POL SCI 171A
Applied Formal Models: Collective Action and Social Movements
Description: Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Requisite: course 30. Designed for juniors/seniors. How do social and political movements convince people to participate? Consideration of various theoretical perspectives, including game-theoretic, social network, structural, and identity approaches, illustrated by case studies. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
Most Helpful Review
TAKE A CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR. He could probably beat out the most interesting man in the world for his title. I took him for two upper divs, and I loved his classes. The material is really interesting; he makes you think in ways that other professors can't (or don't care enough to). There is no midterm, and the final is a 20 page paper. Honestly I was really scared by that too, but as long as you have a pulse and go to class there's no way you won't pick up his argument along the way. Once you get the point down the rest of the paper isn't too time-consuming. Do the readings and speak up in class when you can cause it'll be to your benefit. He tells you exactly what he wants and expects from you, so listen when he talks! You won't regret it
TAKE A CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR. He could probably beat out the most interesting man in the world for his title. I took him for two upper divs, and I loved his classes. The material is really interesting; he makes you think in ways that other professors can't (or don't care enough to). There is no midterm, and the final is a 20 page paper. Honestly I was really scared by that too, but as long as you have a pulse and go to class there's no way you won't pick up his argument along the way. Once you get the point down the rest of the paper isn't too time-consuming. Do the readings and speak up in class when you can cause it'll be to your benefit. He tells you exactly what he wants and expects from you, so listen when he talks! You won't regret it
Most Helpful Review
Interesting class, and not too challenging. She goes very slowly in lecture and really makes sure that everyone is able to understand the material. It's not necessary to buy the book as long as you pay attention in class and do all the homework. There was a midterm, a cumulative final, and four homework assignments. The assignments were not too time consuming, and even kind of fun. As I mentioned, the class is not too challenging so the only real way to separate the A students from the B students is to be extremely nitpicky when grading tests, which is exactly what was done. I've always been good at grasping concepts, but I've always had problems with careless errors on tests. This was my ultimate downfall in the class. I lost a full FIVE percentage points on the midterm for accidentally putting a negative where I should not have. Completely ridiculous. The entire question was marked incorrect, despite the fact that I followed through on all the steps correctly and made one dumb mistake at the end. Or maybe I'm just bitter that my final grade was an 89.8% and she wouldn't just give me the A-.
Interesting class, and not too challenging. She goes very slowly in lecture and really makes sure that everyone is able to understand the material. It's not necessary to buy the book as long as you pay attention in class and do all the homework. There was a midterm, a cumulative final, and four homework assignments. The assignments were not too time consuming, and even kind of fun. As I mentioned, the class is not too challenging so the only real way to separate the A students from the B students is to be extremely nitpicky when grading tests, which is exactly what was done. I've always been good at grasping concepts, but I've always had problems with careless errors on tests. This was my ultimate downfall in the class. I lost a full FIVE percentage points on the midterm for accidentally putting a negative where I should not have. Completely ridiculous. The entire question was marked incorrect, despite the fact that I followed through on all the steps correctly and made one dumb mistake at the end. Or maybe I'm just bitter that my final grade was an 89.8% and she wouldn't just give me the A-.
AD
Most Helpful Review
This guy is awesome. Totally easy going, knows everyone's name within a few weeks. The class was really fun, we got to pretend to be members of Congress and just run a mock legislature for most of class every day. The downside to this class is you have to be in class because there's an assignment due every day and the midterm and final are mostly from lecture. The upside is the assignments are easy and never take more than an hour, plus the class was really interesting. Take this class, especially if you're into the details of how Congress works and/or want to go into politics.
This guy is awesome. Totally easy going, knows everyone's name within a few weeks. The class was really fun, we got to pretend to be members of Congress and just run a mock legislature for most of class every day. The downside to this class is you have to be in class because there's an assignment due every day and the midterm and final are mostly from lecture. The upside is the assignments are easy and never take more than an hour, plus the class was really interesting. Take this class, especially if you're into the details of how Congress works and/or want to go into politics.
Most Helpful Review
I've had professor O'neill for two courses (PS 125A, PS171D) and I must say that overall he is a great professor. He has some faults, one of which is that he is unorganized at times, but this does not affect his ability to teach and provide an educational experience. He has a tremendous respect for the opinions of his students. I would highly recommend taking a class with him.
I've had professor O'neill for two courses (PS 125A, PS171D) and I must say that overall he is a great professor. He has some faults, one of which is that he is unorganized at times, but this does not affect his ability to teach and provide an educational experience. He has a tremendous respect for the opinions of his students. I would highly recommend taking a class with him.