Waldner always kept lecture interesting, to say the least. Personally, I enjoyed his sense of humor. The topics were very broad, and it was mainly based on theoretical arguments that could really go either way. If you're going to take this class, be sure that you are able to write a good essay in a timely manner and also go to lecture and discussion sections. I'm not going to lie, I read less and less as the semester went on because the readings were so dense and crazy long. Everything tied together though by the end, and I feel like I learned a lot from this class. Paromita Sen was an awesome TA: always willing to help us prepare for exams, she extended office hours, and was fair in discussion and grading in general. This class is based on two midterms (15%, 25%), the discussion grade (only 10%), and a final (50%!!). The grading was pretty fair and consistent, and I ended up with an A-. It's definitely tough to get an A or even A- in this class, but if you're interested in the subject matter, you may as well take the class!

The class was very theoretical and confusing at times, but sometimes interesting. It is very hard to get an A and Professor Waldner thinks he is extremely comical, even though he has used the same jokes for decades. The lectures during the first half of the semester were very conducive to sleeping, but they got better by the second half of the semester. He's actually a very intelligent guy, but very set in his opinions. This class is a lot of reading and very theoretical, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Professor Waldner is generally a very good professor. I enjoy his readings and I think that they are generally very easy to connect to his class if you read all of it through. His exams are fairly straight forward and they are generally easy. His lectures are very straight foward and they tell you everything you need to know. I disagree with other reviewer's assessments that Waldner's class is overly difficult. I feel like you get back what you put in. On the other hand, Waldner is not very enthusiastic when it comes to helping his students individually. He was not as helpful as I hoped he would be when I spoke to him one on one a couple times. Also, my TA was Susan Brewer, she was a pretty good TA, very good at explaining things but she was not very good at predicting what would be on exams.

Awful class. Do not take this unless you are EXTREMELY interested in foreign affairs. Honestly, at the end of each lecture, I am not sure whether Waldner is going to crack a joke or throw a temper tantrum as people pack up. He loves himself and makes sure to throw in unnecessary readings simply because they mention his name. He is incredibly verbose in lecture and likes to mention that he was a Fulbright just to show off his intelligence. Which is great. It is wonderful that he is intelligent and knows a lot. I wish that he would share his knowledge with the class instead of sharing little quips about himself. There are 2 midterms and a final. His midterms were 2 questions. One question was 30% of the grade, and the other was worth 70%. The final is worth 50%. On the most recent midterm, his question was extremely confusing. Midway through the exam, he decided to clarify and explain the question. This changed the entire exam. So thank you, Waldner, for once again failing to be clear and concise. I asked my TA how you get an A in the class, and the response was "Write something that I would write." So good luck if you take this class. Go to lecture, read the hundreds of pages of readings, and get a B.

Pretty crummy class to be honest... Waldner assigns a ton of reading, and he likes assigning readings that reference him but have little to do with the Midterms. He insists there's no curve but he doesn't really give out As to even the most studious individuals (usually about 6% of the class gets an A) so it's gonna hurt your GPA. As a TA Paromita Sen (Paro) was pretty good... pretty hot if you're into Indian chicks like I am but otherwise just generally pretty helpful. Watch out though - there was a midterm where my TA and my friend's TA both said something wasn't important and then it was worth a big percentage of the grade. Overall, unless you really like comparing systems of government and history, you're gonna fall asleep.

Went into this class with high hopes, but after struggling through frustrating readings that have nothing to do with the class, I can tell you that this is not your standard "intro-level" course. Waldner is really good professor. He likes to show of his intellectuality a bit, but in general he does a good job explaining the content of the class. The readings are a pain, especially because they generally are way too long, boring, and unrelated to Waldner's lectures. Unfortunately, they tend to pop up on his midterms. Also, Waldner likes to do this thing where he makes random questions for the exams on the morning of. The midterms are written, and are okay depending on your study habits.

Waldner is a great professor, good sense of dry humor. The Susan Brewer-Norman is the best TA of the bunch and helps to really organize all of the information. Even with lots of reading for a 100 level, it is well worth taking the class.

Way too much work for a 101. Skip it and take a 300 level instead. It'll be easier.

This class like any introductory class, was broad, but somewhat interesting. The material is presented in a slanted way from Waldner, but as long as you agree with him in your essay questions then you'll do fine. Lecture could get quite boring, and was really reading intensive, but overall not bad. All tests are blue book tests, two midterms and a final. Get a good TA, and your grade could be rewarded.

One of the best course I've taken at UVA. but this is a difficult course for a 101 level.
The material is truly interesting. Prof Waldner is very knowledgeable. His lectures are informative and organized. You learn so much about politics through this course.
Definitely get Brandon Yoder as your TA. He is very helpful to explain, clarify things. His way of drawing causal diagram helps so much for the exams! You learn so much from Brandon.
Definitely recommend this class