Hurt, Shelley  

SWITCH OUT. This class is ridiculously hard for no reason. It is a 1 unit class that you have to take if you get credit for AP Gov and APUSH. It is online and she has you take an in class, 100 question final. You learn nothing from the online modules other than learning how to search the internet for a specific answer, including salaries to the exact dollar. Why should I have to know that???? This class does not benefit you in any way. Also, everyone's modules are different and the final has questions that you will not even have seen on your modules so theres no way of knowing them unless your a contestant on Jeopardy or some shit. Even if you get blocked into this, switch to a different teacher because they're finals are much easier. If you don't switch out, you are a fool, but look online for quilts with (some of) the correct answers. Work with people in your classes. Get 100% on the modules because they are worth 50% of your grade and the final is the other 50%. The final is a shaft so if you don't have photographic memory or the ability to search the internet in your head, HA good luck. And I will have you know, I passed both AP tests with a 5 and my high school GPA was a 3.92 unweighted so this class is impossible. Good luck guessing on your final!!!!! It may be worth retaking Gov and US History if you have no other choice tbh..

You are only going to see her twice for the whole course so the teacher you get for this class doesn't really matter. It's also a really easy class, I only got a B because I was dumb and didn't find out the day of the final until the day before the final.

This class consists of 10 online modules that you can complete at your own pace and a 100 question final, both being 50% of your grade. The modules are basically just busywork, although there were some interesting parts. The modules will take either no time at all or a lot of time, depending on how you search for the information (most of the answers are on quizlets). I had no idea what to expect going into the final. She also notified us that the final was two days earlier than stated on the syllabus a few days before the exam. Overall, the final was not IMPOSSIBLE, but I have no idea how to recommend preparing for it, other than searching for quizlets past students have made to study for the final. She seemed nice, but as this class is online, I only saw her twice.

Switch out, immediately.

The grade for this course is broken up into two parts worth 50% each - 10 online modules and the final. The modules are super easy and all the answers are on quizlets. The problem is everyone gets a slightly different set of questions but all possible questions are fair game for the final. There is no study guide or list of questions or type of questions that could show up on the final so you're left clueless on what you're supposed to study and know. Your only hope of doing well on the final is bouncing back and forth on a ton of quizlets and hoping you see enough different questions. Overall I wouldn't bother taking this class. If you really need POLS 111 credit I would try to take it with another teacher or at least accept that you're going to have to teach yourself all of California Gov using quizlet

For everyone seeing this, this is NOT a real class. It is a 1 unit online "scavenger hunt." After putting in all that work and passing APUSH and Gov with 5's each, we are still required to take this useless class that will likely affect our GPA. The final is an absolute shaft and if you lack the ability to search the internet in your head, you are in danger my friend. Do well on all the modules and just study quizlet as much as possible. Also, do not procrastinate until the last week of finals. Study the quizlets a small bit every week and actually read through the modules. Now, let's say you get this teacher. Don't panic. Drop and switch with a chill teacher. Some teachers have their finals online or have super easy ones. Absolutely do not take this course with this professor as -- no offense to Hurt since she seems like a nice lady -- her finals have historically been harder and she doesn't even know how her own class works. Safe to say my experience with this teacher was no bueno as this one unit will end up bringing my GPA down EVEN MORE. This quarter has been rough :( pray for me plz

The final is unrelated to the modules that make up the entire class. I've never left a negative review, and I've never felt that a final was straight up unfair, but this was ridiculous. I'd suggest switching out and taking a different POLS class. The highest grade for the final was a C

Final was incredibly easy. The only way it will be easy for you is if you study Quizlet. If you do not study Quizlet, it will be hard. This class is very pointless, but you need to just get it out of the way. Best advice is to make sure to get 100% on all modules, use your resources and take your time. Also, do not cram before the final. Study Quizlet throughout the quarter and you will get a 99% on the final like me.

