PLPT 4500

This was my most stressful class this semester. While the readings were very interesting, they were unreasonably long. I do think, however, that after getting our comments at the end of the semester, Professor Rubenstein will start marking important passages or pages in the readings. This should be helpful for future students.

Class discussions were very lively because most of us were enthusiastic about the readings, but I imagine reciting would be difficult if you are introverted, if this is your first politics class, or if you are generally uninterested in the discussion topics. Often, I felt like we were going around in circles and at times, people just rephrased what others had already said. That said, if you are a public policy, PST, or philosophy major, this is class is probably your cup of tea.

Overall, while Professor Rubenstein is a lovely person, I would not recommend this class due to its heavy workload.

Class participation: ~25%
Weekly reading responses: ~25%
Midterm letter: ~20%
Final paper: ~30%

Politics of Emergencies with Rubenstein has been my favorite (as well as many of my classmates' favorite) class I've taken at UVA, and Rubenstein is my favorite professor I've ever had. Instead of lecturing, she has students do the readings, which are once a week and are usually tens of pages plus a 150-300 word reading response, and creates a comfortable environment for students to discuss their own ideas surrounding the readings to formulate their respective own thoughts on topics. This has resulted in no two students having the same exact thoughts on anything, as we all are forming separate ideas and discovering how we think individually. This class has taught me so much, both in terms of political theory and in how I approach thinking critically and problem solving. Aside from the weekly readings and reading responses, there is a midterm letter (5-6 pages) and a final paper (12-15 pages), as well as a participation grade although you just need to attend class and engage which is genuinely so easy to do in a 15 person class where everyone gets to know and like each other. Rubenstein is incredibly caring, funny, amazing, and down to earth. I am always so excited for this class, which is not something I've said so enthusiastically before. 100000% recommend, please take it (or any class) with Rubenstein if you can!