[POLS G4612] Contemporary Continental Political Thought

Jean Cohen is clearly very smart but she isn't able to articulate her thoughts in a un-neurotic, digressive way. The topics and political scientists we studied were extremely interesting however and her TA, Axel, did quite a lot to clarify the material. Definitely though, Global Justice is easier to understand than Political Thought. Also there will be graduate students, they will dominate the discussion, and they will confuse you.

Professor Cohen presents a vast array of european political theorists with a detached eye that allows the strengths and weaknesses of each theorist to come through without being clouded by the personal biases of the professor. The class was the strongest when Professor Cohen presented and led the class as well as highlighted important ideas in the works.
The only two criticism I could find with the class was that often a few students in the class dominated the class, not with discussion but with bluster and arguments which did not serve to clarify any of the important points made by the writers. Professor Cohen was easily drawn into these arguments and then flustered by them. Perhaps because of this, the connections between the authors was not as clear as they could have been.

However, the professor was always willing to entertain ideas and to hear people out. She also had an engaging teaching style that brought clarity to the key points of the readings. THe books on the long reading list, though expensive, were well worth adding to my library.