I cannot stand him. He is a horrible professor. It is literally impossible to cope with him in class. He is incredibly boring to listen to, and, in his lectures, he literally reads from the book. It's so pointless, it's unbelievable. One midterm, one final, and one paper. The midterm was whatever, but the final was literally impossible. For someone who went to every class, took notes, and studied diligently, I can genuinely say he went out of his way to be a jerk. He chose topics that were not even covered anywhere, and I know he wanted us to score lowly. I went to his office hours too-- he's incredibly rude just as a person. He must be incredibly unhappy with his job to treat people the way he does. I am talking disrespect at its most heightened level. I'm not sure what some of the professors in the Global Studies department think of themselves. Sure, you're a published author and you've done some great things for the world. That's awesome. Hopefully, I can get there, too. But just because I'm learning from you and you're my senior does not mean you can treat me with disrespect. He acts like all of his students are burdens. I've tried to email him for certain clarifications and one time he literally sent the sentence, "I cannot help you." I will write a paragraph, and he will respond, three minutes later, with that one sentence. I swear you should run from taking him any chance you get, because he is an impossible person to tolerate, a horrible professor, and his grading is unfair. It's not like I got a bad grade; he was just so unapproachable and rude. I genuinely wanted to learn, because the material is pretty interesting, but he was so horrible that he made me hate both world wars from an educational standpoint.

He has changed the way I view the world. He is lively, charismatic, funny, energetic, and approachable. Not only that, his books and articles are some of the most thorough and insightful historical writings I have ever read. If you can't enjoy Trachtenberg you probably don't belong in a Poli Sci class, or even at UCLA for that matter.

Professor Trachtenberg is very knowledgeable about the information in the course and the class isn't too hard to get a good grade in. He has a generous curve for the midterm. However, there is a lot of information in the class that you will have to memorize. There is also a LOT of reading, but it isn't necessary to do all of it even though he does ask about it on the exams. You will definitely hear plenty of "bring the issues down to earth.. make them concrete" as he will repeat this frequently. Trachtenberg is a very smart teacher though, however, it can be frustrating that the midterm and final are about 5 questions each. The final paper can also be frustrating because you are only given about 5 days to do it, but it is very open-ended, doable, and fair. It is worth it to take Trachtenberg, he is very caring, and his grading is not particularly hard or easy but fair.

Trachtenberg is a pretty good professor. He's really passionate about the material, articulates it well, and, more or less, reiterates the important points that would be on the exams. His lectures are Bruincasted but I would recommend still going since it's only 50 mins long. His readings are long but I honestly skimmed it at best. His exam style is short answers, no essays but the bad thing is that you either know it or you don't; there's no bs-ing. But, the questions aren't hard; they're just specific. Study thoroughly! The questions comes straight from the lectures, not the readings. So the exams are kind of hit or miss. The paper is optional and does takes time to research in the library so start early! Overall, this class isn't the easiest, but not impossible to get an A in. Probably take it if you have had a few PS classes before or genuinely interested.

Dont take ANY classes with Professor Trachtenberg, seriously his class is extremely unorganized, and he gives the worst and the most incomprehensible lectures, basically you have to teach yourself all of the material, and there is a lot of reading. His class is more like a philosophy course than a political science course, and he provides very little help and assistance to students. I took this class because of the positive reviews that he got, but mark my words, he is NOT what these other students say he is, I would have never taken this class if I had known what I was getting myself into (by the way I got an A on everything, but that does not mean the class is worth all the time and memorization) Take anything BUT trachtenberg!

Professor Trachtenberg is a very knowledgeable professor but this class is by no means easy. There is quite a bit of reading (at least 150 pages/week) and your grade is made up of a midterm, a final, and an optional 12-15 page term paper. If you don't do the term paper the best grade you can recieve is a B assuming you ace the midterm and final. The optional paper is to test a theory about international politics by looking at primary sources to see whether the theory is valid. If you decide to do the paper, START EARLY! DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE WEEK BEFORE. Many of the books you need are only on reserve and those that arent get checked out quickly.

If international politics is of interest to you and you feel you have a strong background knowledge of the events between 1914 and the end of the Cold War you will probably really enjoy this class and Professor Trachtenberg, and you should do well. If you are not particularly strong this area, you can still do well. Just make sure to do all the readings and visit him during office hours, especially if you are having trouble with the term paper. He may seem intimidating but he is willing to help you.

Lectures may seem a bit unorganized because he goes quickly from topic to topic but just take the best notes you can. The class I was in was wired for Podcasts so we were able to go back and listen to the lectures but I dont know if that will always be available. If not, it may be worth it to bring a tape recorder. The readings assigned are many times a reiteration of what is discussed in lecture.

His lectures seem like one big digression; he cannot stay on topic for more than a couple seconds. He is one of the most unorganized people I have ever met, and although he may know his own material, he absolutely sucks at teaching it. Don't take him if you are looking for a good lecturer.