Professor Panagia gives interesting lectures but they are almost completely irrelevant to the essays. This is key: DONT GET CYBELE KAPPOS AS YOUR TA. For our first essay she told us that she graded the harshest out of all the TA’s. My heart fell to my feet when I heard that let me tell you. She grades very harshly for no apparent reason. I am very fortunate that I ended with this grade, for having this TA.
Had I not had this TA, I know I would’ve ended with an A- at least. Read the books but don’t waste too much of your time. Read the essay prompts and look for relevant passages. The readings are archaic and hard to comprehend.

This is still one of my favorite classes I have taken here. Panagia is a great lecturer (he also gets points for snazzy dressing and humor), he is really good at explaining and elaborating on the readings. This is one of the few classes where I actually felt like I got genuine extra value from going to lecture as he introduced material and made the readings so much more clear and interesting. I think the content is quite cool to learn about as well and just expands your understanding of the world. That being said, the readings can be quite dense and the assignments were sometimes difficult, but nothing that can't be overcome.

This class was not the easiest class in the world, but the entire course was compromised of three small writing assignments. However, this course was made amazing by Panagia. He was engaging in every lecture and turned boring subjects into something interesting. He has a good sense of humor and is really helpful if you talk to him one-on-one. He is really nice in office hours as well, and I would highly recommend his class.

I was nervous at the beginning because of the amount of reading we had to complete each week, but reading is not necessary in order to do well. In lecture, professor Panagia goes over the main idea and key points for the readings. A lot of what he says you should take notes and remember for your essays. If you listen in lecture and your discussions you should be fine. Also, going to discussion is pretty important for your participation grade and with help for your essays. My ta Kristopher was very straight forward when it came to essays and what he was looking for. Overall, the class was not as hard as I expected. If I would've done the readings I may have gotten an A, but if you don't complete the readings you will not be lost, just go to lecture and you will be fine. I would take this class again.

This class is entirely based on how well you can cater to your TA's expectations of the writing assignments. There are three writing assignments all worth 25% of your grade and the last 25% is a participation-based grade, which you should get 100% in if you just show up and talk at least once. Readings, in reality, aren't necessary to do

1. Aighty, so I was mindblown about every other lecture, so lectures were actually enjoyable.

2. I pretty much never did the reading, so I took extensive notes in lecture and just from that had enough content on the reading material for the three writing assignments.

3. Your grade is made up of three writing assignments and participation. Each category is 25%.

In conclusion, this class wasn't much work for a great learning experience. Would recommend. Also Prof Panagia is hilarious and I'm still trying to place his accent. (Midwest? Texas?)

This was an amazing class - and I cannot emphasize that enough. Prof. Panagia is a brilliant lecturer who left me in awe with each of his classes. His analyses were so well explained in an entertaining and clear fashion. This being said, this class isn't exactly easy. If you don't really like theoretical and philosophical thinking, then you may find the class less enjoyable, but your critical thinking skills are bound to improve nonetheless. Yes, there is a lot of reading, but I honestly didn't do any of it after the first two because Panagia's "close readings" (the way he teaches/dissects the readings) were more insightful than anything I could figure out independently.

The grade consisted of three writing assignments and participation in discussion. The assignments were deliberately vague and forced you to chose your own concept and argument from scratch, but this just meant that the hardest part was getting started. The combination of lecture and discussions - which were extremely helpful - provided more than enough material to include in your essays, so it's not like you had to do a whole bunch of research.

All in all, this was an exceptionally rewarding class as I can confidently say that it made me smarter. Panagia is a talented lecturer with a sense of humor and colorful socks. My TA, Vanessa Pooudomsak, was wonderful and I highly recommend trying to get into one of her discussions if they're offered - she is so kind and helpful.

Intro to Political Theory is a fantastic class to take, especially for Political Science majors or those who have an interest in philosophy and Western civilization as a whole. The class covers a great variety of thinkers including but not limited to Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Marx, and Hobbes. The workload is totally manageable, with just 3 writing assignments spaced throughout the quarter, and readings every week. While the page count of the readings doesn't seem like much, they do tend to take a while to get through and some of the works can be quite difficult to understand at first.
Professor Panagia is a fantastic speaker and was able to expand my understanding of the material while also adding in some humor. An important thing to keep in mind is that he prohibits the use of electronic devices during lecture, so you're gonna need to take notes on paper during class.
Overall though, it's a fantastic class to take. I wouldn't recommend it for those who have no interest in any of the thinkers mentioned or in philosophy/political thought, as the writings might seem tedious and uninteresting for those who have zero interest in the material.

Professor Panagia is the best professor in terms of teaching Poli Sci 10. He is very knowledgeable on the content and he would always elaborate. However, he does not allow technology in his lectures, so notes have to be on paper. He is an amazing professor who was always funny and always opened the last 30 minutes of class for questions on the content discussed in lecture.

It was a fine enough class if you are interested in this material. Don't take it as a GE if you have no interest in philosophy or political theory. For me, I was never really engaged by the material, found it hard to get through the readings and sit through lecture, and the writing assignments were never easy for me. However, Panagia is a great lecturer if you like the material and will help you understand it better.