This class only met twice: once on the first day to go over the syllabus and expectations and for the final during dead week. The rest of class was taught through "a series of modules on PolyLearn set up as an online scavenger hunt." I learned nothing from this class and completed all of the modules via Quizlet where all of the answers are. While I cannot comment on Dr. Hurt's teaching style because she did not teach us (other than on the first day where she could not understand a question asked by a student until 4 other students asked the same question in a different way to try and get her to understand), I found her class unfair compared to the rest of POLS 111 classes offered. Our final was a 100 question MC in class while many other POLS 111 students got to take their final online at home. It's a one unit class so it was not that big of a deal, but it seems unfair that some students get an easier final and got lucky that they got blocked into the easier teacher. Our final was very specific facts and numbers while other classes were able to just copy/paste their answers online while being able to use Google with their other friends. If you have her, make sure you get every module question correct as its easy points the total module score is 50% of your grade. The final is 50% and is really specific. I would get go through the modules and understand the concepts behind them along with the facts. Dr. Hurt was very nice at the few times I met talked to her though and this is nothing against her personally but more of how she formatted this class in comparison to other sections.

This class is a 1 unit mostly online course to go with AP credit to fulfill GE D1. Basically half the grade is taking online quizzes where you are guaranteed to get 100% if you just keep answering enough questions. The other half is the final, which was absurdly difficult and will sink your grade. Since the class only meets twice, I didn't really interact with Professor Hurt, but she didn't seem very helpful and wasn't very clear explaining things. My best advice is keeping on track with the online quizzes and then memorizing a ton of useless information out of the book for the final because it's very specific.

The online modules are reasonable, but her final is wayyyy harder than it needs to be. Probably the most unreasonable final I have ever taken and it is 50% of your grade and you have to know things like exact numbers, grades, and dates. She makes it super hard to do well on, not a single person I talked to got an A in that class. And before the final she said the test would be reasonable.

So I ended up getting an A- in this class........ don't let that fool you though this class had me so damn heated after I took the final because what every single post says about this class is true. You're forced to take this class to redeem two classes of AP credit from high school and it has got to be the most pointless class I've ever taken. Like knowing useless and extremely specific numbers and statistics? Well, then this class is for you. Are you a robot that keeps track of every pointless name and word that is fed to you? Well, then this class is for you. Do you care about which of the hundreds of bills passed in California over the years has to do with topics have serve no relevance to you? Well, then you guessed it, this is the class for you. The final is 50% of your grade and is INSANELY specific like you never expect that anything will be this specific until you get in and are taking the test and you realize just how idiotic it is to have to take this class. So yeah... unless you're a memory champion or an absolute robot, you're going to hate this class! Not even a rip on Professor Hurt, she seemed like a nice lady, I have no idea, only saw her like once, but this class is awful. IF you don't have to take it. Don't, and make your life unequivocally better.

The course may be 200 level but don\'t be surprised to find your jaw dropping the first day. Professor hurt may be knowledgeable on what she lectures, but it is impossible for her to translate this to her students. She speaks 1000 miles an hour and does not have breaks in her sentences. Itsliketryingtoreadthissentencebutovera2hourclassperiod. It only ends up confusing the students even more. She has the habit of starting a thought on the board and then jumping to the next point even before she has finished the first. If you\'re a student that thrives in a chaotic, completely unstructured lecture environment, you would probably understand her. I did not. The course requirements were way too extreme for this level course. Expect to read lots of very very dense and dry material for each class and then have her belittle your whole class for failing to grasp the concepts. To top this off she has a 10 page research paper due at the end of the quarter. I normally wouldn\'t mind this work but I found it completely inappropriate to write a very specific paper in a course that was supposed to be introductory. Oh, and don\'t forget, she holds grudges, so suck up. In all honestly I find it very hard to find anything beneficial about her methods, let alone describe her without falling into a tirade.

