POL SCI 40
Introduction to American Politics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Basic institutions and processes of democratic politics. Treatment of themes such as constitutionalism, representation, participation, and leadership coupled with particular emphasis on the American case. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
3 of 5
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2021 - I took Poli Sci 40 online with Bradley during CSI. He is very knowledgeable about the topic and is good at answering questions. He reuses lectures from the original professor of the class, and he publishes prewritten lecture notes which are literally everything he says out loud, so if you study those, you'll be fine. The exams are two parts each: a multiple choice and an outline of an essay. He is a fair grader. If you read the textbook, pay attention, and look at the lecture notes, you'll be fine. Bradley is very nice and willing to help everyone!
Summer 2021 - I took Poli Sci 40 online with Bradley during CSI. He is very knowledgeable about the topic and is good at answering questions. He reuses lectures from the original professor of the class, and he publishes prewritten lecture notes which are literally everything he says out loud, so if you study those, you'll be fine. The exams are two parts each: a multiple choice and an outline of an essay. He is a fair grader. If you read the textbook, pay attention, and look at the lecture notes, you'll be fine. Bradley is very nice and willing to help everyone!
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Dr. Patterson is my favorite Political Science professor at UCLA by far. He really knows how to engage his classes with his informative and entertaining lectures. Often times I find myself spacing out during long lectures, but Dr. Patterson knows how to make his presentations very relevant and even squeezes in interactive Kahoot quizzes for easy participation points. Dr. Patterson is very approachable and easy to talk to, and I am lucky to have been able to take his class two quarters in a row, and I am excited to continue to do so next quarter. He is also open to doing research together if you are looking to go down that path. He is an amazing professor who deserves only the best perks at UCLA.
Winter 2019 - Dr. Patterson is my favorite Political Science professor at UCLA by far. He really knows how to engage his classes with his informative and entertaining lectures. Often times I find myself spacing out during long lectures, but Dr. Patterson knows how to make his presentations very relevant and even squeezes in interactive Kahoot quizzes for easy participation points. Dr. Patterson is very approachable and easy to talk to, and I am lucky to have been able to take his class two quarters in a row, and I am excited to continue to do so next quarter. He is also open to doing research together if you are looking to go down that path. He is an amazing professor who deserves only the best perks at UCLA.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Insanely easy class. Barely any HW, online-asynchronus quizzes and tests (lockdown browser annoying, but still easy) and one easy paper about the flaws of AI. I would reccomend taking this class w/ friends or meet people early on in the class. That way, you can take the quizzes and tests together and collaborate on work to make sure you're getting a good score. Theoretically, you could AI the quizzes and tests and still do pretty well, but I only would use it to check answers sometimes and that worked very well. It's interesting stuff too, but I may be biased as a Poli Sci major. I did learn a good amount of stuff, and rarely got bored during lectures. And the lectures are well prepared, organized, easy to follow, all that stuff. For a college class, it's way above average than most other ones in terms of content. I went to Payson's OH once, and she is super nice and cares about her students. Super knowledgable prof, nothing bad to say about her. Only complaint I have is that an A+ is hard to get: Payson only gives out A+ for students with a 99% or above in the class. Since I want to go to grad school, having an A+ would've been beneficial for me, but whatever, not a big deal at all. Just weird that a 97 isn't an A+ like most other classes. Overall, very thankful for the easy A and interesting material this course brought. Made my quarter significantly easier. Take it if it's open, you won't regret it.
Fall 2025 - Insanely easy class. Barely any HW, online-asynchronus quizzes and tests (lockdown browser annoying, but still easy) and one easy paper about the flaws of AI. I would reccomend taking this class w/ friends or meet people early on in the class. That way, you can take the quizzes and tests together and collaborate on work to make sure you're getting a good score. Theoretically, you could AI the quizzes and tests and still do pretty well, but I only would use it to check answers sometimes and that worked very well. It's interesting stuff too, but I may be biased as a Poli Sci major. I did learn a good amount of stuff, and rarely got bored during lectures. And the lectures are well prepared, organized, easy to follow, all that stuff. For a college class, it's way above average than most other ones in terms of content. I went to Payson's OH once, and she is super nice and cares about her students. Super knowledgable prof, nothing bad to say about her. Only complaint I have is that an A+ is hard to get: Payson only gives out A+ for students with a 99% or above in the class. Since I want to go to grad school, having an A+ would've been beneficial for me, but whatever, not a big deal at all. Just weird that a 97 isn't an A+ like most other classes. Overall, very thankful for the easy A and interesting material this course brought. Made my quarter significantly easier. Take it if it's open, you won't regret it.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - I took this during spring COVID quarter (online), so just keep that in mind. Peris seems like a really nice guy, and was super accomodating through all the craziness going on in the world. He lessened our workload, and the midterm was really fair considering all the content we went over. He made the final optional and eased the grading scale a bunch, too. His lectures were engaging and funny at times, and he even connected his lectures to some current events, which was interesting. I really enjoyed his approach to the class. PS he did get in trouble for saying the n-word while reading MLK's Birmingham letter during the George Floyd protests. He obviously shouldn't have done it, and it was hurtful people (esp BIPOC) even though he emphasized that he was saying it for historical context, and not to be malicious. His apology seemed genuine, and if it wasn't for that, I think he would really represent UCLA well as a full time prof.
Spring 2020 - I took this during spring COVID quarter (online), so just keep that in mind. Peris seems like a really nice guy, and was super accomodating through all the craziness going on in the world. He lessened our workload, and the midterm was really fair considering all the content we went over. He made the final optional and eased the grading scale a bunch, too. His lectures were engaging and funny at times, and he even connected his lectures to some current events, which was interesting. I really enjoyed his approach to the class. PS he did get in trouble for saying the n-word while reading MLK's Birmingham letter during the George Floyd protests. He obviously shouldn't have done it, and it was hurtful people (esp BIPOC) even though he emphasized that he was saying it for historical context, and not to be malicious. His apology seemed genuine, and if it wasn't for that, I think he would really represent UCLA well as a full time prof.
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3 of 5
