Review:
Prof. Berry is a great, insightful teacher. He really pulls the class together and he started giving a mini history lesson at the beginning of class.

Workload:
Workload is heavy, but it's worth it and he really ties the material back to class. I highly recomend this class, but only to people who are legitimately interested in government.

review a class you took with Jeffrey Berry - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
This class is a great choice for american politics junkies. That's almost a direct quote of Professor Berry and it is a good reflection of what the course is like. The course was really interesting although Berry is a self-admitting terrible lecturer. I still haven't really decided whether going to class was worthwhile. Participation is 10% of the grade, but going to class probably wouldn't have made much of a difference on the final (the only test). I recommend this course for poli sci majors interested in american politics. Berry is a guy you need to get to know...

Workload:
The grading in the class is completely whack. completely. There is a paper that is 50% of your grade and it has nothing to do with the class except that it must be about public policy. There is a final that is 40% of your grade and consists of all the material from the semester. I felt pretty screwed at the end of the semester because I worked hard in the class and did not feel rewarded by the final. The final consisted of two broad essay questions that I answered well and aced, but my friend who I studied with (who rarely went to class and did very little of the reading) also aced it quite easily. Work hard on the paper, because it is basically your final grade.

review a class you took with Jeffrey Berry - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Classes have some lecture and a lot of discussion. Participation in these discussions is practically required. You read a whole book for every 2 weeks and in class, write a paragraph in answer to his question about the book. Then he randomly picks students to share what they've written. His style is slightly intimidating, and he makes it clear if he doesn't like your answer, even if it might not be clear why he doesn't. The course is slightly unorganized, since class is dominated by discussion, and he changes the syllabus unexpectedly. I don't feel like I've learned much from the class, although the readings can be interesting.

Workload:
Class participation: 10%

Reading: 7 books, policy cases, the Boston Globe (though most students don't seem to read the Globe). Pace the book reading; don't let the day by which you're supposed to finish reading sneak up on you.

15-20pg research paper: 50%, due early April.

Final exam: 40%, not on the syllabus. I have no idea what the format is or what material will be tested.

review a class you took with Jeffrey Berry - help your classmates make informed decisions!