POL SCI 10
THIS IS NOT AN "EASY A" CLASS.

Sissa is super boring and has a thick accent. She often goes around in circles during her lectures.

The reading is extremely heavy. I personally did not read any of the material and received an A for the quarter.

1) DO NOT waste your time reading the material; its all too much and a waste of time
2) Take a picture of every slide; or if you type fast copy WORD FOR WORD the slides (they are not provided online most of the time although her lectures are podcasted)
3) Record what she says and write it down in your notes as best as possible (THIS IS IMPORTANT)

I went to two lectures before I realized it was a waste of time. I watched her lectures and would pause the video to type everything she was saying (keep in mind that she repeats things a lot). All I used were her own words on explaining the quotes on the slides to study for the midterms.

Grading-
10% Participation in lecture/Showing up to lecture
20% Midterm #1
20% Midterm #2
20% Midterm #3
30% Essay (Your Final)

You get a Midterm every 3 weeks, so it's extremely difficult catching up if you fall behind. My TA was NAVEED and he was a fair grader in my opinion. Your TA has almost 100% control of your grade because he/she grades your midterms and final paper. Midterms are 5 quotes in which you have to identify the work, author, speaker, and analyze. There's about 3-4 readings for each midterm. (The readings range at about 60-200 pages each)

Overall, THIS IS NOT THE EASIEST POL SCI. Take 40 if you need an easier class.

I love Professor Sissa. She is one of the nicest, most approachable professors I've had so far. Poli Sci 10 is pretty easy. Her lectures coincide with the tests. As long as you are knowledgeable of the readings, you'll do fine in the class.
Sissa can tend to talk in circles sometimes during lecture, but overall I found them to be interesting. Sissa is so nice and really cares about her students. I went to her office hours and she was very warm and helpful.

LOVED this class. She was able to keep my attention the entire lecture, even when it was over an hour and a half of her just talking and I had gotten two hours of sleep the night before. I thought all of the texts except one were very interesting, and they are on Sparknotes if they are ever too dry or confusing. I liked how the midterms were graded because we knew exactly what to do to get an A. But let me be clear, you cannot get away with not having read or not completely understanding the texts. There is one text (average 70 pages) every week, so it will pile up if you're not careful. Section is helpful and lectures are very thorough. No surprises on the midterms and the final was hard, but doable. Definitely recommend Sissa.

The format of her exams and lectures are pretty accurate from past posts. I would not recommend taking this as an "easy GE." I, myself, am a political science major and I absolutely loved her class. Sissa is truly passionate about political theory. Exams and the lecture format really teach students to see the relevance of political theory in other concentrations and even within other majors. She is extremely approachable and easy to carry on a dialogue with. By discussing your ideas or addressing your questions one-on-one with her, you can really get a feel for what she wants you to get out of her course. Even if political theory is not your forte or of any interest to you, this class is still doable! For each exam, we were required to read about 3 or 4 texts and I always skimmed them the night before or the morning of. After the first exam, you also need to briefly compare the current theorists you're discussing to a previous one. If you take good notes in class and discussion and review those as well, you can't go wrong when it comes to the exam. These tactics earned me an A-. Just make sure you pay attention the first time around and you should be fine!

Sweet person, not that great of a lecturer, but you could tell she enjoyed what she did. Tests were fair, a good TA is important. I'd recommend the class.

Test

Sissa's PS10 class is doable. There are three midterms (60%) and a final (30%). Each midterm has the same format: she gives you 5 quotes which you must identify (Author & Title) and comment on/compare to other works. That being said, her reputation as a boring lecturer is pretty accurate. For the most part she did not elaborate on any of her slides, but merely read them. Her class was incredibly disorganized, no syllabus and constant shifting of readings and expectations. The TAs were helpful for prepping for midterms but otherwise ineffective as this is a grade-driven course.