for the love of god do not get behind on your readings. they are the key to being able to follow the extremely fast paced and packed lectures, and you will need them in order to complete the exams. clearly intelligent and amazing teacher, but you need to be on top of it!!
Strathman is a great teacher with great lectures. The midterm/final is primarily based on the lectures but needs reading references. While there is a lot of readings, you can just get a general summary and a connection to a key concept. The paper topics offered are very vague but allow a lot of freedom in choosing your topic. YOU NEED THE LECTURES
Easily one of the best professors I've had at UCSB, if not the best. His lectures are engaging and his material is genuinely interesting. These criticisms of him seem misplaced, likely coming from these soft students who expect an A+ just for showing up. Grow up. Put in the effort and you'll do well - not rocket science.
I love love LOVE Prof Strathman. He is honestly is one of the best professors. He is super engaging + definitely loves what he teaches (you will too)! I would recommend him 11/10 times + I cannot wait to take another course with him. I def recommend always going to lectures, he gives great insights for the strategy briefs.
Good prof, but his lectures are way too theoretical and “academia” focused. Wish there was more real world application and discussion of current events. Cares too much about memorizing names of academia researchers. Ton of reading and most of it isn't well written or engaging, coming from a guy who loves IR. TAs were terrible this quarter.
Wow. get ready to read, get ready to memorize every reading for the final. No study guides/reviews are given, simply memorization. He is a great guy and everyone seems to like him, I just tend to not love his grading and teaching style. Having a good TA will help you a lot. Ahh lots of work but rewarding for sure.
Worst professor I've experienced at UCSB and the only bad grade I've received. His 60 slide lectures lack significant detail, often using a single word for an obscure event, a good prof will create 20 detailed slides. All exams are handwritten blue book. The worst part is he genuinely seems like he wants students to fail. Did not earn my respect.
Strathman's penchant for condescension and rote memorization ruined what would've been a fascinating class. In office hours, said my criticism of the idea that colonized people 'benefitted' from colonization was bc my race was colonized and I "probably have a lot of friends in soc".His class teaches us to memorize his views, not think for ourselves
Prof. Strathman was the highlight of my UCSB PoliSci career. He's not the easiest professor, but he is a fantastic teacher. I've taken a number of his classes and would recommend anyone taking PoliSci who is looking to learn the subject to take Prof. Strathman for their IR focus. It won't be an easy road, but the lessons taught will stay with you.
I have taken 4 classes with Dr. Strathman. His classes don't offer much room for error due to their balance. Exams are graded on knowledge of minute details taken from any reading or section of the notes. In order to do well on a final you must bring in every reading applicable, and the omission of one results in a poor grade. Take at your own risk
tbh I wish he had more things within the class to be graded on cause I got messed up by the 2 exams... TBF I didn't do any of the readings lol (I learned my lesson) and thought I could get away with my skim and organize method. but also didn't really try. his lectures are good tho. the tests are pretty hard lots of connecting and things and whatnot
Beware of the wrath of Strath before taking this class. Professor Stratham excels at delivering engaging and informative lectures, providing a wealth of knowledge in. However, be prepared for strict grading, extensive reading, and a fast-paced course covering numerous concepts. It's a challenging but rewarding class that demands a lot from you.