Ah good ole Panagia. If you have taken PS10 with him you'll more or less know what to expect from his lecturing style. Workload was 3 viewing memos that pertained to a specific set of movies/theories talked about in class, and a final memo which was slightly longer. While he'll provide an overarching topic to discuss in your viewing memos, the grade assigned are totally up to the interpretation of the TAs, so going to at least one office hour to get an idea of what they are looking for is recommended. Furthermore, some of the readings do run more on the dense side (as do in most theory classes), but are needed in writing the viewing memos.

I personally found Panagia's style of lecturing where he'll start with a basic concept and then seemingly pull info/analysis out of nowhere to make a (sometimes) coherent argument quite engaging, but it is definitely not for everyone. As mentioned in other comments, the lectures really don't provide you with an answer in regards to the memos, and will require you to operate in a zone of ambiguity. If you do enjoy writing about theory or in depth analysis of films/politics, this is the class for you.

The final which ended up being extra credit saved my behind. But for the critical memos, I got a B+, and then two A-s. You can write whatever you want but just make sure your argument is backed up with evidence. Also, use the articles in comparison and contrast with one another. Also towards the end, attendance became mandatory for some reason and there was a sign-in sheet.

This is a weird class. The movies he assigns to watch and the assigned readings are interesting, but he provides little guidance on how to write your critical memos / final essay. It's difficult to find a good balance between technical film analysis, discussion of the specific film, and political commentary based on the relevant readings. Err on the side of overusing the readings.

Grade is 3*10% for 3 critical viewing memos, 20% participation, 50% final essay

Do I feel like I learned something interesting in this class? Yes. Were the lectures frequently discursive and unhelpful as preparation for the writing assignments? Also yes.

if you're not into theory, this class will probably be boring and you'll never attend lecture (just a heads up). assignments are essays based on theory readings and films. Prof. Panagia's lectures are not structured at all, there are no slides, and it often seems like he is just making stuff up as he goes (but perhaps thats what theory is?). this is an easy class if you're good at writing and analyzing theory, film, and politics. that's all this class is: analyzing. Overall an easy class (but often boring)