Most enjoyed major course in Semester 1:

  1. LECTURE + DISCUSSION SESSION: The Fifth Republic: Constitutional Law (35.4%)
  2. WORKSHOP: Being an actor of the city: past, present and future of culture, urban and municipal politics (18.8%)
  3. LECTURE + DISCUSSION SESSION: Comparative Politics (14.6%)
  4. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP: Legal negotiations, conflicts resolution and mutual agreements (14.6%)
  5. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Practicing Diplomacy in the Age of Trump (8.3%)
  6. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Understanding our World through Map-Making (6.3%)
  7. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP (Conce)voir le droit au quotidien: pratiques juridique et judiciaire (2.1%)
  8. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Qualitative research workshop: Understanding the audience development strategies of local theatres (0.0%)
  9. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Qualitative research workshop: The effectiveness of different policies to attract younger theatre audiences (0.0%)

Most enjoyed major course in Semester 2:

  1. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Diplomatic Dispatches: The Role and Reality of the Diplomat (27.1%)
  2. LECTURE: World Affairs in Light of International Law (16.7%)
  3. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Analyzing Public Health Policy and Law (14.6%)
  4. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Qu’est-ce que la communication politique dans la France actuelle ? (14.6%)
  5. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP The Lawyer’s Basic Toolbox: What to Do with the Law
  6. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Researching Contemporary Migrations through the Lens of Gender (6.3%)
  7. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP “You are what you mean”: Legal semantics, interpretation and reasoning (6.2%)
  8. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP A Comparative Introduction to Legal Reasoning
  9. METHODOLOGICAL WORKSHOP Comparing Migration Policies: A Qualitative Approach

Additional Comments:

  • I’m extremely happy with my choice of major, and I also want to highlight that it’s the one offering the widest range of choices of subjects you can count as major-related in 3A! Pay attention to your choice of ‘minor’ as well (though it only lasts one semester, it can really be either your favorite class – IR was mine – or the epitome of hell)
  • I have heard many negative things about this major, in my opinion, they can be a tad overblown. Personally, while some of the lectures have not been optimal, I have yet to have a bad seminar related to my course of major (including seminars for the lectures). While there is a significant workload, I genuinely find the topics quite interesting. Realistically, this major is hard, and sometimes frustrating, but I came to university understanding that it was not going to be a breeze. I strongly suggest you ask yourselves, what truly interests me, if it is political science and law, the Politics and Government major delivers in spades, just choose your teachers wisely.
  • Disappointed by: [1] teachers from 1st semester, [2] the quantity of readings which is ridiculous, we do not go in depth, it is useless, [3] the “too much” theoretical approach (I know we don’t have the choice we need to get through it), [4] The lack of concern of environmental and many in depth social issues…
  • Realistically, the major doesn’t influence anything. The amount of related classes isn’t very high and the low and poor level of classes is the same everywhere. It’s about getting the least worst rather than the best.
  • The first semester of Politics and Government was rough due to the way teachers taught the courses. The major is not the problem in any case… the classes are great and your experience also really depends on who your TAs are as well.
  • I should have taken [another major], because learning French Constitutional law in English is absurd, despite good teachers, [and] Comparative politics was a joke.
  • I was super hesitative in the beginning due to the not so groundbreaking courses of Semester 1, but be assured that the second Semester in Politics and Government is much better
  • The professors were poor with awful English and I’m very disappointed in the way in which this major was run. However, I still don’t see myself in any other major and feel that constitutional law was handy.
  • The class material is amazing: the teachers are not (except for Health policy). Be ready to do your own research on constitutional law, ignore Duval-Stalla’s lectures in general except for structure. Bought a cheap french book for law students that explains the constitution; didn’t study either lecture or seminar notes as both were useless; got 15 on the final. Too long, didn’t read: you’re going to have to do your own research.
  • The content of fifth republic law should change for next year because they realised they [messed] up, but it was awful this semester. My professor and TA didn’t speak English, there is a significant lack of reading resources in English (for a presentation my teacher informed me there was none so, I had to rely completely on French research papers) but the lectures are so bad you can’t even rely on those to make up for the lack of reading material. Comparative Politics is just a complete repeat of political science. Hazal Atay is an amazing TA and woke feminist but apparently, most of the others were aggressively bad. Even though I put that “Being an actor in the city” was my favorite seminar, I still do not recommend it. The teacher is super sweet and grades well but unless you love learning by other people’s presentations don’t do it. [There are] about 4-5 presentations per class and they’re pretty dull. This semester Megan Ma is the BEST. She ends class early but the course is still interesting and the reading materials aren’t long. I didn’t even want public health but it’s so interesting and one of my favorite classes because she makes it good.

 

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