[IGST 0101]
Intro to International & Global Studies

Rate This Class

Professor: Sasson T

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (22.2%
Average (66.7%)
Valuable (11.1%)

Material

Friendly (0%)
Average (66.7%)
Competitive (33.3%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (33.3%)
Average (66.7%)
Fascinating (0%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (40%)
3-5hr (10%)
6-8hr (30%)
9-11hr (20%)
12+ hr (0%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (11.1%)
Average (0%)
Easier (88.9%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (88.9%)
No (11.1%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (55.6%)
No (44.4%)

Evaluation Comments for Sasson T

  1. No Comment
  2. Intro to IS is a really good basic overview of a lot of different issues. Sasson was really nice during discussions, and he was really good at keeping the discussions interesting and on track. The class itself isn't that much work, it's mostly just reading, with a few assignments. The final is a paper, which they give you lots of time to work on, and all of the lectures were really interesting and informative.
  3. It is a great into to international studies, not only is it required for the major but anyone interested in International Studies will find the subject matter quite interesting. Sasson puts a lot of emphasis on his speciality, Israel/Palestine but he knows a lot about it, and it is interesting to hear his opinions. A fairly interesting and easy class overall.
  4. I thought that Professor Sasson was a decent professor but my big problem was the class itself. INTL 101 covers WAY too much material for a 13 week course. A different guest professor teaches each lecture which was pretty cool, but the topic changes each lecture so students couldn't really delve into topics. Professor Sasson tried his best to incorporate the different lectures and form connections during the discussion sections, but to no avail. I think that INTL 101 should just focus on 10 or so current issues because having an overview of 30+ issues was overwhelming
  5. Do not take this unless you are sure you want to be an IS major. Discussions with Sasson were some of the most strained I have ever experienced. Grading was fair. Be sure to study up on random facts to throw into midterm/final essays.
  6. Intro to Int'l is a very broad course that covers different regions of the world through a lens of broad themes such as nationalism and globalization and disciplines such as economic development, anthropology, etc. The course is extremely broad considering how much there is to cover in one semester, but if you keep up with the readings and don't get lost you will find the course invaluable. Our lecture was taught by Professors Sasson and Cason. Most lectures are taught by guest professors (usually Midd Professors from a different department). Discussions meet once a week with your assigned professor (in my case Sasson). Professor Sasson is very knowledgeable, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Discussions were interesting, though I found his style of discussion leading to be a little overbearing. I felt students often didn't get enough time to talk. My advice for this class- TAKE IT, knowing that it is broad, and knowing that keeping up with the readings before each lecture is key!
  7. I took this course my first semester freshmen year, let me tell you that the description in the course catalog isn't really accurate; like others have mentioned, none of the topics are explored in depth. This is an interesting course if you are interested in world affairs and it can definitely be useful if you're not sure what you want to study. You might find that one of the disciplines (economics, history, sociology. poly sci) is really interesting and decide to take a class next semester. However, I felt that a lot of people fought to get into the class and then ended up hating it. The discussion sections were useless (although Sasson doesn't call on specific people so its a plus if you're not into talking in class). The lectures were hit or miss; some were amazing while other were awful. I personally never did the readings, but whenever I attempted to they were really long. Honestly, no one will know whether or not you did the reading, the lecture is about 90 students! However, if you want to get a grade beyond a B you'll have to work a little. There wasn't too much other work, you have to attend four lectures a write response papers (1 pg, no big deal), a mid term, a 10 page research paper and then a final. The atmosphere in lecture is pretty laid back and the workload isn't too bad. I wouldn't recommend taking this class unless you have to, but if you're unsure about what you want to do and you need an extra course its not too bad.
  8. IS 101 is very, very broad. Designed as an overview course to help orient you with the International Studies department, be prepared for brief overviews on large and relevant world issues. More than a day was rarely spent on the same topic, which can get frustrating when you find something you're interested. In terms of being introduced to a wide variety of topics, though, this course does the trick. The readings are lengthy, and near the end of the semester almost no one was doing them because of how long they took. Professor Sasson was relatively available, but given the large class size, getting help was difficult.
  9. IS 101 is different from most other classes at midd. you have almost all guest lectures and you jump from one topic to another each class. there is a good deal of reading (which you don't have to do much of) and very minimal assignments. professor sasson was great but apart from a couple lectures, he only talked in sections. this class is great if you are going to be an is major and you are still deciding about which region/discipline you want to do, because 101 covers it all, though not in detail.
  10. Professor Sasson is nice, but as an instructor just average. His discussion sections were very slow, and were based on the ridiculously long readings that the guest lecturers assigned each week. Sometimes it would be three or four 40-page readings for each class. You could get by without doing them, but then you were expected to reference specific readings and authors for the midterm and exam, which were timed essays in class. Certain aspects of the class were interesting, but you could go from a very interesting topic and speaker in one class and then never talk about it again because we had moved on to something new.

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