POL SCI 50
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 50R. Comparative study of constitutional principles, governmental institutions, and political processes in selected countries. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2025 - I liked this class a lot despite not really having much interest in IR or comparative politics. Prof. Homola lectures in a way that really helps to understand the concepts and he genuinely wants you to do well in the class. In my opinion there was a perfect amount of work:reading & if you didn't do great on one assignment/test you could still do well. There are 4 "Country Assignments", basically a sustained investigation on one country broken up into very loosely graded essays (I got a 10/10 on all 4 and never spent more that 3 hours on them). There is a midterm and final, our midterm was closed note & in person with a monitored browser - our class did not do well - so he offered to give the final in a class-picked format, which was on BruinLearn and open-note). Honestly I didn't find either test to be particularly difficult, got a B on the midterm and A on the final, you just need to review and understand the major concepts of the class-especially anything gone over in heavy detail or the assignments. Sections were mainly review of lecture, but tied in specific readings - I never did a single one of these readings and kept up fine. Overall, this class was not graded strict or too much of a workload, but I actually learned a lot about the topics discussed.
Spring 2025 - I liked this class a lot despite not really having much interest in IR or comparative politics. Prof. Homola lectures in a way that really helps to understand the concepts and he genuinely wants you to do well in the class. In my opinion there was a perfect amount of work:reading & if you didn't do great on one assignment/test you could still do well. There are 4 "Country Assignments", basically a sustained investigation on one country broken up into very loosely graded essays (I got a 10/10 on all 4 and never spent more that 3 hours on them). There is a midterm and final, our midterm was closed note & in person with a monitored browser - our class did not do well - so he offered to give the final in a class-picked format, which was on BruinLearn and open-note). Honestly I didn't find either test to be particularly difficult, got a B on the midterm and A on the final, you just need to review and understand the major concepts of the class-especially anything gone over in heavy detail or the assignments. Sections were mainly review of lecture, but tied in specific readings - I never did a single one of these readings and kept up fine. Overall, this class was not graded strict or too much of a workload, but I actually learned a lot about the topics discussed.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - I do not recommend this class. I loved comparative politics in high school (I even got a 5 on the AP test), but this class sapped my passion for it. Mr. Lofchie is a nice guy, but his lectures are not engaging at all, even though they are essential for the exams. The class is graded completely on two multiple-choice exams, based mostly on lectures and a bit on the readings. I found this somewhat unfair because a few students barely paid attention in class but did really well on exams because they had access to previous exams through test banks, whereas a lot of people studied really hard but barely survived the class because of how specific the multiple-choice questions were.
Spring 2019 - I do not recommend this class. I loved comparative politics in high school (I even got a 5 on the AP test), but this class sapped my passion for it. Mr. Lofchie is a nice guy, but his lectures are not engaging at all, even though they are essential for the exams. The class is graded completely on two multiple-choice exams, based mostly on lectures and a bit on the readings. I found this somewhat unfair because a few students barely paid attention in class but did really well on exams because they had access to previous exams through test banks, whereas a lot of people studied really hard but barely survived the class because of how specific the multiple-choice questions were.
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2018 - I took this course Summer of 2019. He was an excellent teacher and it really showed through this teaching efforts that he cared about student learning. I had a personal emergency and he was very understanding and accomdating when it came to the exams. I'm not saying he's hyper-lenient but he's fair and an understanding professor. Lecture slides were informative and had memes but definitely made more sense with the reading. Required reading is short and most if not all online. Exams are fair and applicative. I actually regret not getting to interact with him more because his interests in poly sci and stats are intriguing. Would definitely recommend and take course again. He's on his way to a well respected name in Political Science field of Academia.
Summer 2018 - I took this course Summer of 2019. He was an excellent teacher and it really showed through this teaching efforts that he cared about student learning. I had a personal emergency and he was very understanding and accomdating when it came to the exams. I'm not saying he's hyper-lenient but he's fair and an understanding professor. Lecture slides were informative and had memes but definitely made more sense with the reading. Required reading is short and most if not all online. Exams are fair and applicative. I actually regret not getting to interact with him more because his interests in poly sci and stats are intriguing. Would definitely recommend and take course again. He's on his way to a well respected name in Political Science field of Academia.
Most Helpful Review
Posner's Comparative Politics class is interesting. He goes over your run-of-the-mill comparative breadth (institutions, etc) and then moves on to globalization. He is well prepared and lectures very effectively. The course reader is quite expensive (~$80), but a breeze to read. On the tests, a simple definition and how it relates to the overarching ideas in the class would get you an A.
Posner's Comparative Politics class is interesting. He goes over your run-of-the-mill comparative breadth (institutions, etc) and then moves on to globalization. He is well prepared and lectures very effectively. The course reader is quite expensive (~$80), but a breeze to read. On the tests, a simple definition and how it relates to the overarching ideas in the class would get you an A.
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