Reviews for GVPT204

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Scott Kastner GVPT204 Anonymous 01/20/2024	Prof Kastner is incredibly engaging, knowledgeable, and passionate about what he teaches. Lectures were straightforward and unbiased, leaving the student with facts and an open mind to arrive at conclusions. Exam content was very fair. Overall a very interesting class and an amazing Gen-Ed experience; I would highly recommend you take him!
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/09/2024	Really kind professor and the TA's were also wonderful! super accessible outside of class if you need help. Graded by very few thing you have 2 papers and 3 exams (non are cumulative tho!) learn from my mistake and actually do the readings, you may get by if you just pay attention in discussions though. Particpation is graded as well. I wouldnt skip lectures because 99% of the information you need is from attending lectures, he posts the lecture slides but are basicially just pictures and you wont get much information for exams and papers just by reading over them. overall a east gen ed if u need one just attend lectures which arent that bad. very interesting course and learned a lot.
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A hsootho 01/06/2024	Professor Kastner was a fantastic professor and knew what he was talking about. Exams were very fair and reasonable if you attended the lectures and discussions. The only downside to the class was that there were only a few grades. Other than that, I would definitely recommend this course!
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/02/2023	Professor Kastner is a fantastic lecturer and this class was very fair. If you are genuinely interested in the topic, you will have a great experience with this class. There were three non-cumulative exams, including the final, and two reaction papers. All will come easy if you actually do the required reading each week and attend lecture. Overall, a low-stress, incredibly interesting class!
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/03/2023	You can tell that this professor was really knowledgeable about this topic and interested in it which made the class more engaging. There are a lot of readings, but I found it fairly easy to get away with not reading them (as long as you attend your discussions). The tests were multiple choice with two short answers and were pretty easy as long as you go to class and pay attention. There's also one 5 page essay but it wasn't too bad.
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/27/2023	I really am glad I took this class, it's super interesting and I actually learned A LOT that I didn't know about US-China relations. Professor Kastner is very knowledgeable and I think he's very easy to understand. You just have to really want to pay attention, because if you don't it's easy for your mind to drift off during lecture. The tests are quite easy and straightforward because it's 15 multiple choice and 4 short answer, if you pay attention in lecture and also do the readings (they are usually not very long, so even if you don't read all of it you should still know a summary at least, or the main points) you should do fine on them. I learned a lot and am very interested in US-China relations now because of this class! I would recommend it!
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A+ Vashin 01/23/2023	Professor Kastner was a great professor. It's clear that he really cares about the learning of his students, willing to answer student questions, even if they really don't deserve to be answered. I think 204 was easily the most interesting of the GVPT courses I have taken so far, (170, 200, 201, and now 204). The course wasn't difficult gradewise, the four assignments were very straightforward. Like someone else mentioned, because there's only four real big grades--two midterms, an essay, and the final-- you'll need to do well on them, but they're not difficult if you have kept up with the readings. I definitely recommend this class and Professor Kastner more broadly.
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/16/2023	A really good professor, and a straightforward class. Two midterms and a final, a 5-page paper, and some discussion points. Interesting class, but reading heavy. Overall, recommend it.
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/09/2023	He's alright. I think he is the only one teaching it, but he is clearly knowledgeable about what he is talking about. GVPT204 is a DSSP and an I-Series which attracts people who may not be that invested or interested. Something to note about this class is that there are barely any assignments in this class: 3 exams and a paper and also discussion participation. If you mess up on one, it will drag your grade down. The exams are pretty straightforward where it is basically 15 MC trivia questions that can be found on the slides and 2 short FRQ which you basically have to regurgitate the points on the assigned readings. The last thing to say is that this covers a lot of topics which is related to US-China and sometimes it jumps from topic to another, but the class isn't that bad as long as you can cram slide info before an exam.
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Anonymous 12/24/2021	Extremely kind and patient professor. Really knows his stuff when it comes to US-China relations. Learned a lot in this class, highly recommend
Scott Kastner GVPT204 Anonymous 05/13/2021	GVPT204 is the new classification for what was once called 289J. As for the class, Kastner did a great job teaching it. His lectures are great and you should go to them since the slides on elms are vague. He really goes in depth about them. Gradewise, there were 3 papers, each worth 25% of your grade and I found the prompts straightforward. The remaining 25% was participation in discussion. As long as you are involved and talking, you should be fine. We had to be discussion leaders at one point in the semester and pose questions based on readings and lectures to the class. Overall, great class and great professor. You should take this class if you ever get the chance.