Professor Johns is the best professor and lecturer I've had here to date. She is in the process of writing her own textbook that explains complex issues in International Law in understandable language. This skill is demonstrated in her lectures as well, which I found highly engaging. The quizzes are doable so long as you read the cases, and the tests will require you to memorize most of the lecture notes. This class is a challenge, but is rewarding--especially if you are interested in attending law school.

Professor Johns is the absolute best. She revamped the class this past winter, so you no longer are required to buy a massive IL book. Instead, she’s actually writing an International Law textbook so all the readings were in CCLE (yes, she’s ~that~ knowledgeable). The only thing you need to buy is a course reader of court cases, which you need for the section quizzes. I think it’s like $45 but I never bought it, just took pics of friend’s readers which was no big deal. Quizzes in section are nothing to worry about if you read the cases and you get 7/10 points for just writing your name. Johns doesn’t post lecture slides or bruincard so going to class is a must but I actually really enjoyed her lectures. She’s incredibly engaging and knows the material like the back of her hand (she’s been teaching IL for 11 years). Students would hurl obscure “what if’s” in her direction and she always managed to give a well thought out & clever answer off the cuff. Not to mention she has a sharp sense of humor, which is always entertaining. The midterm and the final are difficult and require a lot of studying (easier if you read the textbook consistently) but her curve is very generous, think A’s getting curved to A+’s and B’s getting curved to A-‘s.

TLDR: Professor Johns is fantastic, read her textbook, study in a group, and be prepared to L E A R N a whole lot :)

TAKE THIS CLASS!

I learned a lot about IL, which is a good thing because that is the course title. Johns is a really good professor. The first half of the course is much more riveting than the latter half, however. In the first half you unpack the flowery, conceptual aspects of international law while the latter half covers its contemporary applications. She wrote a textbook that clearly maps the main ideas for the course and made following her lectures easy. However, this textbook does not span the breadth of the course; the last month is a hodgepodge of prosaic texts and scholarly articles that are much more difficult to follow and not as pertinent to her lecture material.

She is very accessible in office hours and her exams can be difficult if you didn't study. It is impossible to cram for an exam - it is too much content. Staying on top of the readings is paramount.

The way Professor Johns taught the class was super organized – each concept built on a previous concept, and the readings were all helpful and the classes were interesting and not too slow.

The workload was a lot in terms of reading and the number of concepts you need to remember, but if you’e interested in international law, this class really sets the foundation for that. You just have to do the readings and study!

The class was structured with one blue book midterm and one final, plus weekly quizzes and participation points in section. The midterm and final are pretty straightforward as long as you read the questions through carefully. The quizzes are also pretty clear, and the lowest two grades are dropped.

The class was very straight-forward and very well organized. I have gotten by in most classes with just paying attention in lecture but I definitely found the need to read her textbook PDFs that she assigns. There's a lot of material covered in the exams so you will definitely need to study but she doesn't play games or try to pull any fast ones - it is all very straight forward. Also, she did not upload her lecture slides or provide study guides for the midterm/final so that is something to be aware of as well.

Prof Johns is honestly amazing and very fair. Her lectures (and TA discussion sections) are super structured. She wrote the course reader and almost all the readings, which makes the course information a lot easier to navigate. The readings aren't difficult, but there is a decent amount of it. If you take good lecture notes and know the readings well, it shouldn't be too difficult to study for the exams.

This class is tough but very rewarding. Professor Johns is structured and the book she's written goes perfectly with the class. The shaw readings were difficult reads so hopefully by the time you take this class, she's finished her book. I'd take this class if I were you!

100% recommend taking 123 w Prof. Johns
her lectures are very engaging and she wrote her own book, so you'll always read exactly what you need to know & the reading won't be tedious. study at least 3 days before the exams because there is a lot of memorization but her curve is AMAZING. one quiz at each section based on a case reading, really helps understand concepts discussed that week. participation is 15% but you'll find yourself asking questions and answering even if you're not confident (like me). overall, a great class, would definitely take her again!

Great class. Articulate professor. Dead organized. No reason not to get an A. Just outline the cases, memorize the terms well in advance, go to lecture, and do the readings.

This was probably the most fun and engaging poli sci class I've taken here at UCLA. Professor Johns is an amazing lecturer who is super helpful and fun to talk to outside of class. She makes the materials easier to understand despite the concepts being complex. Also she kind of writes the textbook materials for this class so if you have any questions on the readings, you can go directly to her because she wrote it. Overall, take the class. Her exams are a little hard but if you go to lectures, do the readings, and study, then you'll be fine.