POL SCI 151A
African Politics: Government and Politics of Africa
Description: Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Comparative study of government and politics in contemporary Africa, with special attention to state/society relations, interaction of politics and economic development, political institutions, and conflict and conflict resolution. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - For the most part, this course was pretty interesting and undemanding. The map quiz during Week 1 was a little harsh - yes, you will have to remember the name, location, and capital of every Subsaharan African country by then. The midterm was rough and tested us on subjects that were glossed over in class. The majority of the class bombed it. The final wasn’t too bad, though.
Fall 2018 - For the most part, this course was pretty interesting and undemanding. The map quiz during Week 1 was a little harsh - yes, you will have to remember the name, location, and capital of every Subsaharan African country by then. The midterm was rough and tested us on subjects that were glossed over in class. The majority of the class bombed it. The final wasn’t too bad, though.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2025 - I would highly recommend this class! Posner is an engaging lecturer and TA Dan Harker was amazing, I would also recommend him. The class was very interesting and also pretty easy. The midterm paper was based on an interesting novel that wasn’t very long and was easy to connect to the course. The midterm and final exams were a lot of writing and definitely required studying but they were very fair. The professor sends out a list of terms to study and if you truly study them well and have attended class regularly then you can do well. It is important that you come to class because lectures are not recorded and the slides posted are mostly just pictures. Also a lot of the concepts he asks about on the final aren’t things you can find enough about online. I went to every lecture but didn’t do any readings and I did well, I just did the necessary readings that I needed to understand certain terms from the final study guide as part of my studying.
Winter 2025 - I would highly recommend this class! Posner is an engaging lecturer and TA Dan Harker was amazing, I would also recommend him. The class was very interesting and also pretty easy. The midterm paper was based on an interesting novel that wasn’t very long and was easy to connect to the course. The midterm and final exams were a lot of writing and definitely required studying but they were very fair. The professor sends out a list of terms to study and if you truly study them well and have attended class regularly then you can do well. It is important that you come to class because lectures are not recorded and the slides posted are mostly just pictures. Also a lot of the concepts he asks about on the final aren’t things you can find enough about online. I went to every lecture but didn’t do any readings and I did well, I just did the necessary readings that I needed to understand certain terms from the final study guide as part of my studying.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2026 - Professor Roberts seems like a genuinely kind person who has done meaningful work, and that comes through in his teaching. That said, the organization of the course can feel inconsistent at times. For example, early in the quarter there was some confusion with participation grades that caused concern for a large portion of the class before it was eventually addressed. The reading quizzes are straightforward and actually serve as a helpful study guide for the exams, though the readings themselves can be fairly dense. You’re allowed to bring a double-sided cheat sheet (typed if you prefer), which is useful—but time management during exams is important. In our case, the final was scheduled during a regular class period rather than finals week, which made the time feel more limited than expected. There is also a group presentation and paper based on a country research project. The workload for this is manageable, especially with a collaborative group, and overall it’s not overly time-consuming. Overall, despite some organizational challenges, the class is very manageable. If you stay on top of the readings and attend regularly, it’s very possible to do well in the course.
Fall 2026 - Professor Roberts seems like a genuinely kind person who has done meaningful work, and that comes through in his teaching. That said, the organization of the course can feel inconsistent at times. For example, early in the quarter there was some confusion with participation grades that caused concern for a large portion of the class before it was eventually addressed. The reading quizzes are straightforward and actually serve as a helpful study guide for the exams, though the readings themselves can be fairly dense. You’re allowed to bring a double-sided cheat sheet (typed if you prefer), which is useful—but time management during exams is important. In our case, the final was scheduled during a regular class period rather than finals week, which made the time feel more limited than expected. There is also a group presentation and paper based on a country research project. The workload for this is manageable, especially with a collaborative group, and overall it’s not overly time-consuming. Overall, despite some organizational challenges, the class is very manageable. If you stay on top of the readings and attend regularly, it’s very possible to do well in the course.
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