Peter Mandaville - George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Professor: Peter Mandaville

Department: Political Science

College: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GOV345
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Mandaville is a FANTASTIC professor. He is very caring and always answers emails in a timely fashion, and if you cannot make it to office hours he is willing to find a time that works for you. The class could sometimes get a little slow because the class was only lectures. There were no tests, which I liked, only papers and participation.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GOV345
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

DON'T TAKE HIS CLASS. His lectures are boring. He has no tests which is good but he has papers which he is a tough grader on... IF HE EVEN GRADES IT. He takes ages to grade papers and doesn't even give you feedback. Does not care about students and is rude. He doesn't explain things well at all. Don't buy book because it is his Don't take his class

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GOVT132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His class was easy just 2 multiple choice tests, 2 essays, and discussion boards. You don't even have to show up just the test days having read the notes. I personally find the topic interesting but no one was really listening while he was talking except for a few. He did get this look on his face if someone said the wrong thing but overall nice.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GOV132
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I don't know what it was about this class but it was incredibly hard to follow along with his lectures. Mandaville and his T.A. grade papers as if it was an upper-level class. He is very passionate about government but for me, this class was definitely a challenge. It seemed as if they thought everyone in the class was government majors.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GOV132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Decent professor, lectures are hard to follow and are very static. He seems to make easy concepts more difficult than they need to be

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GOV132
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is super nice and passionate about the topic of GOVT. He deft has ALOT of experience and knows many languages! He likes to interact with the class! Cracks corny jokes! He does discussion board q's before every class on the readings and 2 papers. I would take him again! He stutters a bit when he's super excited about the topic but it's manageable

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GOV345
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Mandaville was a disappointment. He does not give feedback on assignments and he also he gave no type of study guide for the Final, so there was no way to narrow your focus. He simply explained the format of the test. I would not recommend this class to anyone. I you need a government class, I would look elsewhere.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GOV345
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of the best professors ever. He is very knowledgeable and a total geek. I learned a lot though. The papers are a little difficult but if you put in your best effort you should be ok.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GOVT345
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Let me start by saying he is incredibly knowledgeable about the subject. With that being said, he is incredibly rude to students and talks down to you if you ask a question he thinks is stupid. He wants discussion, but then puts down students when they talk. Also, TA grades all papers and then prof grades the final, harshly.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GOVT733
• 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:

He does not give a lot of feedback, so if you make mistakes you keep on making them. From what I can gather its more important you stick to methodolgies you may not have learned then actually produce work that gets to the heart of the subject.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GOVT733
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

BEST TEACHER EVER such an angel

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GOV732
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

As a perosn he is not a bad person however as a professor he is not someone you should take. He never gives papers back therefore you repeat the same mistakes. Sometimes you doont even know your garde on some of the papers. You have to work on your own and he expects a lot without assisting students. If you can avoid him please do so

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GOVT132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Mandaville was really cool. He had some great stories and he was pretty chill. A great teacher but the class itself was so boring so I had no interest in it at all. Take this class if your attention span is good and you like government!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GOVT132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Mandaville is probably a nice guy, but is a TERRIBLE teacher. The first paper assignment was given without proper instruction and of course Everyone did horrible! The 1st & Second exam you are require to study everything all the chapts. and power points without a review. Basically this is a tough class not recommended at all! AVOID

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GOV641
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Mandaville is definitely a "rising star," but he is so busy with other activities and travel that he doesn't make much time for his students. Papers are not turned back in a timely manner and he doesn't give much feedback. He is out of the office a lot as well, so its hard to find out how to do better.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GOVT132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Two essays, multiple choice midterm and final plus "facebook" like posting for attendance credit. He doesn't ask much from the individual, but beware, he is BORING. He's not a public speaker. Long pauses and stutters plague his lectures and make his class dreadful. I like politics, but he kills any enjoyment I have for the topic. Book use minimal

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GOVT132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This teacher is definitely smart but his lectures are so boring and so hard to pay attention to that it is hard to gain any knowledge on the subject. he doesnt lay out the key concepts well enough to gain adequate understanding of the material, i would not reccommend him

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GOVT132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The man is VERY smart. He knows the subject quite well, and probably is a great grad school teacher, but for a 100-level, it was a little too much. He assigns 40+ pages of reading per class and teaches straight from the slides that came with the book. 2 small papers and 2 exams, both easy to get B's on, but tough for A's.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GOV739
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

One of the best teachers at Mason! Definitely a rising star in the Middle East scholarly community. Highly recommend his course on Global Political Islam.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GOVT345
• 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: N/A

Comment:

Great professor. Class material is a bit difficult to master and can be dry. Grades fairly easy on papers and tests. There is a lot of reading to be done in this course and quite a few papers so you have your work cut out for you. Overall a good experience.