Definitely one of my favorite classes that I have taken here just because of how awesome John is. He makes the material interesting even if you know nothing about it, and is very fair in his grading system. There was only a midterm, final, and then 7 short MC quizzes with 2 of the lowest ones being dropped. He offered a few points of extra credit but not enough to really change anything unless you are about half a percent away from a grade bump. Midterm and final are both framed so that you get to choose 8/10 short answer questions of about 200 words, along with a short essay that answers another longer question. I thought the class was more than fair and would definitely take it again.

I really enjoyed PS119 - Premodern East Asian Political Thought with Branstetter. The subject itself is very interesting, and Branstetter covers a wide range of thought - from Confucianism to Zen Buddhism and beyond. Lectures are very well-paced, and Branstetter always answers questions and keeps students engaged. Even though some of the material can get a bit complex, he does a great job in conveying the important parts of the information in an engaging, helpful manner.

The graded material consists of a midterm, a final, and some reading quizzes. The quizzes are fairly straightforward and easy, and just test whether you've read the material or not for the day. The midterm and the final both consist of a series of short answer questions and a longer essay question. I found that none of the exam questions were out of left field or confusing. While the questions covered expansive topics, they were all explained thoroughly throughout the course. Doing the readings is also very important, and lectures can become bewildering if you haven't engaged with the assigned readings.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this class. Branstetter was a fair grader who consistently engaged with students throughout lecture. The readings, as I mentioned, are important to do even if they can be quite dense at times.

Branstetter is one of my favorite profs - this is the second class of his that I've taken! He's really smart, funny, and cares about his students. This class mainly goes over Marx's Capital Vol. 1, which is a *very* heavy read. However, Branstetter does an amazing job of breaking down the reading and pulling out the most important points. The course itself has 7 unannounced quizzes to make sure you keep up with the reading (lowest 2 scores are dropped), a midterm, and a final. Overall, the quizzes/exams aren't too bad as long as you've done the readings and paid attention in class to get a real understanding of the material. You definitely have to put in the work to do well in this class, but it's worth it!

Professor Branstetter is one of the most engaging professors at UCLA. What I appreciated most about this course is how much it opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about political theory, I even became a politcal theory concentration because I loved it. The material is dense, but he goes over it so we’ll in class that you’ll always have a great understanding. He wants you to get an A, and will work with you as much as he can to help you succeed. Gives thorough feedback, fair assignments, and overall an amazing class. Would recommend over and over agin.

Very easy class. Just do the weekly journals and you're good. He even allows you to redo them as many times as you want in order to get a better grade. I didn't read half of any of the readings, and I was able to get by fine by just finding a couple of relevant quotes and going from there.

Amazing class: the usual from Branstetter. While the material is quite challenging, the lectures will help get you through it. I'd highly recommend doing all the reading, even if it's just skimming, but absolutely positively go to lecture. Nothing made sense to me toward the latter half of the quarter. The only reason I was able to end as strongly as I did was because of lecture and because I went back and corroborated it with the reading. That said, it's probably my least favorite Branstetter class. I think his East Asian PT and Comparative PT classes are way better. I think the material in those classes suit him better. Nonetheless, you will not go wrong with this class.

I cannot stress this enough, by far my favorite professor at UCLA. Professor Branstetter is an awesome lecturer, has super engaging materials, and makes you think about political science from a different perspective. He is also very approachable and accommodating to all of his students!

7 short quizzes, SUPER easy. He drops your two lowest quiz scores. One midterm and final "exam": 8 short answers, 1 essay. The midterm and final are however long you think is appropriate to explain the question. I incorporated a ton of memes and examples in my final exam and got a 100! His class truly is a break from my other classes. It's very fun and insightful!

After four years at UCLA, I can confidently state that Professor Branstetter is the best professor I have ever had at UCLA. He truly has a talent for seamlessly breaking down historical events and relaying important concepts in an easily comprehendible manner. Although I often find learning history or political theory to be relatively dull, Professor Branstetter does an incredible job of making his lectures interesting and keeping his students engaged.
The framework for the class is as follows:
7 short quizzes (2 of the lowest scores are dropped) - I can not emphasize enough how simple and straightforward the quizzes are, if you watch the lectures you will easily get a 100% on all of them
1 midterm and 1 final - both of which essentially require you to regurgitate the information you have learned in your own words; the professor mainly wants to see that you have learned the important concepts and are able to explain them in your own ways
Overall, I would recommend Professor Branstetter and any of his courses to every student at UCLA

Prof. Branstetter is a nice guy, but this is easily the worst class I've taken at UCLA. Disorganized, incomprehensible lectures and the lack of detailed powerpoints makes the dense material even harder to understand.

Professor John (as he likes to be called) is obviously very passionate about the material. That being said, he assigns a LOT of reading. However... I did not do any of it. You just need to have a basic concept of it (like a 3-4 paragraph summary), and if you do you can easily follow along in lectures. TAKE NOTES. Tie what you learned in the lecture into your paper and you'll get a 100%. The class consists of a weekly essay, 1-2 pages single-spaced. If you are not doing the readings, know a summary and go to lectures, and tie those notes into your paper. If you are doing the readings, tie what you learned into your paper and only go to lecture if you feel like it. You can submit your essay up as many times as you want to get a 100%, and it being said that these papers are the only things you do in the class, it is very easy to get an A+. Discussion sections are obviously mandatory and if you weren't feeling like going to lecture, the section often covers similar material you can use in your paper. No midterm and no final. This class is very low stress if you avoid the readings... however, if you are not going to lecture and not doing the readings at the same time, it may be very time consuming and stressful to research enough to make your paper sound good. So either do one or the other and this class will be a breeze. I really enjoyed it and Professor John offers two opportunities throughout the week to connect about the material or honestly anything else. If you are really passionate about Political Science and not just looking for an easy GE, definitely show up to office hours. Professor John is amazing and I highly recommend this class.