Daniel Lynch - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Professor: Daniel Lynch

Department: International Studies

College: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: IR333
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Lynch has amazing knowledge regarding not only China but Asia in general. There IS a lot of reading in the course however if you keep up through skimming and focus during the lectures, you will be good to go for the tests. He is a lenient grader. Don't facebook or instagram during class, he will notice and call on you to answer a question

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: IR333
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

While the professor is amazing in his depth of knowledge, he expects you to have that same depth. The amount of readings is incomparable to any class I have taken: there's way too much (100/day), he expects you to know each one of them for the midterm and final. Lectures are fine but you need to copy down each sentence because he won't post slides.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lynch really really loves China. Should rename the class The Chinese Economy in Global Affairs or something. He misses lectures a lot and is difficult to reach by email. My TA was wonderfully helpful, but Lynch was not clear at all.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I truly hated this class. The professor has some real life experience, but the topics in the class are terrible, he makes them boring, doesn't post the lectures, and all the information you every need is from copying down the words on the lecture. Apparently Lamy is a much better professor, and the class is much more interesting. Wait and take Lamy

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is generally a nice guy, but sometimes he just ramble on and on. If the topic is interesting, you can follow; oftentimes it isn't. So just be prepared to drop down everything he puts on the slides and try to make it through the lectures. They can get REALLY boring.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He can be really irritating... expects us to write three complex and fully developed essays AND MEMORIZE THEM to write for our final... oh, and he only gives us three days to do it all...

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Seems like a nice guy, but lectures are very confusing, and he is very unorganized when it comes to the class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: IR333
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have taken 2 classes with him so far and I would take another one! He is a very knowledgeable professor and a genuinely nice person. His lectures can be a little confusing if you have not done the reading. He also gives you the actual tests 3-5 days in advance but they are still very tough. The grade you receive depends on your TA! Good Luck

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Lynch is a funny and nice professor, and relates lectures to Asian study examples. If you put in the work (study for midterms and test) and put in the effort for the Blackboard postings (which the TA's grade) then you should get at least a B+ or A-A. I recommend participating in JEP or TIRP for the extra credit!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: IR428
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Each class is supposed to be run as a "seminar" with a student presentation- in reality Lynch interrupts, goes off on tangents and rants about the Internet. Classes did not prepare me for exams whatsoever and I ended up feeling even more clueless about the Chinese political economy than ever. Needs to get his life together.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lynch was an ok professor. His lectures were sometimes difficult to understand and seemed irrelevant to what we were learning. There is a lot of reading, but it is not completely necessary to finish for lecture. There were 3 midterms, but study guides were given ahead of time. He also focused on China and most of his examples were from China.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Doctor Lynch is a very knowledgeable professor. The lectures may get boring and confusing at times. Make sure to take notes because he does not share the powerpoints with students. The grading is mostly done by TAs so make sure you go to discussions and participate. Only 3 tests but they are in class essays! READ READ READ!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He tries to make the class funny but he makes awkward jokes and sometimes gets super off topic. All he ever talks about is Asia. Not a bad professor and for the basic level of the class it was pretty easy. The only textbooks you need are the Lamy and Robertson one.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Since this was a theory-based course, the structure of the course can sometimes be confusing. Prof. Lynch is extremely insightful, especially with regards to China. He does get off topic sometimes when talking about broad concepts of IR. I enjoyed the class- mainly powerpoint and discussion. He also assigns alot of readings, so it's best to keep up

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: IR333
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, really funny in a nerdy way. Tons of reading assigned but if you do a majority of it you will be fine. Take his class!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Admittedly, not my favorite teaching style. However, he is extremely knowledgable about IR and has a true passion around East Asia. Exam questions are given ahead of time and the TAs are great at consolidating his sometimes random lecture slides. Readings are not mandatory given that they have little correlation with the lecture.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He assigns a lot of reading, but it isn't necessary if you go to lecture and pay attention. His lectures are a lot easier to follow than the readings. He's obviously very passionate about IR and if you enjoy the subject, he makes class very interesting. It's a class I never struggled to pay attention in.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: IR210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Actually a pretty cool class - not particularly hard, but not easy either as long as you go to class and do some of the readings. Gives exam questions ahead of time, so the may be long but you should be fine as long as you study! Lynch can sometimes ramble on but he's definitely helpful during lecture and in his office hours if you have questions.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: IR333
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really hard prof. HAVE to do all readings. Designs class so that he doesnt thoroughly go over readings in lecture on purpose. writes exam questions only based on readings to test if you actually read or not. Each class has 100+ pages of reading, nearly impossible to read everything. Rly knowledgeable prof but dont take unless u have a lot of time.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: IR333
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Analysis of Chinese history and foreign policy. Lynch has an incredible depth of knowledge about the subject matter. This course will require a lot of reading, but it's worth it. Attendance is mandatory. Visit during office hours! Really personable and easy to talk to, but come prepared.