PLAP 1010

I was lucky and took AP Gov in high school and did well in it (got a 5 on AP exam but decided to take this class anyway) so I knew most of the material before even taking the class but if you dont, you're gonna have to teach it to yourself. Ceaser is a TERRIBLE lecturer and goes off on a lot of tangents and its so easy to stop listening. You would just be able to skip but thats only if your TA is good at going over what he said in lecture because theres always a few questions on midterm/final that are things he only talked about in lecture. Papers aren't bad but depends on who your TA is with regards to grading. If you're good at politics you'll be okay- I ended with an A bc im good at politics and had a good TA but may be difficult if you dont have these things.

What a snoozer. I mean it. It is unbearably difficult to sit and listen to Ceaser lecture for even 50 minutes. He goes on and on and on about random topics that are meaningless and contribute nothing to the lecture. No powerpoints, no notes on Collab, just him rambling about nothing. Lecture attendance is not needed if you want to keep your sanity. If you're feeling sleepy, feel free to stay in lecture as you'll be out cold as soon as Ceaser opens his mouth. This class could be moderately interesting to people who enjoy politics/history but not with Professor Ceaser. Sorry

This course feels like a high school class. It should honestly belong in the history department because it is more like a "History of American Politics" than an "Intro to American Politics" class. With that being said, it is a fairly easy class to take if you just need a politics class for a gen ed requirement. Would not recommend taking this class just for fun though. There are not many graded assignments in this class: 2 papers; midterm; final exam; and discussion section. The two papers are not long and fairly easy to write. They were not graded harshly. The midterm exam was all multiple choice and very easy. The final exam was all essay based. This course is very much memorization based, so as someone who struggles with that I had to study a lot, but I could see where a lot of people would not need to study very much to get an A in the course. It is important to go to lecture because Ceaser does not use PowerPoints or record lecture, so there is no way to get the content if you miss class. He is a very dry lecturer. I found it hard to stay focused in class because he was so boring. Furthermore, it is really hard to tell what is important because he just rambles and rambles without really emphasizing anything. If you have to take this course, it won't be that hard, just boring.

Good course, lots of reading. Combination of essays and exams which I thought was nice. My TA Emily was so nice and gave great feedback. Not a hard class as long as you do the readings. Only comment would be that lectures were sometimes scattered and Professor Ceaser would talk about many different topics that were kind of all over the place, which meant my notes were pretty disorganized and it was harder to go find stuff later. Overall, good class, if you work hard you will get a good grade.

This was a very standard and solid politics introduction class. I think a lot of people went in thinking that it would have super interesting topics and niche subjects, but this is quite literally "Introduction to American Politics." Of course, that meant that we would talk about foundations of American politics, which starts with the American revolution and colonial history, and then major American political institutions as the bulk of the course.

Professor Ceasar is one of those professors who you just know is really smart. He definitely knows the topic well and is quite passionate about the contents of the class. He does like to ramble a bit during lectures, but honestly I'd rather take a professor who rambles than a professor who reads straight off the slide or their notes with no added comments (definitely something to note though). He does also bring up present-day events and how they relate to the class, so it's not all history and hard facts.

The readings for each week are not bad at all. Usually, it's a chapter of the textbook (~30 pages) and an article that's like 5 pages or less. I think that that's very reasonable, especially for an American politics class.

Grades are split by 2 papers, 3 quizzes, discussion attendance and participation, and the final. I had the best TA (Amanuel, such a funny and nice guy, wishing him the best) who wrote super interesting discussion questions and made discussion good to attend even if it was 7:00pm and everyone was sleepy. I thought the grading for the papers and quizzes was very fair, and I thought the final was very reasonable and fairly easy.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this class! Low commitment, low in workload, and I liked it overall. It may not have been the most mind-blowing or intriguing class, but a good starter for politics and one I'm happy that I took. #tCFF23

This course provided a relatively low level of commitment, yet imparted a solid foundation in American politics. The 50-minute lecture format was convenient, though participation in a mandatory discussion section was required. Notably, TA Amanuel greatly enhanced the learning experience. His amiable demeanor, profound knowledge, and adept teaching style significantly facilitated comprehension of the course material.

While the course did not entail an exceedingly rigorous curriculum, it featured two papers, three quizzes, a final exam, and a discussion grade as the sole graded components. This structure made it challenging to recover from a poor performance in any of these assessments. The primary lecturer demonstrated considerable expertise, albeit with a slightly less approachable demeanor. Additionally, the teaching approach leaned towards traditional lecturing, lacking the integration of modern instructional tools such as PowerPoint presentations. In essence, the course adhered to a more conventional, 'old school' style of teaching.

#tCFF23 To be quite honest, Professor Ceaser does not format his class terribly hard. If you did well in AP gov, you will be fine. However, you must do the readings so you know what will be on the quizzes. For the final exam, it is less reading heavy. I say your grade lays in the hands of your TA. Luckily, I had a great TA who graded reasonably (not too hard but not easy either). Shoutout to Amaneul (sorry if I spelt his name wrong). It is easy to accidentally get a B+ in the class if you are too arrogant. I was averaging a B+ until after the final exam and final paper. I ended with an A- so yeah just be careful. Show up to discussion and participate. I would assume most people taking this course are interested in the law pathway, so this is foundational knowledge (aka...it would look bad if you don't do great in a somewhat easy class).