Reviews for Paul S. Herrnson
Average Rating:| terpschik202 Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: A- January 31, 2012, 10:11 pm | Herrnson is well respected in his field. He knows what he's talking about, but his class isn't the most enjoyable. He started out each class with current events, which was pretty fun. He had 1 midterm, 1 paper, and the final. I had no clue what my grades were going into the final, and the final was pretty difficult. Very approachable and makes it a point to know each student's name. |
| Lunar01 Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: B December 2, 2011, 2:29 pm | Professor Herrnson is a very nice person who cares a lot about the students. If you need to take a CORE class, I would recommend this class because: 1) You actually learn something new if you pay attention 2) The class is relatively easy The professor does not read stuff off the slides. More often, the slides will contain the general topics and then he will lecture on those topics. So you actually have to listen and take notes of what he talks about. There are readings for the class but you do not have to meticulously taking notes on them. That would take a lot of time. Rather, take good notes during lectures and skim the readings to get a basic idea and expand on what was lectured. There are two exams and a paper in this class, I will talk about the exams first. If you pay attention during lectures and do some reading, you should be fine during the exams. The short answers and essays are general topic ranging from lectures to current events but they all should be mentioned in the lectures. You should be able to get decent grade as long as you don't slack off the readings and come to lectures. The research paper is 10 page long and have to deal with a topic in American politics. I recommend you start this paper a lot earlier than you wanted to. Believe me, time flies by really fast and the 1 month you originally had to write the paper will turn to 1 week in no time at all. Do your research, use writing center and you should be able to turn in a great paper. I highly recommend this class for the information you can learn about American politics and the government system. The professor is also a really knowledgeable person so make sure to actually learn something in this class. |
| Anonymous Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: B May 31, 2011, 9:42 am | **WARNING: VERY LONG REVIEW PERSONAL BACKGROUND: I took this class because it was required for the Journalism major (students choose between GVPT100 and GVPT170). As someone with minimal knowledge or interest about politics, I found this class to be very interesting and informative. I'm glad I took it and feel more politically aware of everything. LECTURES: Mr. Herrnson has a very particular teaching style. He opens each class with a short discussion of current news events. His lecture consists of a single slide outlining what he will talk about for the day. There are no notes to copy. You will have to listen very attentively to write down the proper notes. His verbal lectures are very organized, so if you pay attention it shouldn't be that hard. However, he does have a rather soft voice, so if you don't sit near the front you'll be out of luck. The content of the lectures is quite different from the assigned readings. You'll find things from his lectures on the test that are NOT in the readings, so it's imperative to attend lectures. HOMEWORK: This class is extremely reading intensive. For each week, you'll be assigned a 20-30 pg. chapter in the book (which will take hours to read if you take notes) and 2-3 additional scholarly articles. I would place more emphasis on the book readings, but I found the scholarly articles to be more enjoyable to read; they also reinforce what you have learned from the readings. To top it off, you'll have to stay on top of political news. TESTS: The first 2 in-class examinations (each worth 20%)consisted of 1 essay and 5-6 short answers. Mr. Herrnson does not give you a study guide or possible essay questions. If you want to succeed, you will literally have to study everything. Success in this class definitely depends on a good amount of studying and memorization. The non-cumulative final (worth 30%) was all multiple choice and consisted of questions from current political news, lectures, and ALL of the readings. ESSAY: You'll have to do a 10-page paper on any topic that fits under the broad category of "American Politics". I did mine on the role of state legislatures on the higher education of undocumented students. Before this class, all I ever did was 3-page papers. It was definitely a challenge at first, but looking back, it really isn't that hard. Dedicate a good amount of time checking out books about your topic (yes, you will have to visit McKeldin) and reading scholarly articles online. Your readings will guide your topic. I did this paper fairly last minute (maybe about 1.5 weeks before it was due) and I got a 95% on it. However, I am a strong essay writer. DISCUSSION SECTION: You'll have to come to discussion because you get graded on your participation. I'd go anyway because the TA reviews previous lectures and can answer any questions you have. TEACHER ACCESSIBILITY: The content in this class is pretty straightforward, so I never felt inclined to contact Mr. Herrnson or the TAs outside of the class. However, Mr. Herrnson is a very approachable person and often talks to students before class. He is a GREAT connection if you are seriously interested in politics because he's head of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship. My TA (J.Wantz) seemed approachable, but again, I wouldn't really know because I never approached them outside of class. OVERALL: I would recommend this class and this teacher because you really do learn a great deal about American politics. But for the quality of the education, you will have to put A LOT of effort in. Hope this was helpful! |
| cici92 Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: B April 24, 2011, 12:04 am | This class is so boring! and im a government major! I love government! He seems like a very nice guy and knows his stuff but truth be told i rarely go anymore because his slides are pointless and he does not post them on bb. He rambles on and on the entire lecture! |
| asickle Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: B December 18, 2009, 8:17 am | The class itself is quite interesting. I took it because I had to for my major and I didn't know what to expect. It was pretty good, you feel like you know some of the stuff just from growing up here in the US (I'm assuming the readers of this did). You go over stuff from the branches of the government to interest groups to some of the inner working of government in the US. The curve was my main problem with the class. As the other reviewers have said, you get curved down if anyone is above you. I was supposed to get an A on my big 10 research paper at the end of the semester but ended up getting a B because I was 4th overall in my TAs sections so I had to be graded down. Can be interesting and fun to listen to, the man knows his stuff. He even has you do readings on some of the stuff he himself wrote. |
| thewit691 Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: B December 16, 2009, 8:22 pm | Nice guy, but this class was painful. As if staying awake wasn't enough of a challenge, you come home to around 30 pages of reading a night. Herrnson does know what he's talking about at least. |
| Anonymous Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: A December 3, 2009, 7:28 pm | I will probably be getting an A- in this class despite the amount of effort that I put in. He curves the tests where there HAS to be a distribution. If everybody gets an A, the person with the A- receives an F and the person with the highest gets an actual A. He grades pretty harshly and lectures are quite boring. He does know what he is talking about though, the class set-up is just difficult to succeed in, |
| goTERPS19 Course: GVPT170 Grade Expected: B December 3, 2009, 12:44 pm | First thing I will say about Professor Herrnson is that he is a really cool guy. He is very talkative with his students before and after class. The class tended to like him very much. The class and his teachings are a different story for me. If you are taking a full load of classes and work a 30-40 hour a week job, there is no way you can keep up. I have never and will never have as much assigned reading in any class as I did in his. The exam questions are on the most detailed miniscule facts. The essay if 70percent of the test grade which is good because if you have a really really good idea on it, you can maybe do well on the test. He's a cool guy, but if you want an easy class, look elsewhere |