PLCP 2120

Professor Fatton is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the world, and though his accent can be a little hard to follow sometimes, if you pay attention he randomly inserts the funniest little jokes into his lectures. Lectures are important and discussions even more so, and a lot of people said you can skip the reading, which I guess is true, but honestly you should at least skim it if you want a better grade - I ended up with an A in this course which I understand is not that common, and I think I got it because I went to class and did the readings too, so I maybe had a more in-depth understanding than most people? I don't know, but it's not difficult material and it's an easy subject to feel passionate about, so if you have the time for both, I highly recommend it, especially because you will get a better grade than average. Paro is a wonderful TA, probably one of the best in the politics department, and I've heard awesome things about Theo as well. This class is hugely important, and super interesting! This should be required for anyone in the politics/global studies/economics programs.

Professor Fatton has experience in the field and brings that into the classroom. Readings seem intimidating but class is definitely worthwhile. Highly recommend if you're interested at all in global development...you'll get a much deeper understanding of the complexities. #‎tcf2016‬

This class is really interesting and you'll learn a lot. Fatton is incredibly knowledgable and a nice guy but the lectures lack structure. Sometimes it felt like he was just talking about random information without really connecting it to a bigger picture. However, I had Geoffrey as my TA and I would really recommend him! His discussion sections helped structure the information and make sense of some of the denser readings. He would also send out questions before the two tests to help guide your studying. One thing I didn't like about the class was that the research paper didn't have any guidelines so it was difficult to find a place to start. It was a good learning experience though. Overall interesting and worthwhile class. Look for Geoffrey!

This was the best class I have taken so far at UVA. If you have an interest in cultural/global studies or any area of politics, DEFINITELY take this class. WARNING: one issue I had at upon starting this class was being very overwhelmed with reading. There is A LOT assigned. Hence, you must know how to take in a lot of text in a short time. Don't get too wrapped up in details with reading or lectures.

Apart from that. Try to get Geoffrey Gordon as a TA. He was very passionate about this topic and will definitely help you achieve an A!

As for getting a good grade in this class, I would say it is possible to get an A if you attend all lectures, understand BIG pictures, and get help for you TA with concepts you find tricky. What helped my get an A in this class was getting help on the research paper that was 35% of our grade. Your TA will be a valuable resource for this.

This was an EXCELLENT CLASS!

Fun class! Fatton is great. Highly recommend Marc Opper as a TA.

Great class, not hard to do well. I recommend Theo Yakah as a TA, as long as you make it clear in your essay/on exams that you know your stuff he won't nitpick or dock you for no reason like some TAs do. Exams usually don't require you to have done all the readings, the final in particular seemed to be focused on larger concepts (mainly the advantages/disadvantages of capitalism and some alternatives).