Doug Steinel - George Washington University, Washington, DC

Professor: Doug Steinel

Department: Political Science

College: George Washington University, Washington, DC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Doug is a great professor and a hilarious guy. He knows the material so well, and his life experience is part of his narration- but in a good way. Not a hard class, he is interesting and as long as you go to class, take notes, and turn in the few assignments outside of exams, you'll do fine.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Doug was deeply affected by the 2016 election. A typical lecture reads like a January 17' NewYorker piece trying to explain the plight of flyover country. In terms of the format of his class, it lacks any discernible structure or intentionality. This man just rants. Stylistically, he 's a cross between Capin' Jack Sparrow and Popcorn Sutton.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Here is how it is works: go to class and participate, Rent/but the books depending on what you know. Read. And take the tests.- Thats it. This is an intro-polisci class where you will learn the methos and logic of politics v useful in later courses:. I took this my senior year and it was key in putting everything together. Thanks Doug !

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

At first, the lack of an organized lecture annoys you, but I honestly would just recommend typing what he says word for word because it ends up being on the midterm and final. Side assignments like the monthly periodical and book report at the end are graded pretty easily, so long as your opinion is stated clearly.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor keeps the topic of American political thought as interesting as he can. He does take attendance and the midterm is worth 25% and final 50% which is based on his lecture. If you attend and take notes you will do fine. He is really a great professor and I recommend taking him.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PSC2101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I would avoid at all costs. He spends the entire class periods rambling about off-topic things with no structure whatsoever and there is no guidance as to what will be on the midterm and final, which are worth 30 & 50% of your grade, so you can easily get screwed over. If you're into provocative conservatives you will enjoy him slightly more.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PSC2101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very interesting class but can be difficult to follow the thread of his lectures. Reading is on the syllabus but is not assigned to a specific day, and he freely admits that textbook information is not as important as lecture. Just go to class so he knows who you are.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's great in that he breaks the circle of legitimacy and forces students to confront that opposing views exist and aren't inherently demonic. That alone makes him great. Four small papers, 4-essay midterm, 4-essay final that's actually the entire grade, with the other assignments giving you a few points up or down. The syllabus is a lie.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PSC110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Doug was my favorite prof at GW. He leans conservative which is rare at GW and a nice change of pace. Entertaining guy, fun to listen to. I liked going to his classes. Take verbatim notes from lectures and you'll do well. Must know the lectures. I'm the kind to type everything out word for word. Do that and you will succeed. Great class. Take it.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Doug is hilarious and brilliant. I thought I was going to hate political philosophy going in but he made the class interesting and relevant. He grades essays easily but harshly on the exams. Exams are structured around his lectures, you won't pass if you don't go to his lectures.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PSC2101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His lecture style is pretty straight forward. His miderm and final are pretty tricky. Take good notes in class and you should do fine. The final is also 50% of your grade. SAS assignments are tricky but easy once you get the hang of it. He is not helpful at all outside of class. He is the best of horrible options for scopes

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's a nice guy, and you don't need to buy any of the textbooks as he literally never uses them. All of his tests are in-class essays that can be on any topic that he's covered up to that point, so make sure you go to every class, take good notes, and study your notes well. Overall, the class had a minimal work level and he grades easily

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PSC110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really funny professor with good knowledge of American politics. Definitely a must take and must attend if you want a good grade. Nonstop lecture class but if you like politics you should be hooked.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PSC2110
• 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:

Steinel is a very funny and totally quirky guy. It's like taking a class with Jack Nicholson. The all essays format of the midterm and final can hurt you if you don't know one of answers to some of the oddball questions he throws out. Harder than I thought it was going to be but Steinel is a cool guy.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PSC110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I am interested in the American Political Thought and he just killed it for me. He doesnt teach. He rambles on the entire lecture and leaves no room for students to speak. He doesnt tell you what he expects from students. I thought I would do well in his class but I got a B-. This is the first class I've taken at GW that i wouldnt recommend.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PSC110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

American Political Thought with Steinel was kind of frustruating. Out of a class of 40 I was 1 of 20 people who actually went to class which wasn't taken into consideration at all. Final and midterm were graded harshly and he asked questions that he barely went over in class. Ended up with a lower grade that I thought proving he's unpredicable.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PSC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He likes to go on tangents about unrelated things, but hes a cool dude. DO YOUR SAS computer assignments and know how to do them. For the final, you'll need to know for a 25 point question. If you don't know how to do it, that's an auto 75 on the final, and your final is worth 50% of your grade!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PSC110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Good professor, keeps a pretty boring topic interesting. If you go to class and take good notes, there's no reason why you can't get an A.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PSC110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Test questions can be very tricky and require complete mastery of the material to do well. Lectures are filled with rehearsed, repeated jokes and unrelated tangents. Taking into account the professor quality and its location on the Vern, it may be better to take a different political thought course on Foggy Bottom for the PSC requirement.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PSC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Subject matter makes this class automatically boring, but Prof. Steinel's rehearsed lectures that still use data examples from the late 80s/early 90s make it slightly more boring. Tends to use the same jokes over and over, and they eventually grate on you. Tests can be tricky, and doing well on them requires going to class and taking good notes.