PLIR 3010

Good class! Learned alot, Marina was a bit of a tough grader... 2 papers, 1 midterm and a pretty easy final

Amazing class, the midterm is a little tricky and the papers are challenging. Yet, Legro is a great professor!

Professor Legro is a good professor. He's very helpful when you visit him at office hours. As a first year student I feel that I learned a lot in his class, at least more than in my other foreign affairs classes. His class gave me a basic understanding about the major theories of international relations. Legro's class format is a little unorthodox for a class of about 200 people (he has us read articles and asks us questions on the article to get main points for most of the class) but it is fun if you get involved in it. He gives two papers, which are different from any other types of papers I wrote but they are still fun and should boost your grade if you spend time on them. His midterm and final are very easy if you study hard for them.

Overall an excellent class...the reading isn't terrible, especially if you're experienced in IR reading already...the papers are difficult since they're purely hypothetical, but if you talk to your TA or Legro then it's much easier. An extremely enjoyable class, and Legro is an amazing lecturer who keeps you very engaged.

Very engaging and interesting class. Legro is a knowledgeable, skilled teacher who motivates students to think critically about different theories found in the readings. Despite its size, this class is taught like a seminar, with some group work, constant class participation, and great back-and-forths between Legro and students. Extremely refreshing compared to large, impersonal lectures. If you're interested in IR then PLIR 3010 is a must-take.

The classroom environment was fun.Attendance is necessary though, it's one of those classes you will be penalized for skipping. Throughout the semester Legro divided us into groups of 6 to discuss the coursework. He managed to conduct a discussion with 150 students and was very entertaining. There were 2 papers assigned and they were tough, but the final and midterm were fine if one kept up with readings. Entertaining class and great way to teach one how to think about politics/research. Visit Professor/TA during office hours if you have any problems.

Great class! Legro's lectures are pretty engaging and the material was interesting. He encourages class participation by putting us in small groups. It's not at all the feel of a large class lecture. Not much work; 2 pretty tough but short papers, and a reading or two for each class. We also have to do "theory journals" in which we analyze the authors' arguments in a causal diagram. Overall about 2 hours a week spent on this class unless you have 1 of the papers due! The midterm was tough (10 question multiple choice) and I haven't taken the final yet but overall a great class and I recommend it!

Professor Legro's class is difficult but is one of the best classes I have taken at UVA. You have to stay on top of the readings but the readings are all directly applicable to what we are discussing without any excess fluff reading. Profesor Legro uses lectures to probe students thoughts on the subject and splits the class into groups for discussion during class. Professor Legro focuses on breaking down the articles and theories to their basic arguments which he then relates to the course as a whole. If you are willing to do the work this class can be an amazing experience, if you're not... good luck.

This class is a very broad overview about the great theories and thinkers within the field of international relations. Professor Legro is so knowledgeable and he manages to create a 180+ person lecture into a giant organized discussion. He really encourages people to think critically about readings and such a fantastic professor. The course itself though is really tough, definitely not an easy class and the papers are graded very harshly. The readings can be a bit confusing but they are usually cleared up in lecture. If you're looking for a class that gives an in-depth look into the field of international relations this is for you.

PLIR 3010 is an interesting take on politics - trying to approach it from the scientific method, aka making lots of casual diagrams to hash out the arguments. I learned a ton about the popular ways of looking at international politics are and what diplomats and such use to look at foreign conflicts/peace. Prof. Legro was good at getting a huge lecture hall to work like discussion but this was at the sacrifice of shooting down students with any comments that weren't on the same page as he was.

We have readings for each class, one or two of which we had to diagram in our theory journals. He would always go over the diagrams in class and the diagrams are graded for completion, so just take notes and you will be fine. That said, the essays are a different beast altogether. I was completely butchered by the first essay because I didn't really try too much and didn't follow the rubric too well (it's less a history paper and more a persuasive logical one). The second one I did much better, so there is redemption (think 70% to 90%). With the second paper they graded more harshly (my TA, Scroggs, was picky...) but I also went to office hours for my 2nd paper 3 times and started writing it two weeks ahead of time.

The midterm was terrible because it was 10 multiple choice questions. So I saw this one student had 2/10 = 20%...it was an absolute warzone that day. I think that if you had all the theories (from the theory journal, which if you kept up with it, you'd be good) in your head pretty straight the way the professor interpreted it, then you'd be okay for an >80%. Otherwise it was shooting students in a barrel.

The final was nothing like that, and the points were more spread out. It was 16 IDs (5 pts ea) but for the theories (which definitely had a negative impact on my BP and cortisol levels) and two short answer. So yeah it wasn't much better than the midterm but I thought it was better than only having 10 MC standing between you and the chasm of a failing grade.