Fairly hard class with many difficult readings. Copeland doesn't make much sense during the first part of the course, but when you start case studies it all comes together. I didn't do most of the reading and still ended up with a B+. He makes the final pretty easy for you.

Copeland is an amazing lecturer and makes the class very interesting. There is one 10 page paper and a final exam where you write 3 essays. The grading is a pretty fair, a decent essay and final will get you a B/B+ in the course.
Definitely a worthwhile class for any politics major at UVA (or anyone else interested in the subject).

This class has a lot of reading, so be prepared and keep up. Copeland is an engaging lecturer and the information is interesting. Just a take-home midterm and essay final in-class-- but you can bring an index card with notes

Lots of reading, but fun and doable. Go to class and take good notes, they are extremely important.

All the reviews about Copeland welcoming new perspectives/theories that contrast his own are spot on. He makes a serious effort to have student involvement in lecture, adding opposing evidence. views, etc. That said, his theory is the driving force of the class, and it seems to be a good perspective but still stretched to fit all the case studies. Class will be slow if you've done other IR.

Copeland's a pretty charismatic guy who really knows his stuff. Yes, he is biased toward his Dynamic Differentials theory, but he makes you fully aware of that and encourages you to challenge him. The course is a lot of theory, and your grade will be based on whether or not you can make a good argument.

Didn't do the readings, and I'm doing alright. Midterm is a paper, with an in class final.

I think Copeland did a good job making the class interesting to attend. However, the reading was excessive and he needs to take the time to pull out only the useful passages. His dynamic differentials theory is a thought-provoking one and his study of the First World War is unique. However, this theory gets stretched far past its point of usefulness when he uses it to blame the United States for WWII in Japan, the Cold War, and more specifically the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A really interesting class, probably my favorite one this semester.

Great class that covers a lot of theory but focuses on case studies. Copeland is a genius. He focuses a lot on his own theory of major war but invites and even encourages you to disagree with him and argue against it. One take home midterm (limit 10 pages) and in class final. Joel was the best TA.