Strathman...where do I even begin? I have taken 3 courses with this guy and have come to these conclusions: 1) He is a great lecturer, 2) He grades very harshly and 3) He is not lenient towards people who need special accommodations, so don't get sick and expect any help from him. Funny, engaging, intelligent guy. But not caring or lax at all.
Strathman offers dynamic lectures that make it easy to pay attention. Yes, it is a difficult, intense class. If you do all the readings and take good lecture notes, you will be fine. Grading is tough, but he is very clear on what he wants from his students.
I took 121,126, and 127 last year and got a B+, A-, and A. You gotta go to most lectures if u want to do well. They are fast paced and interesting. He assigns a lot of readings, but read the conclusion and pay attention in section. I never read an entire reading and survived just fine. Memorize the main points of each author for in person exams.
Took online in summer, every week we had about 6 lectures and quizzes. It was a lot of work. Prerecorded lectures were good honestly, thanks to online, if I took it in person, I will fail it. It was very hard. The quizzes were tricky, and the exams were timely and very difficult. I had many diff understanding than the prof based on his lectures.
Very engaging lecturer and I learned a lot but was also one of the most miserable classes ever. Unrealistic grading expectations (I lost many points on tests not because I answered wrong but bc he was looking for a specific, different answer). Never responded to emails. Seemed to pride himself on the fact that a good portion of his students fail.
Strathman provides great lectures, however there is a lot of provided readings that are connected to the quizzes, midterm, and final (all closed notes/book). Memorization of the authors and their theories is helpful for the final. There are also 2 op-eds that are harshly graded. C's get degrees so just do your best. Take quizzes seriously!
Took the class online and in person they are equally as hard but would recommend online. A lot of reading be prepared.
The good things I can say about this professor/course is that the quizzes are very straight forward. However the quizzes draw from an unreasonable amount of readings and the readings are often pictures of text which is annoying because you can't CNTL-F the text. Also had a difficult time receiving help when the class site was not functioning.
Probably the hardest class I have ever taken at UCSB, but I'm glad I took it. The class/professor were super fascinating. You will 100% become an expert in foreign policy after this class. Honestly, if you're up for the challenge, take your time on the readings, attend lecture and office hours, I don't see how you could get less than a B overall.
Most stressful class I've ever taken. RUN AWAY FOR REAL.
EXTREMELY unrealistic grading expectations. For exams, rather than test on core concepts, hyper focuses on the most minuscule details briefly mentioned in class, either terms or exact quotes, and asks that you cite sources practically verbatim in in-person written exams. Average grades on exams are failing. Setting students up for failure!!!
If you go to lectures and sections you can get a B in this class without having to do much outside work. A lot of people say the reading is too much but as long as you get the main point you’ll be fine. Midterm was in person short answer and you did have to memorize author’s names and arguments but it wasn’t that bad. Final was online
Strathman isn’t as bad as everyone says. I took 126 in person and got an A- without drowning in work. As long as you get the main point from each reading you’re good. You have to do three strategy briefs which are short but challenging. No midterm, take home final (but it was two ten page essays) but straight forward prompts.
The worst poli-sci professor that UCSB has to offer, doesn't offer any real insight about international relations, and focuses heavily on mundane regurgitation of author names and articles as opposed to actual analysis of the material were supposed to learning, it seems like he revels in having his class average for tests be below passing. AVOID.
This was definitely the hardest class I've taken BUT I found it pretty interesting. Strathman was a really good lecturer and I enjoyed going to his class but there were 4-8 hours of readings every weak and he graded the 2 Op-Eds, midterm, and final so hard like he wanted you to fail. If you do all readings and go to class you'll be fine
He has enthusiasm for the material he teaches, I'll give him that, but he never responded to any of my emails and didn't curve the midterm, the average for which was like 50%, which resulted in me getting a C since I did ok on all the others.
Awful class NEVER TAKE IT AGAIN. I took it in person for fall 2021 and I regret every moment. Completely unrealistic expectations and a stupid amount of work for a Political Science class.
Legitimately the worst professor I have ever taken in my entire academic career, lectures are super dense, 100-200 pages of readings a week, expected to memorize every single author and concept they suggest, docked on exams for unknown reasons... Stay away
The hardest that I have ever worked to get a c in a class. The tests he gives question you about things that he barely went over in lecture and that werent really even mentioned in the readings. He is also extremely arrogant and views his students as inferior, constantly insulting their intelligence. Avoid the wrath of strath!!
We started with 180 people in a class in an impacted department, we have ended with maybe 150, probably everybody who's a non major has gone with the pass no pass option. The quality of this class is horrendous, and Strathman simply doesn't know how to teach. Assigns the most reading of any prof ive ever taken, and expects you to cite it verbatim.
The professor gives you no guidance in terms of preparing you for the final as well as the midterm, the questions are incredibly vague and they focus one topics that are barely covered in lecture or reading. Only one or two students got an A on the midterm and final, the class average for both was around a 58, one of the worst teachers at ucsb!!
Reading is everything in this class--if you don't do the readings you will not pass. He expects a lot from the midterm and final on top of 2 papers. Although he is tough, he is very clear about what he is looking for on the exams. He recommended splitting readings with a group. You can succeed if you just read and take good notes.
One of the worst polisci professors that I have ever taken, avoid this guy at all costs. On his tests he expects very specific writers to be introduced, and even if you get the concept on the test correct and introduce a reading that relates to that concept you will still loose point because you didn't introduce the reading he arbitrarily chose.
Good luck with the vague questions and onslaught of reading unlike any professor in the UCSB polisci department that you've taken before. There are other professors in the Polisci department, do yourself a favor and avoid this guy.
