PLCP 3410

I have mixed feelings about this class. The negatives were tons of reading and a boring lecture where Schulhofer-Wohl always went over class time and never said anything really substantial in 50+ minutes. However, what made up for this class was my TA- Paro Sen is amazing and taught me everything I know for this class. Solely because of her I feel like I haven't completely wasted my semester in this class- if you ever get the chance to take her, DO.

Although Schulhofer-Wohl is a great person and knows his stuff, he could not convey that information very well. As the previous commenter mentioned, going to lecture was really pointless. There was also too much work for this course: at least 75-100 pages of reading a week, 2 five page papers, as well as a midterm and final. The only redeeming grace is that this course is curved.

Horrible course. Horrible professor. Schulhofer-Wohl assigns an obscene amount of reading in return for pitiful lectures. DO NOT DO THIS TO YOURSELF

I expected to learn a lot in this class and come out with a better understanding of the conflicts that burden the Middle East. Instead, I struggled to complete the readings each week and have been left with an unclear image of the Middle East and North Africa. In my opinion the professor failed on his part to tie together the readings in lecture each week and provide any sort insightful thoughts about them. In fact the readings were barely mentioned in lecture, which is highly annoying considering they were extremely time consuming. Also, it didn't make sense why the reading analysis was due at the beginning of the lecture for the week we chose to do it on because we didn't really even discuss the readings in lecture. This is the hardest politics class I have taken at UVa and in return I expected more. You do not get out what you put in, in this class. This review may come across as too nice- Do not take this class!!! If you want to learn about the middle east, I recommend simply to read articles online or check out some books from the library.

It was definitely a lot of reading, but if you did the readings you learned a lot. Lecture was sometimes clarifying, sometimes not so much - professor Schulhofer-Wohl did not spend it clarifying the readings, which did not bother me because about half the politics professors I've had don't either. Yes this makes the class more difficult, but if you put in the work an A is definitely possible. If you are having difficulty in the course, talk to the professor -- he is a little intimidating but very reasonable. Bob is a chill TA, not the easiest grader but not the harshest either.

Reading was excessive. Half of the time you were reading the same information 5 times, just in different books. Lectures were completely pointless and boring. I've never fallen asleep in class, but this lecture was the closest I've gotten. If you're okay with just reading the material (which is actually interesting) then go for it. On the other hand, you could just read these books on your own and pretty much have the same experience.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. The readings are insanely long (average 70-90pgs a night), and the professor does nothing to clarify them. Schulhofer-Wohl is an awful lecturer and professor who does not do anything to explain the Middle East today. I thought the class would teach me about what is going on today in the Middle East, but it was pretty much a ginormous history class with too much material and a professor that does not clarify the readings he provides. Trust me, don't do this to yourself.

I would recommend this class, but only if you are really interested in the Middle East. There is an immense amount of reading, most of which is never covered in lecture. The professor is extremely unapproachable and never covers the week's topic in class, often only touching on one country when in fact the readings were about two or three. JSW isn't a horrible professor because he is obviously very knowledgeable of the topic, but just really not great and never covers the issues with nuance. Kubinec is a fantastic TA and is basically the reason I was able to understand the material at all.

I feel badly writing a poor review for this class, because it's obvious that Schulhofer not only knows his stuff, but cares a lot about his course. Still, he's a pretty incompetent lecturer. Around November I just stopping going to class, because it wasn't worth my time. As others have said, the amount of reading is prohibitive-- there's no way you can do it all, and most of it is dense and inaccessible, anyway. If I had to cut something, most weeks it was this class's reading. If I had worked really hard, I probably could have gotten more out of this class--but the disconnect between the reading and lecture was frustrating, the novel review paper was pointless and annoying on top of all the other assignments, and the midterm was challenging (at least it was curved.) If you're looking for a good class on the modern Middle East or an easy way to fulfill a CP requirement if you're a Politics major, take a hard pass on this one. There are better ways.

Just don't. This class was literally the worst I've taken at this school. Here's why:
1. Professor: knowledgable, yes. professor, no. Just reads outlines during lecture in a monotonous, dull voice. It usually does not go with the readings for that lecture, which just confuses you even more.
2. Readings: average of 170 pgs/wk. This amount of reading is proof that this is a self-teaching class. Just skipping 2 or 3 wks, which I unfortunately did, means 500pgs of make up to do. My-ass.
3. Papers: consists of 2 papers. The novel paper is honestly not bad. The week's reading is a real pain in the ass though. You have to read an entire week's reading, write your essay, and turn it in on MONDAY OF THAT PARTICULAR WEEK. That is just simply unnecessary.
4. Exams: a midterm and a final. Passable if you try. Study guides are a joke, way too many terms to study for.
5. Time: to make this class even worse than it is, it is at 9am.
6. I went to this class regretting everyday the time I mistook this class as the History of the Middle East and North Africa, which was the class my friend recommended, and finding out about it only after the drop deadline.

This is my first post. This class allowed me to pity people even considering taking this class, and even gave me the motivation to write this post. Take my advice to heart, my fellow Hoo's.

With regret,
Flaxon-Waxon