Professor
Daniel Treisman
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Anyone interested in learning about Russia/other countries' political culture and process should absolutely take this class. Treisman is a wonderful professor; he is extremely passionate about Russia and lectures were always engaging. The reading was pretty average for an upper division political science class (50-100/week), but I found most of them to be pretty interesting. Overall would definitely recommend his class.
Fall 2022 - Anyone interested in learning about Russia/other countries' political culture and process should absolutely take this class. Treisman is a wonderful professor; he is extremely passionate about Russia and lectures were always engaging. The reading was pretty average for an upper division political science class (50-100/week), but I found most of them to be pretty interesting. Overall would definitely recommend his class.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - Professor Treisman is the real deal-- Harvard, Oxford, civilian economic advisor to the Russian government... and it shows. He's incredibly knowledgeable and is palpably very, very intelligent. He's an excellent, very clear lecturer, and is extremely organized. The class is very interesting. It's also one of the more difficult classes I've taken. I got an A on both papers, but the topical variety of the class was extremely broad, and the readings he assigned were often lengthy and difficult. Writing a successful paper was contingent on taking notes/citing the lectures (I assume this would be very difficult to do in-person where you can't rewatch lecture) and having a thorough understanding of most, if not all, of the readings (unlike some classes where you can get away with analyzing/reading just a few selected texts). My TA ended up giving me a low A minus section grade which resulted in me not receiving an A overall in the class, so I would recommend really making sure to speak a lot in section-- which is, again, predicated on you doing the readings, which are very time consuming. Overall, I'd say this class is worthwhile, mainly because the topics are interesting and Treisman is a renowned political scientist and seems to actually care about what he's teaching (a rarity in UCLA's political science dept), but you should take it with the understanding that while the class is fair and the content is clear, it is still difficult and demands a lot of reading time (took me roughly 4-5 hours a week) and effort put into the two papers.
Spring 2021 - Professor Treisman is the real deal-- Harvard, Oxford, civilian economic advisor to the Russian government... and it shows. He's incredibly knowledgeable and is palpably very, very intelligent. He's an excellent, very clear lecturer, and is extremely organized. The class is very interesting. It's also one of the more difficult classes I've taken. I got an A on both papers, but the topical variety of the class was extremely broad, and the readings he assigned were often lengthy and difficult. Writing a successful paper was contingent on taking notes/citing the lectures (I assume this would be very difficult to do in-person where you can't rewatch lecture) and having a thorough understanding of most, if not all, of the readings (unlike some classes where you can get away with analyzing/reading just a few selected texts). My TA ended up giving me a low A minus section grade which resulted in me not receiving an A overall in the class, so I would recommend really making sure to speak a lot in section-- which is, again, predicated on you doing the readings, which are very time consuming. Overall, I'd say this class is worthwhile, mainly because the topics are interesting and Treisman is a renowned political scientist and seems to actually care about what he's teaching (a rarity in UCLA's political science dept), but you should take it with the understanding that while the class is fair and the content is clear, it is still difficult and demands a lot of reading time (took me roughly 4-5 hours a week) and effort put into the two papers.
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Most Helpful Review
I took Treisman for PS169: The Roots of Democracy. I thought I would end up dreading the class based on the seemingly boring nature of the material, but I ended up really enjoying it. Treisman's lectures are clear, simple, and to the point. He uses very accessible language, which I like. He never rushes through lecture and is always willing to answer students' questions. He also ends class early most of the time. The midterm and final exams are six-page take home essays. There are two prompt options for each. It's pretty straightforward, but the TAs can be hard graders. Overall, I definitely recommend taking Treisman!
I took Treisman for PS169: The Roots of Democracy. I thought I would end up dreading the class based on the seemingly boring nature of the material, but I ended up really enjoying it. Treisman's lectures are clear, simple, and to the point. He uses very accessible language, which I like. He never rushes through lecture and is always willing to answer students' questions. He also ends class early most of the time. The midterm and final exams are six-page take home essays. There are two prompt options for each. It's pretty straightforward, but the TAs can be hard graders. Overall, I definitely recommend taking Treisman!
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