I’ve taken Professor Branstetter for Poli Sci 119 for two quarters in a row and both quarters I received As. He’s an exceptional professor who actually cares about his students and their learning. He goes above and beyond to ensure you understand the material. For Spring 2019 I took Political Theory in Translation. This class consisted of three short essays which were based on a prompt he gave us. They had to be about 4-5 pages double spaced and you don’t even have to read the materials to get an A on them. He doesn’t believe in the standard grading scale because he thinks it’s arbitrary so he only does whole numbers 100,90,80,70...etc. This kinda sucks because he rarely gives out 100s which he will tell you at the beginning of the class. The grade for this class is the average of your three essays so add your scores up and divide by 3 and that’s your grade in the class. This was kind of nerve wracking because if you mess up on one paper you’re pretty much screwed from getting an A so just don’t mess up lol. In Fall 2019 I took him again for Intro to Comparative Political Theory. This class was a lot more Political Theory heavy unlike the other class I took. Here we discuss political thought and different political thinkers and actors. For this class you have no midterm no final no tests and no quizzes!! It’s just 18, 400-500 word statement journals that are argumentative papers essentially. He gives you a quote from the reading and you either have to agree or disagree and defend your position utilizing the reading. These are spread out throughout the quarter but aren’t due until exam day of finals week at midnight. This is bittersweet bc theres no one to hold you accountable for procrastinating but you also have less stress during midterm szn. Also, attendance is not mandatory to succeed in this class, however if you want to attempt to score an A+ I would attend lectures because he goes into detail regarding the readings you’re going to have to write about. If you do ALL 18 journals you get an A- , if he thinks they are ALL superb you get an A+. If you don’t do at least 400 words for ALL of them or you miss some statement journals you get a D, and if you don’t do at least 12 of them you FAIL. So essentially if you do all the work somewhat decently then you get an A-. If you don’t want an A- which does affect your GPA I would NOT take this class. The readings were dense but they weren’t too long and it wasn’t a lot of them. I love Professor Branstetter so even though I didn’t really like the class bc the material was kind of boring to me I would recommend taking it just for the sole fact that he’s teaching it!!

For Spring this class was on Marxism, and it was by far my favorite class I've ever taken at UCLA. I took his PS10 class in winter and loved it so much that I enrolled in 119 for the next quarter. I really didn't think I'd enjoy theory because it has a reputation for being dry, but Professor Branstetter is so passionate and engaging about all his subjects. He also really takes the time to get to know his students and is so easy to talk to. His class consisted of a midterm, final, and weekly reading quizzes. The quizzes weren't bad, he drops the lowest two and gives extra credit (he also enjoys drawings of Karl Marx). The midterm and final were take home and the book and study guide covers everything you'd need to know. The readings were dense but I actually found it interesting if you give it a chance instead of skimming through it. He explains everything very thoroughly even if you don't get it the first time. He provided really good commentary on modern capitalism and I would often leave class still thinking about what he said in lecture. I can't recommend his class enough, and I'd take any of his future classes given the chance.

Great professor! He records all the lectures so attendance is not mandatory. Your grade is based on quizzes that you have a few days to complete, a midterm, and a final. Midterm and final consist of 8 short essay questions and 1 long essay question that you have over a week to complete. Fair an understanding professor!

This class was definitely easy to understand. You'll always hear that Branstetter is a nice professor, and that's because it's 100% true. While he did not offer extra credit for this course, attendance was not mandatory. He records his lectures and slides and puts them on BruinLearn. I did not attend any lectures, but I was able to pass by reading the book and skimming the lectures when it was time for a quiz.

What's there to say? Easily one of the top 5 political science classes at UCLA taught by probably the best lecturer in the department.

Prof. Branstetter deeply cares about his students and offers engaging and funny lectures that will keep you interested in the material even if you despise the topic.

The class was 7 quizzes (two of the lowest scores being dropped) that relied on very very basic understanding of lecture as well as a midterm and final that are several short answers. These can be a little tricky because there area alot of intricate details but Prof. Branstetter does a great job preparing you for them. Every lecture is recorded to make things even better with no attendance requirement.

He stresses that the book is needed and wants you to read it, however I found that simply paying close attention to lecture was all that was really needed to succeed as he does such a good job at relaying Marx's points and what is needed on the exams. Book was optional to me even if the Professor and several students may tell you it is critical.

Always available for questions and always willing to help students learn. Not much else to say but if you see this class has an open spot enroll in it right away!

Professor Branstetter is one of the best professors I have ever had. I am so lucky I got to take this course in the summer because of the intimate setting. You can tell he is truly passionate about his work. I know that someday he is going to be a great lecturer. The class is very interesting and he makes theory fun while engaging in conversation with the class. You can succeed in this class as long as you go to lectures. Literally, everything he lectures about is on the tests. If you get the chance to take him, I highly recommend that you do!

I took M115C with John and he is so awesome! He does require mini essays and does pop quizzes but he tries to give you warning and it wasn't bad at all! He is young and energetic and wants to see you succeed! Just go to class and participate, which is easy because he welcomes all answers and gives lots of time for discussion. For me the class was stress free and the mini essays for me were just making a quick thesis relevant to some reading we discussed and kind of rambled for a bit until I fulfilled the word requirement and supported my thesis. I got 95% or higher on all of them and an A+ in the class. John is a great guy and if you're interested in Confucius theory he is an expert! I took his citizenship class and loved it.

I took POL SCI 119 Special Studies in Political Theory: Confucian Political Theory in China and Japan with Professor Branstetter Fall 2017.
The material in the course was hard to grasp but Professor Branstetter successfully taught the material the best it could have ever been taught. It revolves around the comparison of schools of thought which is hard to learn in ten weeks. The quizzes forced us to read the material and if it were hard, he would mention there was a quiz beforehand along with hints on the quiz. I believe this class makes you think on the spot for quizzes and the tests because it makes you apply the knowledge rather than just retain it. Taking the next class with Professor Branstetter in Winter because the lectures were just that good! He also provides his ppt lectures and lecture outline notes on CCLE so you don't really have to type notes in class, just listen!

I took the Confucian Political Theory class with him, and Branstetter is an amazing professor. He clearly loved the material he was teaching, and his passion came through in every lecture. The readings were pretty dense and hard to understand, but the professor did a great job explaining them and providing clarity about the subject. I thought the exams were reasonable, and while there are a lot of pop quizzes, it's not hard to consistently get 4/5 right if you read. Overall, Branstetter is one of the best instructors in the department, and I'd highly reccomend taking a class with him if you have the chance.

i'm writing this review because i love branstetter so much and i hate that he doesn't have any reviews. he is such a great professor, incredibly knowledgable and you can tell he's passionate about what he teaches, he is so so helpful, offers so much office hours and time to talk with him and go over your papers. also the class is just 3 papers. his lectures are engaging so i didn't even mind going to class, which isn't really mandatory but really helpful when it comes to writing your papers. he is really approachable, pretty funny, and overall one of my favorite professors i've had. i'm taking 2 classes with him and i love them both.