This is a really interesting class. Since it's intro to political theory, most of the texts we looked at were pretty old. This class is very reading intensive, and a lot of the material took a lot of time to get through. No tests, just three writing assignments worth 25% each where you had to write about the three weeks of readings up to that point, which were organized b theme. Interesting lectures. Writing assignments were graded by TAs, so there was always some clarification to be made between the professor's expectations and the TA's. Very interesting class overall.

This class was made bearable by the professor. The readings are often not enjoyable at first glance but when the professor explains what is important, that perception shifts. Grades consisted of essays spread out during the quarter so focus your time into that and make sure to understand the main take away from each weeks readings. Panagia says there are no wrong answers as long as you explain your arguments in the essays well, however there are wrong answers so pick and choose your words carefully.
Overall, professor Panagia is a nice guy who is passionate about what he is teaching so if you have to take a GE I would recommend this one.

Although the professor says books are required during class, save your money and just find them online . It's helpful if you have an app on your phone that allows you to annotate the online version of the texts during class. I just used sparknotes and shmoop and when it came to the writing assignments, I just found the relevant parts of the text. His lectures are at times unclear, high-level, and fast so I'd advise using bruincast instead so you can pause and reflect on what he said.

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This was an amazing, but difficult class. I really learned a lot and was always engaged in lectures. The reading is scary at first but is actually easy to read and interesting. Our class grade was based on 3 essays (worth 25% each) and then 25% from discussion section pop quizzes. If you put a lot of time and effort into your essays than you can do well in this class, but it is not super easy. It is, however, extremely rewarding. This is the most interesting and rewarding class that I have taken at ucla so far.

I took this class during the fall quarter as a freshman. As a non-poli sci major and an average writer, I found this class a bit frustrating at the start. However, it is definitely doable. This is by no means an easy G.E but I would take this class again because I became a much better writer. Take this class if you a semi-challenging GE.

ONLY take this class if you 1) like philosophy and 2) like/are good at writing.
The course is certainly not a "political science" course, it is more philosophical. We read: Nietzsche, Plato, Aristotle, Martin Luther, St Augustine, the Bible, Rousseau, Hobbes, and Marx.
There is a significant amount of weekly reading, which you can sort of skimp on - then again, I didn't get an A so perhaps you really do have to do the entire assigned reading. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that this is not an "easy GE." If you like those authors, you will like this course.
Professor Panagia is an occasionally funny lecturer, but he tends to ramble and I'd be lying if I said I found his lectures captivating. That being said, if you ask him questions, he does often provide helpful answers.
Ultimately, the course depends near-entirely on your TA. When I asked my TA to read my "writing assignment," they said they would only read 3-4 sentences. I *heard* that other TA's would read the entire writing assignment.

Although this class is challenging, I'm very glad I took it. Professor Panagia is great and his lectures were interesting. There are 3 writing assignments throughout the quarter and the prompts are broad, so make sure to go to your TA for clarification and guidance. The weekly readings are pretty tough but Professor Panagia explains them in lecture, which is super helpful. Overall, I definitely recommend this class, but it isn't easy.

Very helpful and great guy. Class is NOT easy by any means, there is a lot of reading and the 3 writing assignments are quite challenging. Be sure to ask your TA a lot of questions, I had Rui as my TA and he was great and very helpful as well. Be sure to go to your section every week also, because that is a great place to get questions answered, as well as get other people's perspectives on the readings.

Honestly the most engaging class I've taken so far. The lectures were fascinating, the reading was relevant and interesting, and Panagia himself is just a great instructor. I will say that if you don't like theoretical thinking and broad spectrum ideas then this probably isn't the class for you. The reading can be dense, but if you put the time into it it's incredibly fun. The grading is based almost entirely on 4 essays, each worth 20%. The prompts can be a bit vague, so it's best to talk to your TA to see how they may want you to interpret them. There's no midterm or final, just those papers. If I could give one piece of advice it would be to go to Panagia's office hours. He's really willing talk with you about anything in the class and it's just generally a great way to have some really interesting conversations.