POL SCI 119
Special Studies in Political Theory
Description: Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Preparation: one course in Field I. Requisite: course 10. Designed for juniors/seniors. Intensive examination of one or more special problems appropriate to political theory. Sections offered on regular basis, with topics announced in preceding term. May be repeated for credit with topic change. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Professor Pagden is absolutely brilliant! I had initial qualms about taking this class, and sitting through the first lecture did not really help at all because he is so smart and talks a little too fast sometimes, that it just seems like his mind is all over the place! But I'm glad that I decided to stick with this class-it was very interesting. The class is graded according to 2 papers- and he gives you several prompts for each paper topic that it's just very hard not to get an A in this class. Just pick one that suits you best! I think that one of the ngatives of this course was the reading-it was a little difficult to understand. However, Professor Pagden does go through the important points during lecture, so I would recommend going to lecture so you know what to write your paper on... he also doesn't post the lecture slides online either, so bring a laptop to class and take good notes!! But overall, wonderful professor. Now that I graduated from UCLA with a polisci degree, I can look back and say that he is one of the most knowledgeble and best professors I had here in my four years.
Professor Pagden is absolutely brilliant! I had initial qualms about taking this class, and sitting through the first lecture did not really help at all because he is so smart and talks a little too fast sometimes, that it just seems like his mind is all over the place! But I'm glad that I decided to stick with this class-it was very interesting. The class is graded according to 2 papers- and he gives you several prompts for each paper topic that it's just very hard not to get an A in this class. Just pick one that suits you best! I think that one of the ngatives of this course was the reading-it was a little difficult to understand. However, Professor Pagden does go through the important points during lecture, so I would recommend going to lecture so you know what to write your paper on... he also doesn't post the lecture slides online either, so bring a laptop to class and take good notes!! But overall, wonderful professor. Now that I graduated from UCLA with a polisci degree, I can look back and say that he is one of the most knowledgeble and best professors I had here in my four years.
Most Helpful Review
Course: PS 119- Politics and Human Rights in Israel Prof. Perez is a good professor, but I wouldn't rate him up there with the best. He's very knowledgeable about the subject (Israeli Politics), but can be somewhat hard to follow in lecture. He hardly ever writes anything on the board, speaks in an accident, doesn't post lecture slides online, and talks pretty fast. That being said, he makes himself available in office hours, and enjoys student participation. He has always been open to hearing students' opinions, even though he may not necessarily agree with you. The course itself was very reading-intensive. More so than any other class I've taken here. We were assigned about 60-100 pages of PDF reading each week, and an additional 120 pages or so for the midterm and paper. I found it impossible to do it all (the supplemental reading for the midterm/paper basically forces you to get behind on the normal assigned reading), and think I would have learned more had I had time to digest what I was reading rather than constantly struggling to do it all. I think this part of the class was kindof overkill, and something that Prof. Perez will hopefully improve in the future. That being said, the reading was usually at least moderately interesting, so it wasn't boring; just a lot in volume. Also, do not take this class if you don't think you can be awake enough to follow along at 8 am. For the aforementioned reasons, you really do have to pay attention in lecture, and he will call you out if you arrive late, leave early, or fall asleep. It has already happened 2 or 3 times this quarter. Lastly, I will warn future students that this class is pretty challenging if you don't know anything about Israeli politics. The country is very complex politically and religiously, something I underestimated coming into the class. I feel that I've learned a lot, and I'm happy I took the course. But, do not count on it being an easy A. Kudos to the student below me for earning an A+; based on my conversations with my classmates, that's a rarity in this course. In short: Take this class if only if you're truly interested in the subject. If you take it because you have a passion for learning about Israel, and think the benefits of doing so will outweigh an easy-A grade, take it. Professor Perez will show you an interesting side of democracy. If you're looking for an A without much work, definitely look elsewhere.
