PLAP 1010

Terrific class. Todd is one of the best teachers I have ever had at any level. He takes the time to get to know all of his students and is a very caring man. His lectures are really entertaining and interesting. Sometimes he gets sidetracked, but the information is still easy to follow. Pay attention in lecture and do the readings every once in a while and you will be fine. The class became really close by the end of the semester.

Todd was an amazing professor who truly cared about each and every student. He really is a charming little old man who makes learning politics fun and encourages a friendly, close class environment.

I found Mr. Todd to be incredibly sincere, genuinely caring about his students. We became so close by the end of the year that it had the same social dynamic as a high school class. If you pay attention during lectures and do the readings you're guaranteed over a B. However, getting an A is very difficult, the best most can hope for is an A-. Very eye-opening, would highly recommend.

Professor Todd is a really nice person and genuinely cares a lot about his students. His class heavily focuses on history of American politics, but Todd does a great job of discussing current events. His lectures are interesting, but he often goes off-topic. As long as you go to class and do some readings, you'll at least get a B. The only grades are a paper, a midterm, and a final, which are both free response essays with choice. I'd recommend this class, but I will say that his comments about Republicans and his anti-Republican readings would make some people uncomfortable.

Its a shame he's so old, he should be teaching way more classes. I love professor Todd, he takes such good care of all his students and keeps in touch with them. You HAVE to do the book readings, but theyre pretty interesting. To my knowledge I was the only kid in the class to get a flat A. B+/A- aren't too difficult, but his prompts are pretty general so you need to know your stuff if you want your papers to stand out. Going to lecture is fun!

Prof. Todd is a gem. He is quite old and makes good fun of it (makes good fun of everything - constantly joking around and having fun, poking at students, letting them poke back). He is my favorite professor I've ever had (only a first year though) due to his good demeanor, kind spirit, and he really, really knows his stuff. Class starts off with a fifteen minute discussion of current events (give or take 5) and then proceeds into lecture. Very knowledgable specifically about cases & James Madison. Bleeding heart liberal but he'll value your opinion. There's a little bit of homework, but nothing that you can't handle. Highly recommend

Overall, would recommend class with Professor Todd. His lectures are fun and short, especially since current events take up half the class. The readings are dry and long, but really only need to be skimmed. The only grades are a midterm and a final and a paper, and they all deal with big ideas, not specifics. However, he is a picky grader and it is therefore hard to get an A in his class. Most people got A- or B+. Maybe the best part of his class was the phenomenal guest speakers that he got to speak to the class. They were all engaging and extremely interesting. My one big problem with this class is how partisan and biased Professor Todd is--often times what comes out of his mouth is so unfair and one-sided that it makes you wonder how much you can really trust him.

This was such a great class to take. He's a very engaging professor. I knew nothing about US politics/American history when I came and am now majoring in politics because of this class! He's super knowledgable about everything he lectures on.

Good class. Professor Todd knows the material incredibly well and it shows. The first section of the lecture involves a discussion of current events. This tends to take 10-20 minutes, and the lecture follows. Since the class is relatively small, Professor Todd makes a point to try to get to know students. Office hours are generally helpful. The class is restricted to first years, a life-saver considering how difficult it is to get into politics classes as a first year. Take this class!

Awesome, awesome professor. Professor Todd is very knowledgeable about his subject and extremely passionate about politics, which makes class fun and interesting. Lectures tend to be short, as the professor spends a great deal of time discussing current events, but are always relevant to the text and he manages to keep class engaging even when lecturing on more "boring" topics. The class is very much historically based, good for history majors and politics majors alike. Readings can be a bit long but are for the most part fairly interesting. I would 100% recommend this class to anyone interested in U.S. history, politics, or the current state of American political affairs. Definitely a class worth taking.