I do not recommend this class. I loved comparative politics in high school (I even got a 5 on the AP test), but this class sapped my passion for it. Mr. Lofchie is a nice guy, but his lectures are not engaging at all, even though they are essential for the exams. The class is graded completely on two multiple-choice exams, based mostly on lectures and a bit on the readings. I found this somewhat unfair because a few students barely paid attention in class but did really well on exams because they had access to previous exams through test banks, whereas a lot of people studied really hard but barely survived the class because of how specific the multiple-choice questions were.

During spring quarter Prof Lofchie and the course assistant repeatedly said they made the course more challenging as we transition back to in-person learning. So don't look at the Covid reviews for a good sense of how this class will be in the future in-person. The course was graded based on a final (66% of grade) that we had four days to write and a midterm (33% of grade) that we had about 30 hours to write that had to be 800 words each. Some good things about this class were the light amount of reading (about 1-2 Wikipedia articles a week), the 5% extra credit opportunity, and we could re-write our midterm up to a 90%, so I think most of the class received an A. However, some parts of this course were extremely frustrating. The course assistant gave a B+ to everyone on the midterm who failed to address one specific point from 5 weeks of material (the importance of this was never mentioned in class...in fact no guidelines or expectations were set whatsoever.) She also indicated that a introduction and conclusion were not needed as this was a "informal paper" but then marked people down for not having an introduction. She also required about three emails to finally get a response about scheduling an office hour. Also some parts of this course are a little dull (nitty gritty details of the articles of the french constitution, how seats are arranged on the floor of the British parliment etc) but overall prof lofchie is a good guy and pretty engaging lecturer.

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Don't let the A-rate fool you. Professor and his one (1) teaching assistant made it clear that they were going to make this class harder this quarter than previous quarters so that we could transition back to in-person learning. That should have been a red flag, but who knew that it would also manifest into such terrible and confusing policies.

- No more recorded lectures during a pandemic. Mandatory attendance.
- The midterm. Oh, the midterm. Ask any PS50 SPR 21 student about the mid-term and they can tell you a story. Here are some of the facts (there are more, and I hope other reviews can mention them too):
- About half of the class to more than half got an 88 on the mid-term. Yes. An 88. Very little variation. Why? Why an 88? Was it poor writing? Bad technique? Misunderstanding of important concepts? No. It was because they didn't mention a single concept on an essay whose prompt did not in any way shape or form indicate that mentioning that concept was necessary to answer the prompt. In fact, the prompt said "(not checks and balances)." Yet the TA insisted after the grading, to the whole class, that we should have mentioned the motion of confidence (which is a CHECK against the executive branch). Even though the prompt was asking about what factors played into the DOMINANCE OF THE EXECUTIVE. Even though the professor and TA said before handing out the midterm prompts that we could just write about what we know to show our understanding, and gave lots of suggestions that the prompt was open-ended. Yes, not mentioning one concept out of relevant concepts from five weeks of lectures was enough to bring you down 12% to an 88. Oops, I'm getting too much into the weeds. Here are some more facts:
- getting the mid-term grades released in week 9
- ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts, ambiguous wording on prompts.
- 10 clarification/info emails and continually changing the citation requirements a few days to one day before the final paper was due.
- Even if you do extremely well it is borderline impossible to get an A+, only 1 person max gets an A+ every quarter (and sometimes it is 0).

That being said, there were some plus sides to the class.
We were allowed to meet the TA to talk about our midterm and rewrite our midterm to move the 88 to a 90. We were given a bonus extra credit prompt on the final. That is how a large amount of us were probably able to get an A in this class even though we had 88s on the midterm. Also, the lectures were relatively interesting and the readings were extremely light (a few journal and wikipedia articles). The TA and professor also seemed well-intentioned by allowing midterm rewrites, the bonus question, and a 3-day extension on the final paper.

However, I would not take this class again. The confusing and subjective grading policies were not worth it. This class has been a source of frustration ever since those subjective midterm grades were released up until today when I got my grade. Glad it's finally over.

Pol Sci 50 with Lofchie was a great class, and I genuinely enjoyed it! He made lectures engaging and he was very passionate about what he was teaching.
I will say, the content seemed to repeat itself toward the end of the class, as he kept coming back to the same concepts over and over. Even though this was strange, I did not mind it as he always had a new way to apply the knowledge.
He also was very considerate and understanding because of COVID, so the class was only graded on a few short (and very manageable) essays.
I would recommend you to attend his live lectures as it gives you a chance to ask questions if you need to. Start the essays as soon as he assigns them so you aren't frazzled when the due date rolls around, and you should be good.
Overall I completely recommend you to take this class!!

This was a really manageable class and Professor Lofchie was very understanding of the unique stresses of the pandemic/online class for students. The material focuses on French vs. British systems of government, and the professor seemed genuinely passionate about what he was teaching. In the first half of the class, he would go through slides and then in the second half, he would answer questions from students. Class usually ended early.

I took this class online because of covid, so he changed the structure of the class, making it incredibly easy. The lectures were recorded, so you could watch them whenever, and there were a few readings, but they weren't necessary, since I never did them and still got an A. The class was just made up of three essays, two were 500 words, and one was around 800 words. Apart from always reminding us to stay healthy and reach out if we ever needed extensions, Professor Lofchie was also so understanding of the BLM protests. I will definitely be taking more classes with him in the future.

Professor Lofchie is such a cute professor. The class was very easy, even though it was all online. Rather than consisting of the tests like in-person classes would, there were three required essays—two under 500 words, one around 800 words. He was very understanding with the circumstances going on with the world and graded very leniently. He was very passionate about what he was teaching and really enjoyed covering Brexit a lot. It definitely isn't the standard comparative politics class, but I very much enjoyed it.

Lofchie is the cutest man ever and loves British politics more than anyone I've ever met. He got super distracted and really into Brexit and basically decided to make that the focus of the class (so we only spent 2 weeks learning about France). I paid attention and enjoyed going to class because he cared so much about what he was talking about. Overall, a pretty easy class but your grade is entirely based on your midterm (33%) and final (66%), which were both 50 multiple choice questions.

Loved this class with Professor Lofchie. He is very knowledgeable on the intricacies and history of political institutions of both France and Britain. The grades for the whole quarter are based on two tests, a midterm and final (non-cumulative) that are each 50 multiple choice. The tests are relatively specific so you should pay attention in lecture and do the readings, especially ones that he emphasizes you should read. I would highly stress attending office hours for this class because you should show your face and get to know him; he is very interesting and helpful with any questions you may have. The schedule is perfect; no discussion sections and lectures usually only last an hour. You will enjoy this class if you take an interest in comparative politics and the differences between a parliamentary system and presidential. Especially with Brexit going on, we were able to discuss the constitutional failure a parliamentary system allowed for which was cool. Highly recommend for poli sci majors, if you are taking just as a GE be prepared for a lot of reading and some dry lectures.

As other people were saying in the reviews, the subject matter of this class may be a little dry if you’re not that interested in British and French history but I enjoyed this class. I wish it had not been at 9:30 in the morning so I could’ve had an easier time paying attention. There were a lot of blue backpacks, the tests are ok. The class is graded 33% for the midterm and 67% for the final but that only seems intimidating. Just do the readings and take notes and you will pass. I got a 64% on the midterm and still ended up with a B. He curves your grade and you can review your midterm answers. Questions from the midterm end up on the final. Lofchie genuinely has a passion for politics and history and he has interesting perspectives on current events. I would attend one of his lectures regardless of if I was getting a grade in the class.