Course: PS 119- Politics and Human Rights in Israel Prof. Perez is a good professor, but I wouldn't rate him up there with the best. He's very knowledgeable about the subject (Israeli Politics), but can be somewhat hard to follow in lecture. He hardly ever writes anything on the board, speaks in an accident, doesn't post lecture slides online, and talks pretty fast. That being said, he makes himself available in office hours, and enjoys student participation. He has always been open to hearing students' opinions, even though he may not necessarily agree with you. The course itself was very reading-intensive. More so than any other class I've taken here. We were assigned about 60-100 pages of PDF reading each week, and an additional 120 pages or so for the midterm and paper. I found it impossible to do it all (the supplemental reading for the midterm/paper basically forces you to get behind on the normal assigned reading), and think I would have learned more had I had time to digest what I was reading rather than constantly struggling to do it all. I think this part of the class was kindof overkill, and something that Prof. Perez will hopefully improve in the future. That being said, the reading was usually at least moderately interesting, so it wasn't boring; just a lot in volume. Also, do not take this class if you don't think you can be awake enough to follow along at 8 am. For the aforementioned reasons, you really do have to pay attention in lecture, and he will call you out if you arrive late, leave early, or fall asleep. It has already happened 2 or 3 times this quarter. Lastly, I will warn future students that this class is pretty challenging if you don't know anything about Israeli politics. The country is very complex politically and religiously, something I underestimated coming into the class. I feel that I've learned a lot, and I'm happy I took the course. But, do not count on it being an easy A. Kudos to the student below me for earning an A+; based on my conversations with my classmates, that's a rarity in this course. In short: Take this class if only if you're truly interested in the subject. If you take it because you have a passion for learning about Israel, and think the benefits of doing so will outweigh an easy-A grade, take it. Professor Perez will show you an interesting side of democracy. If you're looking for an A without much work, definitely look elsewhere.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - This is in response to his Latin American Political Theory – Rocco is very knowledgeable, and I liked the course material a lot; however the class was terribly structured. Rocco would have us do these extremely difficult quizzes that were more about memorization than understanding the concepts (one time the average was a 4/15). The concepts were difficult to understand, and he did not spend a lot of time helping students understand them more. The final consisted of an 8-10 page response paper that asked students to basically regurgitate the readings/lecture back to him, and did not let students know that attendance would severely affect peoples' grades (class was on zoom, if you missed more than 2 classes you could see your grade drop up to a whole letter grade depending on how he was feeling). Id caution anyone thinking about taking this class.
Spring 2022 - This is in response to his Latin American Political Theory – Rocco is very knowledgeable, and I liked the course material a lot; however the class was terribly structured. Rocco would have us do these extremely difficult quizzes that were more about memorization than understanding the concepts (one time the average was a 4/15). The concepts were difficult to understand, and he did not spend a lot of time helping students understand them more. The final consisted of an 8-10 page response paper that asked students to basically regurgitate the readings/lecture back to him, and did not let students know that attendance would severely affect peoples' grades (class was on zoom, if you missed more than 2 classes you could see your grade drop up to a whole letter grade depending on how he was feeling). Id caution anyone thinking about taking this class.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Professor Trojan is definitely an interesting character. He is very passionate about the material, so it makes class funny as he is always jumping and stimming. This is the second class (Jurisprudence) I took with him (the 1st being his Con Law Class), and I genuinely enjoyed both classes. His lectures are typically run in a discussion-style where he spends the class period asking students questions. This means that the time he has to go over his own slides is limited. This can be frustrating at times; however, I do think this style is effective. In both classes, I managed to get a high A, and my biggest tip is to only listen to what Professor Trojan says. Many students will have their own opinions on the readings, and oftentimes, I agree with their ideas, but it is unfortunately Trojan who grades the exams at the end of the day. Again, this can be frustrating to students who participate a lot and share their own ideas, but personally, I think it makes his exams easier. Both exams this quarter were open-book, and I managed to do well simply by paraphrasing what the readings say. I do not think his courses are difficult, despite other reviews. And, I do agree that he has his "chosen" students. However, it is very possible to still achieve an A. In both classes, I have never spoken a word; Trojan does not know who I am, and still, I received an A. With that said, this course is broken into 2 exams and 1 final paper. Trojan struggles in offering clarity for his assignments, as both papers for both classes were pretty difficult to write because he did not provide much help. Still, it is very doable! I would not recommend him as an easy "A," however, I do not think it is necessarily extremely difficult. I end this review with two tips if you plan on taking his future classes: 1. Only write down what Trojan says during lectures, not what other students say. 2. Do the readings and write notes in them, as it will be very helpful during the exams.
Fall 2025 - Professor Trojan is definitely an interesting character. He is very passionate about the material, so it makes class funny as he is always jumping and stimming. This is the second class (Jurisprudence) I took with him (the 1st being his Con Law Class), and I genuinely enjoyed both classes. His lectures are typically run in a discussion-style where he spends the class period asking students questions. This means that the time he has to go over his own slides is limited. This can be frustrating at times; however, I do think this style is effective. In both classes, I managed to get a high A, and my biggest tip is to only listen to what Professor Trojan says. Many students will have their own opinions on the readings, and oftentimes, I agree with their ideas, but it is unfortunately Trojan who grades the exams at the end of the day. Again, this can be frustrating to students who participate a lot and share their own ideas, but personally, I think it makes his exams easier. Both exams this quarter were open-book, and I managed to do well simply by paraphrasing what the readings say. I do not think his courses are difficult, despite other reviews. And, I do agree that he has his "chosen" students. However, it is very possible to still achieve an A. In both classes, I have never spoken a word; Trojan does not know who I am, and still, I received an A. With that said, this course is broken into 2 exams and 1 final paper. Trojan struggles in offering clarity for his assignments, as both papers for both classes were pretty difficult to write because he did not provide much help. Still, it is very doable! I would not recommend him as an easy "A," however, I do not think it is necessarily extremely difficult. I end this review with two tips if you plan on taking his future classes: 1. Only write down what Trojan says during lectures, not what other students say. 2. Do the readings and write notes in them, as it will be very helpful during the exams.
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