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Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS140 - Liberalism and its Philosophical Critics | Political Science2006-07-20

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.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


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Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS046 - Western Political Thought II | Political Science2006-04-11

Review:
I'm sorry but Professor Devigne is simply terrible. Yes, he's a humorous lecturer but in his wild tangents about random experiences from his life, he seems to forget that we don't have the years of experience to analyze concepts at the in-depth level he demands. If you go into his office hours, you'll be horribly disappointed. He's cold, insulting, and doesn't bother to listen to your ideas. If you don't understand or did poorly on an exam, it is solely your fault, no matter how much work you put in.

Workload:
There was a large amount of rading and there are only two exams (a midterm and a final) but beware because the exams, despite being large analysis papers, have only one answere and it better be Devigne's or else. Don't take this class with him, or any class. He's a jerk.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!
Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS045 - Western Political Thought I | Political Science2005-11-16

Review:
The best professor I have had so far, he is interesting, in the text and crazy. It's hard to follow the board notes but he is an excellent lecturer, very committed and knows all about his subjects, though he is open to debate and welcomes comments. If you keep up and take good notes it is not thaaat hard.

Workload:
A ton of reading, but extremely interesting if you like political philosophy. Grading is not that easy if you don't go prepared for the essays.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!
Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS045 - Western Political Thought I | Political Science2005-10-04

Review:
This professor is exactly the characterization of what a college professor should be like. Witty, eccentric, amazing, passionate, insanely knowledgeable about his subject material, and fun to watch/listen/learn from. Great class, he makes the complicated readings worth it and even enjoyable at times :0)

Workload:
Intense Reading (ie: Plato's Republic), not a slacker class, but the readings are all worked through in class and Devigne makes them completely understandable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


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Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS046 - Western Political Thought II | Political Science2005-08-08

Review:
Fantastic! Best Professor in the University!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!
Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS046 - Western Political Thought II | Political Science2005-05-11

Review:
He's very engaging lecturer. Pretty interesting lectures and he keeps you awake with this loud voice and he goes pretty well into detail in explaining the readings which is cool. He likes to open up the lecture to questions when there's time but a lot of time. He's also very intimidating though and never answers his emails, hardly. So definitely try not to turn in papers late, ask for extensions even if you have a valid excuse, just too much hassle and worry.

Workload:
There was a decent amount of reading but I don't think it was too much. Difficult reading though sometimes but the review sessions helped to clear things up and TA's made themselves pretty available. Only two grades from two papers, one worth 40 percent and the other 60.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!
Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS046 - Western Political Thought II | Political Science2005-01-30

Review:
It was simply a pleasure to take a course with Prof. Devigne. His great sense a humor was balanced incredibly well with a clearly intelligent and thought-provoking discussion of the material.

Workload:
The reading assignments were not too difficult. He made sure we only read what he wanted to talk about, and nothing too extraneous. Mid-term and final papers were graded fairly. Great course!


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Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS045 - Western Political Thought I | Political Science2005-01-18

Review:
A professor that you really shouldn't miss. His lectures were really entertaining but also incredibly informative. Devigne really knows his stuff and his jokes are hilarious. He's very tolerant of all answers and encourages class participation. I seeked his help outside of class and he was a really warm guy to talk to and he was so helpful.

Workload:
You have to read pretty much every night. Getting behind in the reading is a terrible idea. You absolutely have to go to class unless you have an ungodly understanding of Greek philosophy. But you'll probably find you want to go. Your grade consists solely of 2 take home exams and they're quite difficult, but if lots of time is spent on it, the grading is pretty easy. Be weary though, this class is almost completely philosophy, so don't expect too much about politics.


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Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS140 - Liberalism and its Philosophical Critics | Political Science2004-07-12

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.....


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review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!
Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS046 - Western Political Thought II | Political Science2004-07-11

Review:
I was very disappointed in this class. Professor Devigne is very entertaining, but often goes off on tangents. The reading is very difficult if you have not taken a philosophy class previously, and the size of the class makes it difficult to get your questions answered. Many people (often senior philosophy majors) ask questions about complex issues while some of the basic stuff goes unanswered. TAs are not a major presence. The nature of the assignments (2 essay exams) makes it hit or miss in terms of grading, and the size of the class makes it impossible for you to show enthusiasm in class.

Workload:
N/A


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review a class you took with Robert Devigne - help your classmates make informed decisions!
Tufts University: Robert Devigne - Political Science - Professor ratings, reviews and much more | JumboAccess
Robert Devigne | PS045 - Western Political Thought I | Political Science2004-06-06

Review:
I highly recommend both the professor and the course. Prof Devigne acts as a brilliant and entertaining reading guide to Descartes, Hobbes, Smith, Rousseau, Kant, and Nietzsche, clearly explaining difficult ideas and livening it up with hilarious stories. It can be hard to follow the outline he makes on the chalkboard, because he scribbles all over until it looks like the work of Pollock, but if you are attentive it is fine. He is also very fair- unlike many professors, he reviews every paper to make sure that it doesn't matter which TA is assigned to your exam. I learned so much from the lectures, the readings, and writing the papers, which pushed me to think harder than I think I ever have in my life. The class is very large, about 180 students, but Devigne often asks for comments. If you are not into talking in front of so many people, I recommend going to talk to Prof Devigne after class or during office hours- although he may seem intimidating during lectures, he is really a nice guy. Also, the TAs are very good and helpful, especially Justin Race- he was amazing. It was one of the best courses I have taken here- definitely consider taking it!!!

Workload:
The amount of reading was not overwhelming, but it takes time if you want to read carefully and understand it (many students don't read anything until they have to write a paper, but I wouldn't suggest you do that). We had a take-home midterm (a 6-8 page paper and a 2-3 page paper) which was 40% of our grade. The final was take-home, about the same length, and 60% of our grade. That's all. The papers are very challenging, but there is enough time to work on them. I recommend taking the course with a friend or too, because you will need someone for bouncing ideas off each other, and then for emotional support if it is 4 am, you are still not done, and the paper is due the next day. This course is not too hard, but it is hard to do well- just make sure that you go to the lectures, and that you give your papers a lot of thought, planning, and time,


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