Review:
If you've never read anything by nietzche, tocqueville, or rousseau, then I would strongly recommend taking this class. I loved each author, and with Devigne's help I was able to clearly understand their insights. Their conclusions weigh over our heads even to this day. As for the teacher, Devigne certainly is a brilliant lecturer, and I thoroughly enjoyed his colorful language and anecdotes. Unfortunately, I can't say he's a brilliant all around teacher. This class was based around two papers, with a term paper due at the end of April and the final due less than two weeks later. I was never able to see any corrections or feedback on my term paper, so I had no idea what to change or focus on for my final paper. I still haven't seen either of the papers, and have no idea what he thought of them. I even tried to email him about it with no avail. This is incredibly frustrating because I feel like the class remains incomplete; what use is a teacher if he can't offer thoughtful criticism? Basically, for me this course was a read-through of 3 books with brilliant live commentary from the professor. Devigne succeeded in lecturing but failed at teaching.

Workload:
Very reasonable amounts of reading... maybe at most 25 pgs for a class? nothing was assigned at all until after spring break... then just 2 roughly 12 page papers. not bad.

review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Liberalism and its philosophical critics is a great follow up for those who enjoyed PS 45/6. I wouldn?t recommend taking it if you're not into political philosophy. This course is pretty intense, and Devigne really wants students to be involved in the discussion. He is an incredibly intelligent professor, and you are guaranteed some intellectual challenge in this class. Also, Devigne's door is always open - he is always available to talk to his students, and is very enthusiastic about the course.

Workload:
There isn?t a ton of reading, probably about 30 pages a week. However, the reading is very dense, and I found that I often had to go back and re read certain chapters/passages. If you re interested in the material, the reading will be enjoyable. On the other hand, it may be really tedious if political philosophy is not your thing.
Exams - one midterm paper and one final paper. The final paper this semester was affectionately named "The Living Death" by Devigne. His exam questions are challenging, but you end up really thinking about the material and actually getting something out of the course. He is also always willing to help students with the exams, but don?t expect him to give away any answers.....

review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!