I took Professor Hurt's class my very first quarter at college, and it was quite intimidating. On the very first day, Hurt assigned a ton of reading and expected you to participate in class discussions for the participation points. I honestly thought, I would never be able to pass this class since many upperclassmen told me about how they failed Hurt's class. Listen to her talk, and youll do fine on the quizzes. I dont think anything matters in this class besides the 10 page paper due at the very end of the course. Thats the only thing you even need to care about

This class was WAY more difficult than it needed to be. I dont think Shelley understood the concept of an introductory class and that it didnt need to have 6 hours of reading a week. She talks so damn fast and adds in an "uh" or "um" every two words it will drive you insane for the first couple of classes. Not to mention that she sounds like she just ran a marathon...first day of class I thought she was just winded from trying to get to class on time, 40 minutes into the period I realized it wasnt going away. Granted shes a nice person, but shes way too enthusiastic about whatever shes lecturing on that it doesnt translate well. I felt like I was overloaded with so much information that none of it stuck. About three times a week she'll claim a new thing as "the most important thing about international realtions"..I would consider keeping a list on all those just for shits and gigs. Shes definitely really knowledgeable but cant convey her information, she writes down things on the board that usually have no value to the discussion. The tests are super easy, she gives you a study guide weekly that has all the terms for that week but you have to define the terms in the EXACT same way as she does or she'll dock you points. I would avoid another class with Shelley if I could just to save myself from dry readings and scattered lecture notes, but shes an easy grader and probably not the worst teacher cal poly has to offer.

Professor Hurt can be intimidating but she is not impossible. I tried to do the reading in the beginning but then I gave up on it. All you need to do is write down everything she writes down on the board and study that for the quizzes, which are actually easy in my opinion. The paper is tough but if you go to her once in office hours, she will lay everything out you need to do then grade pretty fairly.

Professor Hurt is an extremely intelligent woman and is eager to help her students. My only criticisms with Hurt are that she has a hard time conveying information to her students, she really likes to go off on tangents in class (they actually are very interesting) and her lectures are generally very unstructured. However having said this professor Hurt is probably one of the most helpful and caring professors I have had, I have gone into speak with her countless times after I took her course and she always answered my questions and offered to help in anyway. As for 225 her class was quite manageable, we had 3 quizzes, and a final research paper. Everyone also has to be a discussion leader twice, but all it really consists of is writing 3 questions that you ask the class and more often than not she will answer your question. All in all I would suggest anyone to take professor Hurt as long as they are aware that lectures can be a bit misleading and unstructured.

POLS 225 is an Intro to International Relations course, so I expected it would be a survey course on the basics/fundamentals of International Relations with a lot of class participation/discussion. I was mistaken; Hurt's class was a pretty heavy work load. We read between 50 and 120 pages nightly from various textbooks and online texts. The material was a little more complex than where I had expected a survey course to go into. This was in no way a bad thing, however. I thought the class was inspiring and insightful. I learned so much about the state of world affairs and the reason for them being so. I admire Shelley Hurt's passion for IR, and for every bit of passion she has for the subject, she has 10x it in knowledge. She is also extremely accommodating in her office hours and cares to get to know students on a personal level. I highly recommend taking her class; It is worth the rigor.

Hurt teaches her class vis a vis ummm ummm umm... (yeah, that's what listening to her talk sounds like.)

I dreaded going to this class for the first two weeks because I wasn't doing well but after having a conversation with Professor Hurt she helped me understand what I need to improve on and how I could do so. The most important thing to do in this class is be very respectful the two hours you are there. Have zero side conversation and when you speak make sure it sounds smart. Also the people who always were speaking weren't necessarily the people who received A's. And you will probably not get a decent grade if you don't attend any of her office hours.

Shelley Hurt should stay in research where she does not have to communicate with anyone. She is rude, ineffective, and a terrible public speaker. She consistently points out students' weaknesses yet never points out anyone's strong points. She is a negative, bitter, angry woman who is in the wrong profession.

