Michele Moody-Adams

A pretty good comprehensive study of civil disobedience -- looking at the classics (Plato, Thoreau, Gandhi, King) and some contemporary thinkers on its justification, value, etc

Midterm and take home final. Two papers. Overall the assignments were graded toughly. You need to write a thorough essay. I spent a lot of time in office hours and both Moody Adams and my TA were extremely helpful. It is not hard to do well if you try. Also a decent amount of readings.

In this course I became acquainted with issues concerning democratic citizenship, both theoretical and applied. I also had the opportunity to revisit some familiar thinkers in the tradition of western political philosophy - Rawls, Mills, Dewey, and interrogate their ideas under the specific theme of democratic life.

I feel like I need to break this review into two parts: Michele Moody-Adams (MMA, as she often refers to herself) the PERSON, and MMA the PROFESSOR. MMA the PERSON is the bomb. She’s a legend, for more reasons than I can count, but it never seemed as though she lets it go to her head. She’s super kind, super understanding, and never made me or, as far as I can tell, anyone else, feel unintelligent. She was highly accessible outside of class as well. My review of MMA the PROFESSOR is a bit more qualified. I had two issues with the course. First — expectations for assignments were sometimes vague or unclear. Second — the syllabus was kind of a mess. Lots of good material on it, to be sure, but, especially towards the second half of the course, a lot of disparate content was thrown at us without links between classes or units being made clear. It sometimes felt unclear how we were meant to tie everything together. But the benefits of studying under MMA outweigh those costs by a long-shot. Had I not exercised the pass/fail option on the course, it would have caused my GPA to take a small hit, but I’d still take it again in a heartbeat, even without that safeguard in place. Overall rating: 9/10.

3 papers. 4-6 pages; 6-8 pages; 8-12 page term paper. 1 class presentation.

I learned a lot about the philosophy of civil disobedience and political resistance, as well as the historical context and thought of influential figures like King, Gandhi, Thoreau, and Havel. I also improved my philosophical writing skills.

This was one of my favorite classes in college, and it is in large part thanks to Prof. Moody-Adams. She is one of the sweetest and most caring professors I have had. She genuinely cares about her students and their interests, even if they do not always relate to class. I once went to her about an article I was writing relating to political science, and she helped me find resources and consider ethical considerations which may guide my opinion. She was truly one of the most genuine professors I have had. She is a no-nonsense teacher and takes your time seriously, which is great because it makes you feel like you are not wasting your time. She wants to be there and she wants to teach, making it fun and rewarding to be her student. She is also very funny and uses great examples from her personal life, the lives of students, and from others to explain main ideas. The class itself and the material is great too. You go through many frameworks of moral philosophy. The papers are also very fun to write and research. I went in having read most of the works for the first half of the course, and I came out which a much better and more in-depth understanding. This class gives a great overview which offers a perfect spring board into ethics. Truly my favorite philosophy course I have taken, one of, if not, my favorite professor I have taken, and it rivals the best classes offered at this…

Democratic theory, borders and immigration, deliberative/participatory democracy, meritocracy, epistocracy

I loved this class. Professor Moody-Adams is an incredible professor, and it's clear that she cares deeply about her students and her work. This class tackles a lot of ethical debates regarding the practice and interpretation of the law, and I thought all of the content was genuinely interesting (many of the readings are fairly contemporary). The class is split into sections, starting with the theoretical nature of law and transitioning into schools of legal interpretation like textualism and living constitutionalism. You end on a much more applicable and modern section on mass incarceration. Throughout the course, Professor Moody-Adams introduces interesting contemporary legal debates on things like hate speech, product liability, and healthcare. She mixes up the content a lot, so there's plenty of areas to find interest. Professor Moody-Adams also spends most of the class clarifying the main points of the readings (which tend to vary and can be dense but aren't overly burdensome). No surprises on the essay prompts or exams, and grading is not difficult as long as you do the readings.

Professor Moody-Adams is the single best teacher I've had in my years at Columbia. Aside from her outstanding and inspiring genius, MMA is kind and caring to her students. She makes a sincere effort to get to know her students, and this makes a difference in what can be tough philosophy seminars. Professor Moody-Adams has made me a better student and philosopher, sure, but she's also made me a better person -- and for that I'll be forever grateful. She is a truly amazing person.