Clifford Orwin - University of Toronto - St. George Campus, Toronto, ON

Professor: Clifford Orwin

Department: Political Science

College: University of Toronto - St. George Campus, Toronto, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Orwin is an exceptional lecturer. He made me appreciate all books of ancient and modern political theory and created mystery surround the concepts discussed. He answers every question and replies to every email with a lot of care. He does not use powerpoints but that was great. Overall, amazing course, lifechanging professor.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POL200Y1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

POL200 is possibly the most boring, uninteresting, and substance-lacking class that I have ever taken. It is meant to be a political science course, but lacks anything political. If you have to take this class, you better really enjoy philosophy and 2 hour summaries of relatively simple readings. Orwin himself is nice though, just boring.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Orwin's POL200 was one of the most insightful, rewarding, and indeed enjoyable classes I have taken at UofT. In lecture participation is actually greatly helpful to grasping the course material. If you truly wish to succeed in this course, you MUST: do and understand the readings, go to and participate in tutorial, and do the the weekly questions.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This is the worst Political Science class I have ever taken in my life. The lectures are long and boring with no aids to help you remember the material. They are very strict on using electronic devices, which in my opinion is ridiculous considering the fees you pay to attend. NO SLIDES! - 2 Hours of pure talking. Good luck not falling asleep.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POL200Y
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

First off .... his lectures are pointless and boring - he makes my soul leave my body every time as I chug 3 coffees to try and not fall asleep. I can tell he is very intelligent (no doubt about it), however, he is not a good lecturer. What would make this better is slides because all he does is talk about the study questions. DO NOT TAKE

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Very knowledgeable, intelligent and friendly prof. Enjoyed every single one of his lectures.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Lecture attendance is mandatory, and I don't know why you wouldn't go- his lectures are fantastic. Course content was a bit dense, but getting an understanding of foundational political philosophy texts was worth it. Not really sure why people are complaining about TAs on a page for rating the professor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POL200Y
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

hope you get a good TA because he dose not use slides and you have to take notes by hand so it can be hard to get a quality understanding of what he means. also the final essay is difficult if you do not do the readings so if you don't like to read every night this is not the course for you

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

one in a million prof, quite old school, no lecture slides, just straight lecturing. But if you have even an ounce of interest in government and what makes a good person, orwin has the capability to hold you to your seat. The grading is super easy - I finished my final on an essay topic where I hadn't read either book and got B.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Do not skip lectures because they are very analytical and that is what he is looking for in the essays. Do not skip tutorials as they are easy marks with participation. Don't have to do the readings but they are actually interesting. I must've read 3 of the assigned readings. He doesn't move around but is enthusiastic focus on voice not performance

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POL200Y
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

His lectures do not seem to follow any particular order which is worsened by the fact that he does not use slides. He asks that his students read assigned passages "twice before and twice after" lecture, but it often doesn't make anything clearer. Papers and exams are graded by TAs that think they are the next Kymlicka, caveat emptor.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Prof Orwin lectures like he's delivering a sermon (you get very sleepy). If you can get over this, he's a fantastic prof. I took PHL100 and dealt with similar readings, but Prof Orwin interprets it in a very unique way. I didn't bother reading the books because of that. He's pretty clear but because the content is difficult I wish he'd use slides.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Orwin provides fascinating, deep readings - made me love Classical philosophy and political theory more than I thought possible. The assignments are demanding, but the dedicated TAs and lectures make it worthwhile. It is very possible to ace this course, if you work hard for it.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Orwin is clearly a brilliant man but the worst professor I have ever had in my 4 years at UofT. He teaches the course as if students spend all their time eagerly reading the texts. The assignments/tests seem as though he was contemplating the most convoluted questions possible in order to torture students. If you value your own sanity stay away.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

If you want an A in his class you basically have to go above and beyond to show him how much you care about the course material.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

His lectures are difficult to follow and he digresses from the main subject material a lot of the time. They can be incredibly interesting or incredibly dull depending on the topic at hand. His exams are difficult but his essay marks are fair.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I don't care what anyone says, Professor Orwin is brilliant and deserves tenure at Oxford. I'm just glad Oxford doesn't recognize that. UofT should make him a rich man - doubting that I will ever get a lecturer as brilliantly old-school, sardonic, or incisive as he is. He is helpful and empathetic during office hours.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

so incredibly pretentious. lectures really help with understanding the texts but theyre fairly dry and 100% scripted with no visuals. the readings can feel like a bit much

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CJS200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Pretty much going to echo the sentiments of the previous comments. Overwrought, boring, unable to clearly articulate anything in a way anyone would understand (it happened, but it was rare), and dry. Also, he's a die-hard luddite who is averse to using blackboard, or saveable lecture slides. It does NOT induce better learning, it incoveniences.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: POL200
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Orwin is fantastic but I think many people are unprepared for his expectations and teaching style. He expects that everyone has done their readings and comprehended them. If you have not then his lectures will not make sense. He is great at answering questions and always at his office hours and seems to really enjoy being an educator.