Preface: I took this class during the TA-strike; the whole class was awarded full participation points.

SO, Dr. Sissa is a very kind woman.
The Prof: Honestly, she's amazing and deeply invested in her student's success. That does not mean that I loved the class. I'm a philosophy major but my eyes glazed over certain texts. She tries to make it engaging but the material from M111 was upcycled into this class making the material a bit dry. Again, she's very encouraging and wants you to succeed.

Participation: I'm pretty shy so I didn't speak up much in class but I would go to office hours and I think she appreciated that. Due to the TA-strike, the class was leniantly awarded full points. I didn't always go to class, especially at the end--it was rough lol. I made a point to go in the beginning and up to midterms; I went to office hours. It just got harder with the TA strike/ zoom school.

TA Patrick Callahan: I really loved my TA. Patrick is very knowledgeable on the issues and clearly cares for the students. I took my annotations and analysis to him at the end of each week and we would go through them. There were times where I canceled or he did, but I think that showing the effort made a difference in my grade. The strike sucked. She canceled in person classes and it got a lot harder to reach her.

The Material: Herodotus, the “Constitutional Debate”; Pericles' Funeral Oration; Aristophanes, Birds; Aristophanes, Women at the Assembly; Plato, Republic; Aristotle, Politics; Polybius, Histories; Augustine, The City of God; Marsilius of Padua, the Defender of Peace; Dante Alighieri, On Monarchy; Thomas More, Utopia; Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince.
Dry but Sissa makes it a bit better. I didn't do all of them because the workload is pretty overwhelming (especially at the end). Honestly, talking about it with her and my TA gave me a lot more incite. As long as your papers are creative and well-argued, I think it will work out. If your TA can see that you have genuinely engaged with the material (or at least tried) you will probably be okay. Have fun with it.

Workload: It's not awful but the readings are so dry that it took me hours to fully annotate an assignment. It picks up pace after the midterm, that is when I started picking and choosing the readings I wanted to write my paper on.

Exams: TWO PAPERS with attendance and participation in section. ummm this was very stressful. My midterm was an A- and my final was an A. It's not that "hard." She wants something exceptional. An A for her is something with nuance, creativity, and clear argumentation. The issue is that you have walk the line: reaching is punishable lol. I spent a few days writing my final exam. I took my midterm criticisms very seriously... I think that's why I did better on the final.

Overall: Tough but doable. Not a class I would take for an easy A but if you're a skilled writer than I'm sure that's a different discussion. Sissa really cares for her students but you have to make an effort (especially on the exams). I liked the class, didn't love it though.

Im not sure why people complain about her class if it was not bad at all! I passed with an A by visiting the TA's office hours and honestly it's a ton of reading.... A lot of memorization but an A can be obtained. Just read and take notes and memorize EVERYTHING. I like her style and I do agree she resembled Machiavelli but she was not bad at all.

Professor Sissa has a passion in her voice when she teaches that many professors don't have. She has surprised quizzes that are worth 20% of your grade but she only gave 3 all quarter. So everyone came to class every time just in case she decided to have a quiz. She started giving pop quizzes during week 7. Her final and midterm are the same layout and very simple. She gives you 5 quizzes and you analyze it and state historical content.If you read and remember, you'll get an A. Yes, there's a lot of reading but it's manageable. I would consider this an easy A if you read and pay attention.

I am going to start by saying I got an A- in her class. She is not that good of a teacher. There is only a final and a midterm plus 15% for discussion for your grade.
The format of the test has changed and it includes multiple choice now with as many as 4 or no right answers per question and she takes off points for circling any wrong choices. Her class average was a C- this quarter in my class. After everyone writing her emails this was a response from her email that I am quoting:
" I do respect THE TEXTS, as Machiavelli did, when he used to dress up in order visit his best friends : Plato, Aristotle and their likes."
She basically compares herself to Machiavelli and that is just disgusting for a professor at UCLA to do. She basically put the blame on students for getting a C- average and put herself up with greats like Machiavelli, Plato, and Aristotle. She has an amazingly gigantic ego.
Her lectures are in a very low level as if we are all mentally challenged and her tests are a high level as if she is testing Plato himself. (exaggeration obviously!) And BTW I am a third year Political Science major so I love the material but not the way she teaches them.
The most important thing is that you have a good TA who I had and if you get a bad one expect a failing grade in the class.
Good luck

I completely understand where other reviewers are coming from because at first, I had a bit of a hard time (1 or 2 classes). She's a really knowledgeable professor - she gives you everything in her lectures to arm you for the papers you need to write. The caveat is - you really need to go to her lectures. Her lectures are dense - laptop for note-taking highly recommended. I don't know for a fact, but I suspect Professor Sissa is pretty highly regarded in her field - I was pretty impressed with her. I learned to really appreciate her style and am doing an independent study with her as adviser next term.