Hurt's class wasn't bad. She makes the lectures interesting by adding current events and videos from the New York Times and other media outlets. The discussions can get pretty intense. She offers a lot of assistance for the class research project and it isn't too difficult. Her quizzes are not easy but not hard either. The trick to getting an A in this class is to come to her office hours several times per quarter, participate at least once a lecture, and do all the readings.

Thank god I am done with this class, let me tell you. Don't get me wrong, Professor Hurt is a nice lady with good intentions, however this class takes an enormous amount of work when it is definitely not needed. The class is honestly like taking a foreign language if your not mr.guiness when it comes to politics. Best of luck, and have fun busting your ass.

If you have the option to take another class to fulfill your requirement, by all means, take it. Hurt is unnecessarily hard for an introductory course. She expects everyone taking her class to be pols majors and have lots of background knowledge, and will actually fail you if you skip 2 days of class. There are timed quizzes every week, which isn't impossible, but participation is over 20% of your grade and the rest comes from a giant research essay she uses as the final.

I really dislike Professor Hurt, though she seemed to like me. She has ok taste in music, is very proud that she has testified in front of the Senate or some subcommittee, and went to Berkley. She also, when giving examples of how to cite works, uses her own papers and journal articles. I learned more about Shelley Hurt than I did about International Relations. The word hegemony will forever haunt me and um um um um um um ummmm she says um a lot. She also always sounds out of breath. This is about all I took away from the class which is really quite sad.

Hardest class I have ever taken in my entire life. More reading than I could bear and the research paper was brutal. Don't fall behind on reading and you will be okay. Kiss Hurt's ass and you'll come out with a good grade. She means well at the end of the day, but her grading scale is brutal and she expects you to know WAY more than anyone generally knows. Take a deep breath and get ready for quite the challenge, GO TO OFFICE HOURS!

I absolutely loved both this class and Professor Hurt. She expects a lot out of her students which is expected in college level courses. Her classes are discussion based (usually off of the weekly readings). She's incredibly helpful as long as you seek her help, office hours are pretty much essential in doing well in the class. Overall, I learned a lot from her and would take a class by her again.

Professor Hurt is one of the smartest people I have ever met. She is extremely knowledgable, but that does not necessarily make her the best teacher, especially for an introductory course. You can tell she knows a vast amount about the subject, but it is hard to keep up with her, especially if you are not very informed on international relations. Unless you enjoy a large work load of information that is not clearly covered in class, I do not recommend taking this class. She is a very intelligent woman, but the lectures are a bit unstructured and the work load is immense.

Hated this class, loved Dr. Hurt. She is an incredibly intelligent woman, and clearly very passionate about her field of study. Her enthusiasm for the subject made going to class a little bit easier, but the work load was super intense and a lot of the material was very abstract or vague. That's not necessarily Dr. Hurt's fault, because the topic of international relations is very broad as it is. Just be prepared for a lot of reading and memorization when you take this class.

Taking a class with Shelly Hurt is like being forced to eat gravel for two hours twice a week. Even once your gravel eating session is over, its still gotta come on out. She's a pseudo-intellectual. She loves to use the phrase vis-a-vis. Best yet, she frequently refers to herself in third person on test and quiz items. What a joke!

If you're looking for a class that's predictable (show up to class if attendance is required, do the readings if you feel like it, take notes on the power points, study only what the study guide tells you to do, regurgitate all the information you "learned" on a scantron, get your grade, and call it a day), then don't take Professor Hurt. If you want a class that's intellectually stimulating and challenging, where you actually have to do some thinking to get a good grade, and the teacher is available and wants to help you grow and succeed in your education, then don't be afraid to take her as a teacher. This especially is true if you're a POLS major.

Professor Hurt is one of the most condescending people I've ever met. She always cuts students off to insert her own opinion. Even though there are "discussion leaders" among the students for every day of class, she ends up talking for the majority of the time. I honestly think she just likes the sound of her own voice. Avoid her if at all possible.

