The best parts of this course were the interesting material and the intellectual discussions in class. The professor was very knowledgeable and great at facilitating discussions. The downsides were the large amount of reading and the smal number of assignments. Since students only did one or two papers, they did not know what their grades would be like until the end of the course. Suggestions for improvement included having less reading and a few more small assignments so that grades are not based on just one or two papers and participation. Students should know that it is essential to keep up with the reading, as well as coming to class prepared to participate.