Reviews of professor David Hollenbach

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
Do. Not. Take. 75-150 pages of reading each week with T/F quizzes that cover easily missable facts, not big picture ideas. There were 4 short papers and you will not do well, an "adequate" paper gets a B-. Way too much work for a core curriculum class.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Professor Hollenbach is a brilliant academic whose class requires diligent attention to lecture slides for success, rather than solely focusing on a few articles. Though I initially struggled to grasp his grading standards, I ultimately found the class to be excellent.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
His lectures are full of information, well-planned and mostly engaging. Pretty nice and funny man. However, TA does some nonsense grading on papers and he does not allow for grade appeals. Overall, very interesting class but grading is unclear, reading quizzes carry a lot of weight, and there is a sit-down final.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Hollenbach definitely knows what he is talking about. REIA is definitely a good 2nd THEO option for those interested in IR, but know what you're getting in to. There will be reading, a lot of quizzes, three papers, and a final. Make sure to put in the work and go to office hours (incl. TA). It's a great class, makes you think, and challenges you.