This bitch's grading system is bullshit. Do not take her class of you can avoid it.

She is a little rough around the edges in terms of soft skills, but genuinely cares for student success.Do not text in class, the classroom seating makes it distracting to others even if you are obviously hiding it, she will call you out too. Once you get past her tendency to be curt, she is a great professor to learn from.

This woman is extremely knowledgeable and coming into this class I thought I would like her and the class but I was wrong. For someone who attended all the lectures, kept up with the reading, got good grades on the online quizzes I still struggled throughout this class. If anything I felt that she was biased when grading papers. If she likes you and you keep up with the work you'll do fine but if she does not like you, good luck.

Dr. Hurt is incredibly knowledgeable, focused, and serious. Yes, she is a hard teacher, but that's what you want when you're paying so much for a quality education. Don't fall pray to the cultural norm of anti-intellectualism. Fight it; take a class by Dr. Hurt, learn a lot, and make the world a better place.

Professor Hurt makes you work. If you didnt come to college to work hard, you'll realize that in her class. Shocking result of working hard: I actually remember what I learned in this course and it's been over a year. Shape up kids college aint a field of daisies.

Professor Hurt isn't a terrible teacher but I wouldn't go so far as to say that she's good. The textbook is awful, confusing, and boring. Her lectures don't really explain anything and I found her style of teaching annoying. It often ends up just being her talking about the way she thinks the world works and her opinions on politics with no real contribution from the students. Sadly she's basically the only professor that teaches this class and its required so you're going to have to have her.

I have never actually hated a teacher until I took Hurt. She is the worst human being I have ever met. Se went to Berkeley so she automatically thinks she knows everything. If you are at all conservative or disagree with her crazy hippie bullshit in the slightest, she will make your life hell. DO NOT TAKE HER!!! She is literally a witch who keeps children in her basement and feeds on them. Terrible lady!

Professor Hurt was by far the most disrespectful and arrogant professor I have ever had. She couldn't go a single class without mentioning how she went to Berkley so she knows more than us. She is also a radical leftist and if you disagree with her political leanings in any way, she will tear you apart and seek ways to publically humiliate you in front of the whole class. She is the only teacher I have genuinely disliked and am going to avoid her like the plague any chance I get for classes.

Hurt is not the best and is not the worst. She is very particular about what she wants but gives you clear examples of what she wants. As long as you give her what she wants she's a fairly easy professor. The exams are not hard, she gives you a study time usually the class before and gives you a study guide. When she does this literally go down the list and ask if each topic will be on the exam. She will be very straight up and tell you "thats not going to be on the exam" or will tell you "it will be" then further explain it if needed. She has weekly quizzes for the readings, find a group to help out with them and you'll be good. Her exams focus only on what goes on in class not the readings. The final paper is a bit abstract and it should be started ahead of time because it is a lot of work but in the end it is worth it. If you're a POLS major its a very good intro to what a research paper should look like. However, the guidelines for this paper are very open. Go into Office Hours and she will basically outline your paper for you which is super helpful. Overall she's a good professor, boring at times but she does bake stuff. She made double chocolate chip cookies for our class - they were amazing.

WARNING: do NOT take this class (especially first quarter freshman year). This class was extremely difficult and boring. Hurt would sit everyone down in a circle and talk for the entire two hours. She knows a lot about the subject, but cannot properly communicate it to her students. She is often very negative and LOVES to give negative feedback, the only positive feedback I heard all quarter was "good". This class requires a lot of effort but is passable if you put in the extra time to study and go into office hours. That being said, if you are able to take this course with a different professor, DO IT!

There are a bunch of butthurt scrubs on here, leaving negative reviews because they didn't get an A lol. First of all, I'm not even a good student. I daydream like 70% of class. Secondly, I'm not liberal. I am moderate and probably more right leaning, and Professor Hurt is liberal. Professor Hurt and I got along quite fine, despite our differing believes. Not to mention she brought our class cookies, and GOT DAMN that woman can bake. Literally just read the book, and study what she tells you to, and you will do fine.

