PLPT 3020

White is amazing! He is really engaging in class and really demands the attention of the whole room even though it's a huge lecture. He tells hilarious anecdotal stories to add to the lessons and explains political theory in an interesting and easily understood way. I'm a first year taking the course and though at the beginning of the semester he warned first years to take the course later, it's become my favorite course so far! I recommend this class to everyone!

GREAT CLASS! White's lectures are amazing. Sack was a little eccentric.

There were questions randomly picked up based on the readings for each class. In addition, the TAs graded extremely tough. You would be quite sure you understood the material, and then not get a great grade. I think the average for the class was around an 83.

Stephen White is a fantastic professor, he's a bit sarcastic and his humor takes a little bit to get used to but a very interesting man, I enjoyed lectures a lot. The readings were very reasonable, short - he makes a point of giving small excerpts and selections that are very manageable. Have to complete one to two writing assignment every week based on questions he has given out, about a paragraph only but only collects them in on some days, which can be frustrating but not a problem if you intend on going to lecture, which you should with this guy.
A lot depends on your TA also, had Claire Timperley who now teaches and she was great.

Professor White was a relatively engaging lecturer and did a god job of keeping what could often be dry material interesting and relevant to the course's central questions and themes. I now have a solid grounding in Mill, Rousseau, Locke, Marx and others. Weekly response papers are easy if you remember to do them - they also do a good job of making you attend every lecture. The test, midterm and open-book final aren't too bad but are graded upon certain specific criteria. Looking back I should have talked with my TA a lot more about what good exam responses look like and how they're graded. Probably an important class for anyone interested in majoring in PPL/PST but also has an appeal for someone looking to take just one PLPT class during their time here.

Really great class and professor - my favorite class at UVA so far. Learned a lot about the big name philosophers like Locke and Rousseau. The subject matter wasn't too hard, but the tests could be tricky (I'm a first year, so maybe that's just me). Short readings each night, but they were very dense so they could take a while. Quiz, midterm and final, all with just one or two essay questions. Ross is a fantastic TA.

This is a great class if you like to think about why we think the way we do and stuff. White is a funny and engaging professor and you can tell he is a seasoned lecturer because he gets straight to the point without boring you to death. He keeps the students engaged by randomly calling on people for questions that NO ONE gets rights. The reading is manageable and there are responses for every class, however he only collects at random 10 of 33 so it forces you to read.

Professor White really likes to cut to the heart of political theory, leaving out all the extraneous details. The readings are very short, as are the response papers you have to do. You get the basics, but sometimes the grading seemed a little off and a tad harsh given what seemed to be expected of you. White is a really funny and engaging lecturer though.

White is the man, he's a funny guy who knows his stuff and is a good lecturer. I highly recommend this class, no matter what your major is, as it shows how we think about politics based on a combination of theories throughout history (Locke, Mill, Marx, etc.). There are 1-2 response questions for every class, but he only collects 10 (1/3 of them), so it forces you to read and respond. I wouldnt say it is an easy A, but its not that difficult either. No papers, 1 quiz (that you can drop but he doesn't tell you until after), 1 midterm, and 1 final.

Professor White is awesome and makes the potentially dry course material really interesting. He is a fantastic lecturer and very funny, I loved going to class. That being said, grading is very tricky and very particular - if you have no experience in politics or political philosophy it might be challenging. I loved the thinkers that we studied and the array of theories, overall it is a great course!