POLI1042 · Political Science
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
For majors only. Restricted to freshmen and sophomores only.. This course examines the politics and government of modern states, identifying what is distinctively modern (e.g., representative government, political parties), including in the survey both democratic and non-democratic nations. We will consider the nation-state itself--the most typical modern political arrangement--as well as efforts to "transcend" the nation (e.g., the European Union, the United Nations). We will examine the kinds of public policies that modern states adapt, and consider their consequences. Although this is not a class in international politics, some attention will be paid to the relations among modern states, including war and its causes.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.5 / 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
4.4 / 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.
Professor of the Practice, Political Science Department
4.1 / 5
3.9 / 5
Professor of the Practice, Political Science Department
4.4 / 5
4.1 / 5
Professor, Political Science Department
4.1 / 5
3.9 / 5
Professor of the Practice, Political Science Department
4.7 / 5
4.4 / 5
Visiting Professor, Political Science Department
4.4 / 5
4.4 / 5
Student perspective
Recovered and new anonymous comments are shown as written and may reflect different course formats.
Jun 7, 2025 · Historical comment
Passionate & well-qualified on the topic, cares about her students. Regurgitate everything she says in lectures and you’ll ace it. Readings are helpful but not strictly necessary. Gives a pretty one-sided perspective, so just be careful when learning/internalizing to recognize where there is bias.
Mar 30, 2025 · Historical comment
Boring lectures and a very tough grader. Undoubtedly favors liberal female students over others. Seems to be pretty passionate about the material, though.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
2 sectionsFall 2024
1 sectionSpring 2024
3 sectionsFall 2023
1 sectionSpring 2023
4 sectionsFall 2022
1 sectionSpring 2022
3 sectionsFall 2021
1 sectionSpring 2021
3 sectionsFall 2020
1 sectionSpring 2020
3 sections