Hurt is incredible. She's so smart and I think she's great teacher, although she seems condescending. Yes she is demanding and expects a lot from her students but that's because she wants us to learn the material and internalize it.. thats the point of college. SO if you actually care about learning and are interested in the material this will be an amazing class and professor.

I'm disappointed to see so many negative reviews for Professor Hurt on here. 225 was probably my favorite class I have ever taken. It was definitely difficult and there were a lot of pretty surprising requirements (mandatory attendance and daily participation, not to mention a 10+ page paper due at the end of the quarter!). That being said, this class was beyond fulfilling and I truly believe I gained invaluable knowledge and experience over the course of the quarter. This is the type of class I wanted as a liberal arts major, you always have to do the reading and be on your feet but it's definitely worth it. If you are in college to actually learn then I wouldn't recommend any professor higher than Hurt. Seriously, give it a chance.

Prof cried today.... What a weirdo hahahah get a grip of your life.

Professor Hurt gave two non-cumulative exams for this class (one midterm, one final) and required two short essays. The class was easy enough to pass, but sitting through lectures was hell. She is disorganized and and her lectures do not have any sort of structure. She is also a horrible speaker, paces back and forth in front of the class, speaks as if she were out of breath, stumbles over her words, occasionally mumbles, and says "ummm" or "uhh" every few seconds. I was able to pass the class because I took the time to read the book and look up definitions to "key terms" that she expects us to know but does not explain. Overall, could've been a cool class, and material was interesting enough, but Dr. Hurt is not a good teacher (intelligent, yes, but was not able to convey material in a clear or structured way).

Prof. Hurt is REALLY knowledgeable when it comes to political science, especially foreign policy but she has some difficulty presenting the information to her students. If you haven't taken a pols class before and don't know a lot about politics, i don't recommend taking this class because she uses a lot of political science terminology that if you don't know can be really confusing. Overall this class was SUPER ridiculously easy-weekly online quizzes over short readings, a midterm (average was a 94), two papers over issues we discuss in class and a final that was only slightly harder than the midterm. If you want an easy A, this is it, but if you want to learn A LOT about global politics in a clear, organized manner, this is not the class for you.

This is the worst teacher I've ever taken. She literally doesn't answer anyone's questions. She talks in circles and is completely unorganized, even though she thinks she's clear to everyone because she has an outline. This is a 200 person class and I'm pretty sure no one knows what's going on. She says "um" 100+ times in 15 minutes (yes, I counted). She teaches the class as if we were a research paper and is citing information but doesn't clarify any of it to us. She will literally read passages from text directly to us, but not relate it back to the class. Don't take her class! She's terrible and you'll learn absolutely nothing.

Here's the deal. I've had Hurt before this class. VERY smart, and VERY knowledgeable. BUT she is not good at answering questions (she takes a lot of tangents..starts digressing to other subjects and will ask you at the end whether her long-winded explanation made sense, to which you're forced to say "yes") and she's bad at clarifying things. Which is not good, because her material is difficult to grasp. POINT BLANK: She expects us to all be "political scientists", as she says. TRUTH: We're not.

The entire time you are sitting in this god awful class you just want to stand up and yell "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!!" She talks in circles the entire time using huge words and never completes a thought. She says "Vis a vi" in EVERY sentence to the point where you begin to cringe when you hear it. Granted she is very knowledgeable, but she turns very interesteing topics into unbearble ones to sit through.

So... POLS 333 is a very interesting class and if anyone other than professor Hurt is teaching it it would be a great way to fulfill your area F requirement. That said, professor Hurt had no clue how to teach a large lecture class like this. While she did choose interesting articles for us to read her lectures were painful. She would read aloud up to 10 articles each class and then say "we need to hurry up now." She speaks so quickly most people can't even understand what she is saying and you have to put up with a lot of umm...uhhhh...vis a vis.... (we counted 250 um's in one hour- no joke!). My advice is avoid professor Hurt like the plague.

