Mona El-Ghobashy

An absolutely incredible professor, and the other reviews are correct - one of the smartest people you'll ever meet. Class was mostly discussion-based with occasional mini-lectures. She does a great job bringing out the significance of each text in context, without forcing tenuous modern-day connections. Because her main field is political science, discussions about the political implications of the texts were always pretty interesting. Although CC has its drawbacks, she makes it a worthwhile class. There are four essays throughout the year (two per semester). For each one, you hand in a first draft (worth 5% of your final class grade), she gives it back with extensive comments, and then you hand in a final draft (worth 15-20% of your final grade). Her feedback is very helpful in refining your argument for the second draft, and it's definitely a great way to improve your writing skills.

I came into this class with extremely high expectations based on culpa reviews, but found myself extremely dissatisfied in a number of different ways. (1) If El-Ghobashy is a "genuinely nice" person as other reviewers have said, it really did not come across in her class. Instead, her demeanor was invariably condescending and just flat-out annoying. Constant reminders about how she was "going to teach us how to think" and about how we should or should not take notes were honestly just ridiculous. I think El-Ghobashy really epitomizes the self-aggrandizing academic...if that doesn't bother you, then pay no heed to this point, but I really found it incredibly annoying. (2) I think the first complaint about the way she handled lectures really carried over into all other parts of the class. The main assignment, the "research design," is basically just a fake research paper, and the reason she assigns the dumb thing instead of an actual paper is because she doesn't think you're smart enough/competent enough to actually write a research paper. Then, on the first draft of the assignment, she only gave an A-range grade to one person in the entire class of 150 students clearly just to make the point that we need to pay attention to her class (I mean, really, who does that? High school teachers maybe?). She actually graded my first draft, and I swear she didn't even read the whole thing…

Prof. El-Ghobashy is a rockstar. Her seminar was always interesting and she helped improve my writing tremendously. I enjoyed every class discussion and learned a lot about politics in literature, as well as about politics in general. I really recommend going to her office hours. She is fun to speak with and will offer guidance on your papers and will send you away with chocolate. The workload was harder than most of my friends' English seminars, but I was so pleased with the class that I've almost forgotten about the difficult papers.

Professor El-Ghobashy is a brilliant woman. She knows the course material backwards and forwards, and she makes an effort so that you understand the course material through her clear lecture style and her visual aids. Her voice is also incredibly pleasing to listen to, and she always finds a way to empathize with her students, which often gets a laugh out of a class. That's not to say that the course is easy; the material is difficult, and it's definitely a comparative politics class that you WILL want to have taken the intro class for. Professor El-Ghobashy makes what would in other classes cause weeks of migraines something you can understand. That said, do not be fooled by the lack of a final exam or a midterm; her essays are, as previous reviewers have said, difficult and force you to think. She is genuinely nice and wants her students to succeed, and she will work with you to develop your ideas into a great essay. Thus she expects that her students make the effort in return, and her mind can sift through bullshit a mile a minute, though she does appreciate an honest effort to make an argument. The bottom line- do your work, and she will do what she can so you can succeed. She's an excellent professor and deserves your effort.

This class was a seminar that examined various types of auth. regimes and methods of resistence. Mona is an extremely thoughtful and organized professor. The syllabus was well-designed and the readings spanned the entire world in terms of case studies. She guides discussion well although at times she'll lecture. You can tell she's very opinionated and holds back (or doesn't at times) what she thinks. She's finishing up her PhD and will make a great professor one day. She's also accessible outside of class and great to just chat with.

Probably a standard amount of reading for CC. The two-draft essay model means a lot of writing, but in total not much more than that of a single, polished essay.

she's fantastic. poli sci major or not her Comparative Politics course is worth taking. the course is interesting, the expectations are clear, and she is unbelievably smart, precise, and engaging. make sure not to mess around with any of her rules though because she is tough. discussion section with TA was mandatory but absolutely pointless, if anything that was a negative experience. that said, i absolutely recommend this course. it's challenging and interesting and it's also very possible to receive a good grade. an A- requires work but is totally possible.

3 papers with drafts and finals copies. (essentially 6 papers) 5/6 books to read all semester grading: fair.

Mona is, without a doubt, the most amazing professor I've encountered. SheÂ’s very young, in fact just finished her dissertation (that won best dissertation in the social sciences for that year), yet her knowledge seems almost limitless – it often appears like there is nothing she has not studied, no topic she will not be able to delve into and expand upon. And she is – everyone I've spoken to agrees on this – simply brilliant. She has analytical capacities that are at times even discouraging, when you realize that you will never be able to be as smart as her. She has a way of taking your remarks and rewording them to make what you meant to say sound much smarter than you intended it to be. And yet, she will always make you feel capable, never make you feel like you are not every bit as talented as she is. SheÂ’s also a great lecturer, putting concepts into clear language, often making you wonder why your other professors donÂ’t have that rich a vocabulary. She puts in astounding amounts of thought and effort into every student: her choice of readings is always intentionally diverse and brings out all sides of intellectual debates; and if you go see her during office hours she will make you feel like she was waiting just for you, and beside being friendly, you will always leave her office feeling less stressed and more focused, with a clearer grasp on what it is you need to…

Six 2-3 pg papers on weekly readings. Take home midterm and final (difficult questions that made you think).