John Paden - George Mason University

Professor: John Paden

Department: TBD

College: George Mason University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• 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:

He is probably one of the smartest people I have ever met. His is very kind and appreciates students sharing their opinions. He is very well connected and busy, but despite this he is very accessible and wants to help you excel. He has a lot of knowledge to share and you will learn a lot from any of his classes, guaranteed. 1010 would recommend.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Super easy class about China and Nigeria. Class is discussion based, but no one is forced to speak. Professor Paden is incredibly nice and exceptionally interesting. I really enjoyed the discussions about Nigeria since it's such a foreign topic I knew nothing about. Assigns two 10 page papers, but incredibly lenient on the length!!!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GOVT490
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Excellent class discussions, and he is a very nice professor. More importantly he knows his stuff. He frequently briefs the State Dept. and is the go to guy for anything related to Nigeria. Highly recommend him.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GOVT430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

No point.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GOVT430
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dumb class, will not take again. The professor writes student off when you don't hear everything that is going on in the class discussion. No interest at all. The papers are vague but the page length are long and a waste of time. Does give good help though, but not worth taking.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Paden is visibly passionate about China and Nigeria and he has the stories to back his interest. Just show up to class and feign some interest and you'll be fine. He takes notes during discussions about who says what so definitely try to speak up occasionally. He's also very lenient- I never met the 10 pg minimum for papers but still did well.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GOV490
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Paden knows his stuff. He is smart and loves to engage students. He doesn't write you off. He assigns two papers and a midterm and doesn't really care too much about content as long as your papers are well written, and your argument is clear. Despite my disagreements with him, he is really a good professor. P.S.: Don't buy the books.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GOVT490
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Professor Paden is one of those people you know is a genius after only a few minutes with him. The work he assigns is fair and he's a great person!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Passionate about his topics, and enthusiasm is contagious. Not a hard class, but you do need to do the reading and research a little bit in order to write the papers. He is an easy grader. Great guy.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GOV320
• 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:

Brilliant Professor

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GOVT490
• 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:

By far one of the best university professors out there. Courses are engaging, students are encouraged to lead discussions, and he's built his career around real world application in Nigeria. To have actual politicians from Nigeria come in and speak in your classroom??? Priceless. I would recommend not taking one course with him, but several.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GOVT490
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Honestly I have never written a comment for a professor before, but Professor Paden is one of the best professors Mason has to offer. He's extremely intelligent and nice and is more than willing to help. If you have to take a Govt 490 class take his.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Paden is great! He assigns readings that are actually interesting (for the most part) and runs class as a seminar, not a lecture. He KNOWS his field: he was a couple minutes late to class one day because he was on the phone with a major Nigerian presidential candidate (no big deal).

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GOVT430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Paden is the reason you attend a university. He regularly briefs the State Dept. on issues related to Nigeria and their political elections. He spent years living in Africa and his ability to help you understand any global issue (he's a Robinson Professor for a reason) is priceless. Plus he's incredibly nice and attentive to your area of intere

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: HNRS200S
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

YOU HAVE TO TAKE HIM! Actually takes the time to learn about you and cares about what he's teaching. One of the best professors at Mason!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: HONORS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This guy is the bomb, you have to take him, he is very easy, and i actually learned quite a bit from this class. The other sections I heard about tended to be harder and a waste of time. Just be sure to speak up some in class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

soo nice, great professor, really sweet, two 10-12 page papers which suck but he's so passionate about international relations and china and nigeria you have to try to learn something for him

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GOVT342
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Interesting class but ATTENDANCE IS VITAL. If you skip class chances are you will fail or perform poorly. My only complaint was I felt like if you missed ANYTHING in class there's no way to compensate via the reading. He basically tests you on what he speaks about, which is interpretation of the texts. Nice guy though. Funny.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GOV327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Not the best professor out there but a very intelligent man. Likes to hear the students talk in his class. Very fair grader. Friendly, cordial and helpful. I would take him again.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: HNRS230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Incredible, brilliant, and funny to boot. Great guy, take his class. 2 10-12 page essays, 40% of the class is participation.