Wendy Brown - University of California Berkeley

Professor: Wendy Brown

Department: TBD

College: University of California Berkeley

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI4
• 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:

She is an AMAZING lecturer. She doesn't use slides so you need to pay attention but she's probably one of the best professors at Cal.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Brown's lectures are dull and lacks engagement - that said, not terrible. Just okay. It didn't help that this class was held later in the day (3:30pm-5:00pm). But paying attention as best as you can is important to do well in the class, and this class is really driven by your discussion section. Use your GSI, tends to be reliable!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PS4
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I loved this class! I liked the structure of the course and found the content interesting. Professor Brown doesn't use slides, which a lot of people don't like, but personally, I thought her lectures were so organized and interesting you don't really need them. Some of the readings are complicated so sections help a lot. Highly recommend this class

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: 112POLTHEORY
• 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:

Profound. Puts substantial care & understanding into the texts. She could make the dense modern works absolutely captivating while still remaining true to theories. Lectures not mandatory, but an opportunity. It was upper division, so don't expect an easy A or support from her on how to write theory essays (go to GSI). Final is now in class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLS112
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I came into this class with normal expectations, but some of the reviews on this website have been very misleading. The class was a bad first impression of what political theory courses are at Berkeley - extremely dense and boring. She is very well-read, but she is one of the most tedious lecturers at Cal. Perhaps my least favorite course at Cal.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLSC112C
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

There were a lot of papers for this course, but not a lot of help in showing how to think critically and write papers properly.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PS4
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

class content is not applicable to major

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLIS004
• 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:

Great prof. This class made me love the heck out of political theory, and it was all because of Wendy.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Definitely attend all lectures and take good notes. The midterm and final test questions can all be answered pretty well with what your hear from lecture. I also had a great GSI, so take it with Sam Stevens if you can. I was unable to make Sam's OHs but he made time to meet with me outside of them. Great professor and great GSI!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Wendy takes the daunting task of learning a library's worth of information much more enjoyable and much more interesting. She has an excellent way of clearly communicating information and palpably cares about her own performance as an instructor. The only issue is she can tend to repeat herself a lot but that does help drill meaning into lecture.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PS4
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Brown is an outstanding lecturer and scholar. Her enlightening PS4 class was centered on freedom. She masterfully traced an arc through historical conceptions of freedom, finishing the course with her own writings and intellectual developments of the ideas she'd been presenting us. She's sharp, graceful, witty, and great with words. 11/10

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PS4
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Brown is seriously one of the best professors at Cal. Her lectures are extremely well organized and make following along easy. The readings add up quickly, but lectures explain what you should have gotten out of the books very clearly and in an interesting way.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PS112B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Best political theory prof at berkeley. Would take any class from her.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PS112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She's my goddess anyone interested in modern/contemporary political philosophy should take her class and also just talk to her

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PS4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

No power points and her voice is very soft, but definitely manageable class. The readings can be tough at first, but she tells you pretty much everything you should have gained from the reading in lecture so that helps. Also, even though the material can be challenging the grading was so fair! Class average on the midterm was 91%.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POLIS004
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Amazing lecturer. Her voice however is really soft so do drink a latte or your beverage of choice before coming to lecture. The theorists at first were difficult to comprehend however as the course progresses you get the hang of it. In the end you realize you've learned so much from a wide range of political theorists. Amazing course! Take it! :)

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PS4
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Brown was great. She's a wonderful lecturer (a very soothing voice) and explains all the theorists wonderfully. She's very smart and cares about her students. Reading is totally manageable. Take PS4 with her if you can!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PS112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Pro: Professor is nice and really cares about what she's teaching. Con: GSI's, boring lectures (like listening to someone read from a book for 1 and a half hours), material we learned was slanted to present a particular world view.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PS112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I talked to a lot of classmates and none of them thought this was a well taught course. The poor performance from the GSIs probably played a major part, but do not underestimate how much time will be wasted attending Brown's lectures. Many people simply never attended because nothing she discusses has any relevance to what you're graded on.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PS112C
• 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:

I was dreading taking a theory class, but because Brown was the professor, it ended up being my favorite class of the semester. She speaks beautifully and lectures in such a way that you understand every theorist covered. It was the only class I never missed a lecture for.