems like a pretty easily graded class. There are a lot of grad students, so I think they're a little easier on undergrads. Overall: not a bad course at all. Not necessarily the most interesting, but still relativel…

Professor Cooley is really fantastic. He knows his stuff- particularly Central Asia, his research focus. He's had some really interesting grad students and he will mention insider tidbits he learned from them about what happened behind the scenes in various institutions. The class is divided between three sections- international economy, international security, and international civil society. The economy section is about global finance- the IMF, World Bank, WTO, credit ratings agencies, CDOs and financial crisis, etc. Part two is about terrorism, private security firms, and how globalization has changed the nature of international security. Part three is about transnational advocacy networks, like NGOs and various other groups dealing with human rights, international justice, and more. Each class is pretty well organized. He talks very quickly- from the minute class starts, he's going! until the last minute of class- you ain't putting that pen down. Don't come late. (unless you're like that girl who sat there shopping on her laptop, buying herself a new wardrobe, for the entire semester...to each their own?) Do not take this class unless you already have a rough familiarity with the political institutions of the current world we live in. There are no pre-req courses and you don't really need them, though a previous polisci course will be helpful. If not- as a rule of thumb, i…

Professor Cooley is a wonderful seminar leader--he managed to encourage everyone's participation and never fully shut anyone down, but he made it clear what was and was not a good interpretation. His feedback on written assignments is extremely helpful, and it's pretty clear what is expected of you. This was my favorite class this semester, and I'd definitely recommend it. That said, the previous reviews are pretty accurate. Prof. Cooley can sometimes come across as an arrogant jackass, but that is more apparent outside of class and really does not get in the way of his teaching.

OK so here's the lowdown on this class. IPE is NOT for non-majors. There is a ton of reading that you cant skimp on. The readings are all incredibly interesting by the way. You can skim some of them to get by, but must read the more important ones thoroughly, and to get an A you need to read a good percent of it (or split the readings among friends and explain the arguments!). Cooley does a great job of outlining the course and each lecture. Be wary though, of Cooley's tragic flaw: he gives his opinions as if they are facts. You must keep in mind that he does not know everything, although he talks as if he does. Even so, he's a good prof. He likes his voice too much as well--has trouble listening to students. Is very critical (was not at all helpful outside of class), but I liked him, and loved the class (and got an A to boot). I highly recommend this class to a Poly Sci major willing to work, and intelligent enough not to take Cooley's views as God's.

Professor Cooley is very good at providing constructive criticism. His outlines of the semester breaks the thesis down into manageable mini assignments, like a bibliography, an outline, a rough draft. Optional weekly meetings. Terrific thesis advisor.

Yeah, Professor Cooley is a young, intelligent and well-published protege from Johns Hopkins. And if you forget that, he will remind you on a daily basis. His abilities to facilitate a good round-table conversation are really good- which is important for a colloquium. But he gets a bit too into the spirit and really hits you over the head with his opinions rather than focusing on a more balanced conversation mediating. Overall, if you can get over his arrogance and insensitivity, you will have a very stimulating class experience. But this can be a challenge on some days...

Organized, dynamic, and extremely engaging. Cooley doesn't let the lecture format of the course stop students from participating actively in class; several times per session, he stops and asks if anyone has questions, then gives thoughtful and detailed answers. He digresses at points, but seldom rambles, and does a wonderful job of sticking to the syllabus and covering the necessary material in the time allotted. Those already taken with international relations will likely enjoy the course just for the readings, but Cooley's skill as a lecturer adds an extra element to a well-designed course.

The history of Soviet studies and its evolution into area studies of the former Soviet Union

3 papers: 1 short (5 pages), 1 long (10 pages), 1 take home final (2 prompts, 4 pages each)

Cooley is awesome - he's a great lecturer, covers some fascinating material, and, for a class with an open-ended title like "Globalization," is extremely organized. This was absolutely one of the best classes I've taken at Columbia -- but it definitely wasn't easy. I'd recommend it highly for other Economics-Politics majors looking for a class that is actually inter-disciplinary, or for students who don't mind that the first semester seems to randomly require a pre-existing knowledge of financial markets. The second semester has more of a focus on international law as it pertains to terrorism and international jurisdiction. The workload is tough, but interesting. You definitely need to know what you're getting into (as the reviewer below mentioned). Lots of readings (four or five articles per class), which you can get along without doing, but they're generally really good, so I'd do as many as you can. If you don't do as well on the first short paper, you can make it up on the second paper - which is worth a lot more. Beyond the useless "paper-writing session" the TAs held this semester, they were very helpful in responding about outlines during their office hours. Cooley can come off as full of himself, but having spoken to him a couple of times during office hours, I think he's genuinely a decent guy -- and he seems happy to talk about the class with students. Final disclaim…