every lecture is mandatory so you have to go to because there are quizzes on the reading, so you cant slip up AT ALL. he is the worst professor I have EVER had at UCSB!! if you can avoid him, PLS DO! he never takes responsibility for a students confusion but puts the blame on the the student slacking off and not reading what is assigned

I've had many classes with prof Norris and they are definitely not easy, but many of the comments on here are very unfair. The few times I've seen him upset with a student resulted from that student asking questions that did not apply and slowed the whole class down bc he/she did not even skim or pay attention. Interesting, insightful prof, fun guy

Every lecture started with a quiz for attendance and make sure you read, but the questions were confusing even if you read. The class was graded by 2 essays, daily quizzes, and a final. I don't know anyone who got an A on the first paper, and the grades for the second paper didn't come out before the final. Hardest class I've ever taken.

This is the worst class I have ever taken. Professor Norris is arrogant and outright offensive. He honestly believes that he is superior to the rest of the class, not to mention society. His lectures are convoluted at best. I do not know how he has remained employed at this school. He devalues the Political Science department. I do not recommend.

One of the worst profs I have had at UCSB. Where to begin... absolutely no flow to his lectures, just writes random things on the board (will they be on the final??? who is to say). A ton of reading, has said some pretty insensitive/offensive things in class & overall an arrogant fast paced guy who generally does NOT want his students to succeed.

While I found his lectures to be a bit boring, he is a really great guy, and cares about his students and makes sure that everyone understands the lessons. I highly recommend going to office hours, it's what helped me get a good grade in his class. The daily quizzes are a bit annoying but definitely bearable, and sparknotes will definitely help.

If you've ever wondered why arrogant academic self-referential pretentiousness has a bad name, well then, just take a class from Andrew Norris and the scales will be lifted. The guy can't even be bothered to be polite to students.

He was just politically driven and really abstract assignments. Didn't learn much

I loved this class and this professor. Really good guy who knows the subject matter well and is very down to earth. Tries to connect with the students in funny, weird ways. Lots of reading, but reading always ties in with his lectures. Overall great class

Difficult class. Daily quizzes which suck. Dense reading, a lot of reading actually. No PPT slides he speaks for the whole lecture makes you want to go to sleep. Take this class with another professor.

This guy is one legend. if you wanna hear "duh dah da deh meh" every five minutes(that's a stutter). No slides. Reader. Must read it. Cumalitive writing final. Two 5-7 page papers. Goonie. Talks way too fast. Daily in class quizzes. Disorganized. Has one piece of paper with a couple of bullets and talks a bunch. Bounces back and forth w/names.2many

Such a great professor. Can be hard to follow at times during lecture but also open to slowing down for students and reviewing. Also super funny and stylish? Def hits up the Jcrew. One of the most engaging, interesting, and diverse classes I have taken at UCSB

50 pages of reading a week, two essays, 20 short quizzes, horrid final, and the professor's lectures were honestly terrible and hard to follow. If you have to take this class please TAKE IT WTIH A DIFFERENT PROFESSOR even if you half to wait for another professor to teach the course. The pain of this course is not worth suffering through.

Norris tends to talk really fast during lecture because he gets too excited about philosophy. He means well, though and always tries to make sure he answers everyone's questions (even the stupid ones). Daily 2-question quizzes force you to keep up with reading which is actually very helpful in the long run. Two papers, no midterm, and a final.

Such a nice guy. Great at lecturing. I hate philosophy and he made it engaging and interesting :)

Professor Norris is an exceptional professor. His lectures cover quite a bit of material so make sure you take notes. He typically assigns 50pgs of reading per class and most of the texts are interesting to read. His classes are challenging, but well worth the effort. If you want to actually learn something, I recommend enrolling in his classes.

Super interesting guy but the class is pretty boring to be honest. Lots of reading required for every lecture and it bites you in the ass come finals when you skipped out on it during the quarter. Two essays, which aren't too bad. Funny guy- just a really heavy class that would probably be easier from another teacher.

This class will weed out the pretenders in this major. If you are interested in the material, do the readings, show up, and pay attention, you have a good shot. Some people were upset with the difficulty, but they were people who clearly did not read or pay attention. Norris is extremely intelligent, extremely passionate, and a good lecturer.

Norris must have taken the previous reviews to heart because he's the furthest thing from condescending. What a positive, warm, encouraging guy! He's also amazing at facilitating discussions on challenging texts. I can't wait to take another class of his.

One of the best professors at UCSB. Very demanding and expects a lot from students, but if you are taking a class to learn, then his are the best. Perhaps the most intelligent professor I've ever had.

His class is extremely boring and extremely hard. Too much reading. Too much information. The professor also like to embarrass students in front of the class and gets angry when you don't understand. Avoid this Professor at all costs unless you want a torturous quarter!

Norris isn't that bad, but he assigns a ton of really dry reading and isn't that helpful in his explanations. paper questions were boring and final was really big. TA Jasmine Yarish sucked. worst TA of my life, avoid at all costs.

Ok prof, tries to make class interesting but he isn't a great lecturer. Above avg amt of reading, required to get a good grade in class. 3 essays and a final. He eliminated the quizzes, which helped. TAs are tough graders, and the essay topics are vague. Just try to get through this class bc its required for PS majors, it isn't the best.

Professor Norris's class is interesting. He is very smart and knows the course material very well. I enjoyed his lectures very much (attendance is not mandatory since he posts the notes on gauchospace). Although I think the class is interesting but it is very difficult and challenging to get good grades. TAs are demanding on paper assignments.