[HeatherH]

This course is a necessary for anyone wanting to go into Political Science. Even if you don't plan on pursuing Political Science, I would suggest taking this course. It's good to have basic knowledge of this kind of stuff.

I took it in 2006 with Professor Tunc, so I assume the course has changed drastically since he isn't teaching anymore.

The course is a basic overview of the different types of governments and which countries they are used in. The readings come from a basic textbook which is easy, but there are also more difficult readings which were a little hard for first year, first term.

It wasn't necessarily super easy but it wasn't difficult. The lectures were clear and concise, and the prof followed the course outline perfectly so it was easy to follow along in the readings.

I would suggest this course to anyone in Social Sciences and Humanities (and other faculties if they have the electives to take it).

[chugaucon]

I took this course with Dr. Alway. He's a really good prof, explained things clearly and knows what he's talking about. The course has 4 essays, 2 in the first term and 2 in the second, the first essay of each term is weighted a lot less than the second one (it's also shorter). There's also an exam at the end of each term.

You basically learn the foundation topics in Political Science in this course (international relation theories, Canadian government, globalization, collective security, humanitarianism, terrorism, etc).

[feonateresa]

Every aspect of this course was terrible, and I completely hated it. That's all I have to say.

Welllll... the essays were not bad, but I hated Alway's teaching style and the textbooks were horribly dry.

[Jayward007]

Great course, excellent prof. Take it. Now.
Perhaps a tad laconic...but you get the point.
The textbooks are standard first year material, and were entirely unnecessary for any student who attended class regularly... Alway's personal notes contained greater details and greater entertainment for the most part. You are unlikely to find a more knowledgeable professor in my opinion.

[heavenlyspot]

In the course outline, it said that participation was 10 % of your whole mark... is that true?

Also, how many students can you expect for first year political science students? Is it hard to get 80's and 90's?

Thank-you :-D

[feonateresa]

Originally Posted by heavenlyspot

In the course outline, it said that participation was 10 % of your whole mark... is that true?

Also, how many students can you expect for first year political science students? Is it hard to get 80's and 90's?

Thank-you :-D

Yes, participation is 10% of your mark. That comes from tutorial, attending and participating in discussion.

In my class there was way over 400 students, about 450-475. Many stopped coming after a while. It is hard to get 80s and 90s based on the fact that a huge portion of your mark is dependent on essays (and exams that are basically essays themselves). Your TA can love you or hate you, so you'll have to do your best.

[heavenlyspot]

Thank- you :-D

[chugaucon]

IMO it's always hard to get 12s in soc sci courses since it involves essays and that could be very subjective. But specifically for this course, I don't think its too hard to get 80s, I found that you'll do well if you include things that your specific TA looks for in a paper (as with every course).

[MKelly]

Do you think this could possibly be offered as a sumer course? I want to take it, but I don't want to have to drop 2 courses to do so. :S

[Raeann89]

It's offered every summer - Alway taught it this past summer and will likely teach it again the next.

[lawleypop]

I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEED this course and I hate politics. I had Professor Rob Leone. He was GREAT! There was just something about him that was really humourous. He was good at explaining things, we had discussions/debates in lectures, and we got to watch a lot of youtube videos that pretty much just made fun of Stephen Harper and his sweater vest. Good times.

Also, I thought the midterm and the exam were SUPER easy. Literally, all you had to do was regurgitate the notes he gave you. It was fantastic.

It's really easy to get a good mark in this class... I think I ended up with a 65-70 and I didn't hand in an essay that was worth either 20 or 25%.

(editted for typos)

[healeykf]

Hey there, I thought the assignments weren't particularly difficult, however the midterm was hit or miss due to unclear expectations of the student. I would suggest talking to your prof (mine was Dr. Leone) beforehand to ensure your understanding of what he's exactly looking for to get those marks on the midterm/final. I got all A's for the assignments but bombed the midterm and ended up with a B+ in the end, but I'm sure A's are quite attainable. Take it if you're interested in poli sci, not because it's easy.

[Jaff24]

where are the notes for this class found? online im assuming

[tallison]

How much reading is required for this course?

[Ben4]

This course is a great start for people who don't know to much about poli sci heading into Mac... plus Alway is great!