I loved this class and I'm honestly a lil sad it's over. It was more about how the world works and less about actual politics, which was cool. I thought the way Trager lectured was very engaging and just fine to follow. He asks students to participate and throw their ideas into the lecture, and I loved getting to hear what my peers thought. Other reviews said he was not the best lecturer, but I think it comes down to personal preference.

Vivien is the best TA I've ever had. In section we went over the main points of the lecture in depth and it was fun and entertaining. I walked out of every section laughing because I had fun (ew right like what discussion is actually fun) and with a better understanding of the material.

The only things I didn't like about this class was that the slides were not available to reference, and that laptops aren't allowed for note taking.

Professor Trager is clearly a very intelligent and qualified scholar, but as a professor he is awful. His lectures consist of incomplete slides and unanswered questions. He is vague and inconclusive when presenting information and spends the majority of lecture focusing on one subject that he finds interesting but which isn't particularly important to the class and which most likely won't even appear on the exams. A lot of students stoped going to lectures because of this, and by the end of the course it seemed as if he purposely structured the final exam to focus on obscure information. My TA really saved me in this course and was incredibly helpful. Without him I would have been completely lost. If you can, take this class with another professor. I am genuinely interested in international politics, but this course was such an unpleasant experience that I couldn't become invested in anything we were learning. Prof. Trager is no doubt an intelligent man, but as an educator he leaves much to be desired. The course felt more like a struggle against him than a pursuit of knowledge.

Professor Trager often will go off on a tangent about subjects that are not important to the class at whole, leaving the lecture hall looking at the same slide for 20 minutes. After the midterm, he began congratulating the class just for showing up because probably less than 50% of the class was coming! The textbook readings are the most important thing you can do to succeed in this class, I wish I had realized that sooner. Also, the supplemental readings are often long and not fun to read but Trager will put obscure reading material in his tests making them a necessity if you want to know all the material for the exams, again something I wish I knew earlier. The class material is very interesting, and the TAs all are very knowledgeable but Trager struggles to expand on the textbook readings, making the lectures bland and slow.

This class mainly covers theoretical basics of international relations and politics, covering the fundamental models and current affairs. Professor Trager knows his material and has an extensive knowledge of the history of international affairs, but can derail during lectures. His material aligns nicely with the textbook material, so study both for the midterm and final. Both the midterm and final consist of short answer questions and an essay at the end, but there are tests available for practice at the test bank which really can make a difference. There are weekly policy briefs to do, but a general knowledge of current affairs is enough to score in those policy briefs.

Interesting class! Challenging but definitely doable!

Selling textbook for cheap! Message me at **********!

If you can't work with boring professors and dry subject matter, this class is not for you. Trager speaks in a monotone that makes everyone in the class fall asleep without fail. And the TAs are horribly disorganized. That being said, a good grade is totally achievable if you show up to class and do the work. The tests aren't very hard as long as you study ALL of the materials the professor gives out. But if you get Arseniy as a TA DROP THIS CLASS.

The subject of the class is pretty straightforward. However, the class is a lot of work and often your grade is reliant on your TA.

This class, although boring af, was fairly easy to get a good grade in. You have 1-2 page papers and 2 midterms. The essays are graded out of 10 and the exams are curved. He gives you a ton of questions to study so it takes time but if you do study them you'll do well. Lectures are really boring but he posts slides so you really don't have to go.

The workload is not very light but the class isn't hard. I thought the class would be way too much to handle at first so I took it for pass/non-pass but I ended up getting really good grades. The textbook can be very helpful but not necessary since he covers most of them during lectures.

Selling 3rd EDITION of "World Politics" by Friedman/Lake/Schultz.
It's a required text for POL SCI 20. Great condition.
Contact for details **********