Richard Pious

Absolutely take this class! Although it starts out not too exciting, it is definitely worth it. Professor Pious is a relatively dry lecturer and the lectures are fast paced and filled with facts and require very fast and focused note taking as he reads from papers at the front of the class. Class rules are somewhat strict (no lateness, food, etc) and absences are not really tolerated. However, by the end of the semester, I was so glad I had taken the class. Pious conveyed massive amounts of really important information very well and in a way that was easy to understand. His lectures were without bias and based on facts and his huge wealth of knowledge on the topic. If you pay attention, the lectures are very interesting and very rewarding. The class grade is determined by three research papers. Although they seem daunting, he is wonderful in office hours and really happy to help. I ended up learning a huge amount from the paper writing experience as well. If you have any interest in environmental policy or politics or just politics in general definitely take this class, Pious is super smart and helpful and also low key very funny.

I can't decide how I feel about this course: on the one hand, it was interesting to learn from a really famous and respected academic, but on the other, his insights and readings were not particularly stimulating. It is difficult to participate because he spends most of the class lecturing, but I don't think he killed anyone on their participation grades. He is mostly just interested in your writing style. If he doesn't like the way you write, he doesn't offer much advice on how to change it- even in office hours, he just repeats what he says in class. I'm glad I took this class, but it didn't change my life or my writing style.

Pious is one of the most intelligent professors at Columbia. If you want to understand presidency, beyond mere history lessons, you should definitely consider taking his American Presidency class. The best thing about this class is that Pious grades papers himself so there is no headache of professors telling TA's that there must be only 2 A's and rest of them A- or B. He will give you an A if you use the readings and demonstrate your understanding of the materials discussed in class. The aim of the class is for you to learn and not just memorize. Consistent with this, you must attend class and give your full attention, meaning no drinking or eating in class. Taking notes are crucial in the take home exams as they help you organize your paper but you have to write fast to keep up with him. He is also very helpful in his office hours so you can make use of those when the papers are due.

I went into this class having heard mixed reviews about Pious, but I ended up loving him. He does the best he can to make government, which is typically a boring subject, as interesting as possible. He is extremely knowledgable, and has plenty of first-hand experience and interesting stories that relate to the class. Pious can come off as strict at first, but its definitely worth staying in the class. Be prepared to take a lot of notes- he moves quickly, but if you take good notes they will be really useful when you go to write your papers (especially if you skimmed/skipped some of the reading).

Look. It's Pious. He's strict about attendance and food, and he's arrogant as hell (you can make a good game of counting his references to the famous people he's taught or who've asked his advice on something or other). But he knows an amazing amount about the American Presidency, and he's a superb lecturer (as long as your notes can keep up with him). Plus, he responds quickly to email, is approachable and friendly in office hours, and grades every paper himself while still having them back quickly (do they have detailed written comments? no. what, you want everything? he will talk to you about them in office hours, though). Yeah, he makes you jump through a whole bunch of hoops (ask the kid who got bitched out for two minutes because he brought in a bottle of snapple), and yeah the reading for the American Presidency, especially, is insane (and you actually have to do it to write the papers). But it's totally worth it.

Don't let the course title deceive you. You won't actually learn anything in this class, except possibly in my opinion the fact that the people who gave Professor Pious tenure must never have sat in on his class. I spent the entire semester listening to other students read aloud their papers on various programs to combat world hunger via the UN. You could say that this course gave me a taste of the mind-numbing bureaucracy and cliquishness of slow-moving international committees. Yawn.

This class wasn't my favorite. While the topic was definitely interesting and Prof. Pious had a lot of insight to offer, his lectures were extremely dry. No powerpoint, no writing on the board, just him speaking very quietly and very quickly while everybody scrambled to keep up. I don't regret taking the class, since I did learn plenty about the political system and just how screwed up it is (especially when you look at it from an environmental angle), but it was definitely a chore to go to class. I'm not sure why he has a silver nugget. Maybe Prof. Pious is better in seminar, but for a lecture I'd skip him.

If you are a Barnard first-year, TAKE THIS CLASS! It will challenge you, and you will complain, but you are taking advantage of one of the best professors Barnard has to offer. I am still in shock that I was able to learn from such a stellar academic during my first semester. And the seminar is so intimate that you will actually have a relationship with Pious after the class. He is intimidating at the beginning, but you'll soon discover that he is incredibly understanding and relatable. Despite the impressive professor, the content of the class is not the most stimulating. It's mostly political philosophy (Plato, Orwell, Machiavelli, de Tocqueville, Mill, Bok.) That being said, the reading list consists of authors that you'll be glad you read. Many of the authors and selections overlap with LitHum requirements, so you can commiserate with Columbia College friends. Class periods are usually spent discussing the readings or analyzing "good writing" (mostly journalistic.) Pious wants your writing to dramatically improve over the semester, but the main focus is on crafting quality openings. He tends to reiterate the same advice throughout the entire semester, but his feedback is usually helpful, and he is always flexible about finding time to help (if you aren't too intimidated to go to office hours.) Be ready to question your writing style. Be ready to deal with a top-notch acade…

Richard Pious refers to himself in 3rd person when discussing his book and on the first paper. Nuff said. He's not that pretentious but he won't be your best friend. And his smile is about as warm as the Antarctica. But overall, he's another foxnews bashing, Hilary Clinton loving, liberal at Barnard. You must go to lectures but you CAN sleep thru them. Just dont let him catch you eating or on the phone. One time he called out this girl for eating a sandwich: "What is this a cafeteria? Put it away now!" This class tore me a new one. I pulled 3 all-nighters for each paper and literally had to read or skim every single freaking reading. This class intense and not for the last minute procrastinators like myself.You will work your ass off and get a B+/A-...Unless you are Barry Greenstein himself (one of his favorite presidential scholars). Best of luck friends!

He begins the class by trying to scare people out with both the overambitious reading list and the fact that an attendance sheet will be passed around each class. 2 absences before it hurts your grade; 4 before he drops you from the class. If attendance isn't a problem for you, can manage the reading in your own way, and can write an essay, you'll be fine. There is a lot of reading, but all the exams are take home essays in which you answer 1 or 2 of a selection of questions by using the readings (no outside research). Basically, he is making sure you have done the readings and have understood them. If you don't keep up with the readings before the essay topics are handed out, it is still possible to do the essays - as long as you understand that you'll have to reserve at least a solid weekend to write the essay, which is definitely doable. Prof. Pious is absolutely knowledgeable about his subject, at times his personality is irksome - he shows off; is anal retentive about having no computers, no drinks (no water), no food in the classroom. The class is not taught in a chronological manner - it is not a history class. Complete unfamiliarity with American history would make this class more difficult, but the readings cover background and there is usually time for questions like this during class.