Professor
Daniel Posner
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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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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - I felt like professor posner was really engaging with his lectures but my only qualm with this class is the variability in TA harshness. If you have a lenient TA who is willing to hear your arguments out and actually allows participation, you will likely do well. If that is not the case, you might be unfairly penalized and not get a grade that reflects your understanding of the material. tldr: the TA matters A LOT
Spring 2022 - I felt like professor posner was really engaging with his lectures but my only qualm with this class is the variability in TA harshness. If you have a lenient TA who is willing to hear your arguments out and actually allows participation, you will likely do well. If that is not the case, you might be unfairly penalized and not get a grade that reflects your understanding of the material. tldr: the TA matters A LOT
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
167C Political Development One of the most interesting classes I have ever taken at UCLA. The midterm and finals are very clear with what is on them before, so you know what to study (and you actually have to know your stuff) Posner really wants you to learn. he is a great lecturer who picks great TAs (ruth was really helpful). the weekly questions keep you in the loop in case you miss a reading or two. TAKE THIS CLASS
167C Political Development One of the most interesting classes I have ever taken at UCLA. The midterm and finals are very clear with what is on them before, so you know what to study (and you actually have to know your stuff) Posner really wants you to learn. he is a great lecturer who picks great TAs (ruth was really helpful). the weekly questions keep you in the loop in case you miss a reading or two. TAKE THIS CLASS
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2025 - This class is super interesting, I really enjoyed it. The readings are definitely manageable and compelling. The TAs are very helpful, definitely be sure to attend and contribute to discussion sections. The class was technically an in class midterm and final but because of the turbulence with ICE at the time, he made the final no harm. We had a take home essay that accompanied the midterm which was really interesting and a unique assignment. We had 24ish hours to take write a 5 (I think) page essay where you basically just have to connect class concepts and apply them to a scenario. Ahead of the in class midterm and final he will give you terms to study, which you will then define on the test. So just make a quizlet and you will do well. You definitely need to focus in class as his slides are basically just graphs and pictures, but you can learn a ton if you listen closely. Overall, great class, if you put in like 70%+ effort you will get an A and learn a lot.
Spring 2025 - This class is super interesting, I really enjoyed it. The readings are definitely manageable and compelling. The TAs are very helpful, definitely be sure to attend and contribute to discussion sections. The class was technically an in class midterm and final but because of the turbulence with ICE at the time, he made the final no harm. We had a take home essay that accompanied the midterm which was really interesting and a unique assignment. We had 24ish hours to take write a 5 (I think) page essay where you basically just have to connect class concepts and apply them to a scenario. Ahead of the in class midterm and final he will give you terms to study, which you will then define on the test. So just make a quizlet and you will do well. You definitely need to focus in class as his slides are basically just graphs and pictures, but you can learn a ton if you listen closely. Overall, great class, if you put in like 70%+ effort you will get an A and learn a lot.
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