[POLS W4471] Chinese Politics

Sweet guy. As pro as you get when you're talking about modern poli-sci experts. Cutting edge insights. GREAT reading list (if you do the readings). You'll leave the class understanding why modern china is the way it is, and what kind of place it really holds in the world.

On the other hand, his lectures are only really informative at a BASIC level, with the occasional informative and/or funny personal story.

The man has a dry sense of humour that is subtle and hilarious. Don't be put off by his quiet mild-mannered demeanour at the onset. He is an old school lecturer and academic, meticulous and really well respected in his field. But who cares about that. The best thing about Bernstein is that you really learn, you really enjoy the learning, AND he is a model professor, helpful, challenging, supportive, etc., Check out the pictures in his office if you drop by for office hours and, if you ask, maybe he'll tell you some cool stories about his China travels.
He also teaches and has an interest in some of the coolest, most off the wall subjects. Remember, this man also teaches Major Dictators of the 20th Century.
He is very approachable and in general just very professional and adept at dealing with and encouraging students. There is no reason why anybody should ever leave Columbia without taking a class with him.

Take this class only if you're interested in Chinese politics, and I mean REALLY interested. Otherwise, the lectures, with Prof. Bernstein's soft and lulling voice, will put you to sleep. Only half the class shows up. If you are interested in the post-Mao era, you'll find his lectures informative and at many times insightful. Sometimes they seem like he' s been giving the same lecture for decades (esp the Mao era); his best lectures definitely start after the Reform Era. Outside of class, he is a wonderful, accessible, and caring professor who would make a grandfatherly mentor.

This is a great class for anyone who has even a speck of interest in post-1949 China, from the Mao years thru reform and the present day. Professor Bernstein's lectures are always interesting, informative and well-organized, and the readings were almost all excellent as well. He was able to boil down an unwieldy and very complex subject into understandable and even compelling sections without dumbing it down. My only bitch is that this class was filled with students who took advantage of Bernstein's soft-
spoken and generous manner -- these idiots were half-asleep at best and openly disrespectful at worst. Every class had at least 5-
8 latecomers who thought nothing of disrupting lecture by clomping in loudly, slamming doors, giggling to their friends, etc. Don't get me started.

Bernstein is a GREAT guy. He knows a lot about Chinese political institutions and puts the problems the face in context with their history and their position in the world. This was one of those classes that could give you most of what you needed to know in lecture, and youcould supplement the readings later for the paper. The final was a bitch, but the class was super-interesting and everything was extremely informative and to-the-point. Every poli sci major's dream. Give him a chance.

by far the most boring lecturer i have encountered thus far at columbia. way too many grad students who know everything about chinese politics beforehand. grading was not as easy as some past reviewers suggested, possibly because the ta's changed. there was not a single lecture when i didn't fall asleep for at least 30 min.

Horrible lecturer. Too much material left uncovered. Horrible TA. Unfair grading. Stuffy class where on most days 1/3 of the students did not show up. Interesting material, but not a good idea to lump all of Chinese Politics (modern period) into one class. Bernstein seemed disinterested in actually helping his students on an individual basis. Proceed with caution!

The quick and dirty? I enjoyed this class. Bernstein isn't the most scintillating of lecturers (and he knows it and jokes about it from time to time), but he's got quite a few "pearls of wisdom" to share. The subject matter is fascinating, so if you've got any interest in China, all I can say is take this course.

Be wary of the other review of this class--it seems very biased and seems as if the guy has a personal vendetta against Bernstein and TA. I loved this class and highly recommend it to any Poly Sci Major (non-majors stay away, too much reading). I thought that the readings were quite informative, and the lectures were interesting (although I do agree that his droning voice is quite conducive to sleep). As for grading the midterm, I thought Bernstein was quite generous. Maybe because I did the reading (seems as if few students take the time to). Like Bernstein, I thought TA was quite intelligent as well, although it was difficult to understand his English sometimes.

What a horrible class. Bernstein, although (supposedly) an authority figure on Chinese Politics, does not lecture or teach well at all. He stands up in the front of class and proceeds to lecture monotone-and- incoherent-style for every class. The TA is obnoxious and grades with a ridiculous standard for the undergrads, because for some reason this undergraduate class is loaded (think more then 30 percent) with (obviously underachieving) graduate students who skew the standard of grading. Both the professor and the TA are unapproachable and are of no help; try emailing them and they will attack you personally. Basically you are thrown into a class expecting either to know a lot (like the graduate students) or to read and memorize every single text, word-by-word, on the syllabus. There is no one to help you ever and you have no idea what Bernstien of the TA wants. Truly disappointing! Proceed with a lot of caution!

Very disappointing class. For some reason this undergraduate 4000-level course was comprised at least 50% by graduate Asian students. Far too much reading (and not much of it very interesting). Bernstein's monotonous voice and by-the-book script-like lectures frequently put me to sleep. The TA was thoroughly incompetent and graded ridiculously stringently. Though there is the pretense that undergrads and graduates are graded on a separate scale, I don't buy it. If you're looking for an intensive albeit boring class on China since the reign of Mao Zedong, go for it. But if you're expecting an intro. to Chinese politics, stay away. The material is extremely disarming, not at all preparing you for the ridiculously difficult grading of the midterm.

Prof. Bernstein is a BIG guy in Chinese politics. From what I can gather from this course, there are about 10 Chinese politics scholars who really know what they are talking about and just get published over and over (another one being his wife, Dorothy Solinger). He's a bit penguin-like, and at times speaks like Porky Pig, but weed through the stutters and he's good. He definitely seems uncomfortable giving lectures--leans back and stops stuttering when answering a particular question. Even better, go to his office hours to chat. He's hilarious. Seems to realize he's boring and doesn't care if you doodle the whole time as long as you don't talk.