[POLS W4321] Constitutional Law of Presidential-Congressional Relations

Look. It's Pious. He's strict about attendance and food, and he's arrogant as hell (you can make a good game of counting his references to the famous people he's taught or who've asked his advice on something or other). But he knows an amazing amount about the American Presidency, and he's a superb lecturer (as long as your notes can keep up with him).

Plus, he responds quickly to email, is approachable and friendly in office hours, and grades every paper himself while still having them back quickly (do they have detailed written comments? no. what, you want everything? he will talk to you about them in office hours, though).

Yeah, he makes you jump through a whole bunch of hoops (ask the kid who got bitched out for two minutes because he brought in a bottle of snapple), and yeah the reading for the American Presidency, especially, is insane (and you actually have to do it to write the papers). But it's totally worth it.

I want to preface this by saying no one is more Republican than I am, or at least on this campus. This will make sense as you read the review. I have read the reviews on this that challenge Professor Pious, especially his rules. People if not letting you drink water is your judge of a professor's worth than you are the one with issues.

Yes, he purposely tries to intimidate people in the first couple of weeks, exactly for this, to weed out those who can not handle the class. The reason for the attendance sheet,...because unlike so many classes in this and any other University that require you to memorize things then regurgitate (sic) them, in this class you will LEARN. yes LEARN.

I have not found many courses in my college life, which is quite lengthy and broad, that match this course. It challenges you, it makes you think and at the end you actually know things that you didnt know before. Do not let anyone fool you, politics aside (and he doesnt care what you are and allows you to express your opinions) he will tell you what is going on and allow you to determine your own set of results or application of that data.

I would not only reccommend taking one of his classes, I am actually trying to juggle my schedule to take another class with him, if they offered more, I would take more. Dont be afraid of a challenge, and dont be afraid to talk in class, he will respect you, and TEACH YOU!

Real life experience counts for a ton and this man has put his money where his mouth is. EXCELLENT.

Pious is simply the best political science professor at this University. He is brilliant, he looks at politics the way they are rather that how they should be. He exemplifies everything that the Poli Sci dept as a whole is missing--which is some real world awareness. This class is absolutely fascinating. There is a lot of work, but it could not be more worth it. Take whatever you can with Pious. If you don't, you just aren't taking a poli sci course.

Pious is a great professor fused with somewhat of an hard-ass personality. He's great. He knows the material, takes it seriously, and puts in a tremendous amount of work to prepare and help his students engage with it in a way that goes beyond normal readings and papers. He does simulations in class and connects the topic with current events to keep things interesting.
He is a challenging grader. He'll give you a decent grade but he'll give out A's to those who say exactly what he wants.

He has some draconian "classroom rules" that can be annoying but they seem mostly for the benefit of other students rather than his idiosyncracies.

He's available for office hours and will carefully, patiently, ahd helpfully go over any questions you have about papers or the material.

Highly recommended.

This was certainly the hardest class I have taken at Columbia, and if not the most engaging, one of the most. The readings were deceivingly short--you cannot skim works on constitutional issues in the same way you can breeze through a journal article. Those who did their homework, however, were sure to gain a lot from the lectures, which were extremely well structured--to the minute. There was usually ample time given to questions, unless the class had fallen behind slightly on the syllabus. Pious also did a good job engaging everyone in the class to participate. I hesitate to say I learned everyone's name by the end--there were about 30 of us--but it came close to approximating seminar conditions. Beware--lots of life long learners like to volunteer what are often irrelevant comments. Oh, and he takes attendance every day. If you miss more than four classes you are out.