Alice Behnegar
Apr 12, 2026 · Historical comment
class should honestly be renamed to Thucydides and the history of the Peloponnesian war because that's all we talked about
POLI1041 · Political Science
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
Restricted to freshmen and sophomores only. This is an introduction to the study of politics through a consideration of some of the basic elements associated with governing: the political association, justice, constitutions, equality, liberty, conflict among citizens and between citizens and governments, conflict among governments. Each of the course instructors uses a different set of readings, drawing on a mix of political philosophy texts, works on international politics, novels, biographies. Emphasis is on interesting and important readings, discussion, and writing. NOTE: for academic-year students, this course is major restricted.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.3 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.6 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.5 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.3 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~4.5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Visiting Professor, Political Science Department
4.1 / 5
3.9 / 5
Professor, Political Science Department
3.7 / 5
3.6 / 5
Professor of the Practice, Political Science Department
3.8 / 5
3.6 / 5
Professor of the Practice, Political Science Department
4.2 / 5
4.0 / 5
Assistant Professor, Political Science Department
4.1 / 5
3.9 / 5
Professor Emeritus, Political Science Department
3.6 / 5
3.6 / 5
Student perspective
Recovered and new anonymous comments are shown as written and may reflect different course formats.
Apr 12, 2026 · Historical comment
class should honestly be renamed to Thucydides and the history of the Peloponnesian war because that's all we talked about
Jan 13, 2026 · Historical comment
super sweet lady, her lectures were pretty interesting but she's an extremely harsh grader and will only give u a somewhat decent grade is if you just repeat what she says in her lectures, the readings are basically useless.
Dec 21, 2025 · Historical comment
Tough grader. The readings were useless and the only thing that mattered was how well you regurgitate what she thinks.
Nov 18, 2025 · Historical comment
Class can be a bit boring at times, however, she goes into great depth with the readings and essays/tests are decently easy. She is super nice and well knowledgeable! :)
Dec 18, 2024 · Historical comment
Professor Behnegar teaches in such an incredible way in which retain as much information as possible. She is very intelligent and communicates key concepts impeccably. Very responsive to student questions, and emails, available during office hours, etc. Highly recommend.
Dec 16, 2024 · Historical comment
Super knowledgeable and interesting lectures. Be ready to study for in class essays and memorize. When she says to ignore syntax and essay structure, LISTEN. The reviews saying she's biased against conservative males are ridiculous. Take if you're interested in poly sci and know how to study.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
3 sectionsFall 2024
3 sectionsSpring 2024
2 sectionsFall 2023
5 sectionsSummer 2023
1 sectionSpring 2023
2 sectionsFall 2022
5 sectionsSummer 2022
1 sectionSpring 2022
2 sectionsFall 2021
6 sectionsSpring 2021
2 sectionsFall 2020
5 sections