Hurt is absolutely AWFUL. Vis a vis her circular reasoning, vis a vis her tangents, vis a vis her made up ridiculously long words, and vis a vis her inability to be helpful at all, I have hated this course. She took such an interesting subject and tore it to shreds. She claims she wants us to succeed, which is probably hard to do because we have no clue what she's talking about all class long. Her outlines don't help very much either; they give just general concepts. In addition, she gets into her bitchy moods and scolds us for "not knowing the right answers, like come on". It would be a lot easier if she wasn't speaking her own language. Don't. Take. It.

Professor Hurt is extremely smart and knows the subject to its fullest extent. BUT she cannot teach the material at all... she goes off on tangents, says things without clarification and just expects everyone to know what she is talking about. Its a GE for most people but she treats everyone in there like 4th year political science students which is unfair. the quizzes arent too bad if you do the reading, but she they have no relation to the midterms which is dumb. theres 2 papers both of which arent too bad, but studying for the midterm and final is stupid. She hardly gives any direction on what to study, and the outlines she provides are very hard to follow and make little or no sense. She bases everything off what she says in class and refuses to make powerpoints which doesnt make sense. If i could choose again i would NOT take this class... find a better class

Please avoid this professor at all costs if you are considering taking pols 333. She does not know how to teach at all. All she does is read articles. Anybody can read off an article. THe worst part is that she treats all of the students as if they were political science majors. The class is so disorganized. You have no idea what to take notes on. You have no idea how to follow her so-called outlines. Come finals week, she expects you to write two 4 page papers in a blue book. Granted, she provides the prompts for you in advance, but she expects factual quotes word for word, and wants you to reference authors to prove that you "learned" something, which is complete and utter crap. And here i thought area GE: F's were supposed to be somewhat easy.

She is so unorganized that you will leave every class wondering why you just wasted 2 hours of your life. This was definitely one of the worst GE's I've taken. Do not take this class.

Look at the outline before class. Mark down what she went over, take decent notes. No way you can fail this class. Her quizzes are extremely easy and so are the two essays.If you want an easy GE to pass and get an A, this is not a class for you. But if you want to actually learn something and challenge yourself, go a head and take this class.

Talks extremely fast. Does not do power points, just reads out articles, and doesn't like to repeat or write down anything she says. Her sentences do not make sense. Extremely boring.

She was the worst professor I've ever had at Cal Poly. The grade was based on 9 quizzes from weekly readings—15 mins for 15 questions—a midterm, 2 reflection papers and a final. Her lectures were practically useless. She would pick current event articles, project them onto the screen, and spend about the first hour of lecture reading the articles word for word to us. She understands the material well, but she does not know how to teach the material. During class, in attempt to keep students awake, she projects photographs irrelevant to the lecture topic that tend to be distracting while she's lecturing. I don't understand why she didn't just make powerpoint slides that highlight the main points of what she was lecturing—probably would've made the class a lot easier to understand. Her lectures also involves a lot of "um"s and "vis-a-vis"—again, distracting, and makes what she's saying a lot harder to understand.

If she uses the term "vis-a-vis" once every 5 minutes and she's awake for 16 hours a day that means she says it approximately 70,080 times per year. If it takes about 1 second to say "vis-a-vis" then she spends 1,168 minutes/19.46 hours/0.81 days saying it each year. That's what I learned during class time. Worst class ever- avoid it like the plague.

Heed the advice of the dozens of students below me, Shelley Hurt, although extremely smart and enthusiastic about her field of study, is without question one of the most ineffective and frustrating teachers at Cal Poly. It is a true crime that she is a college professor, she is disorganized, condescending, unwilling to help students, and a Terrible public speaker. She wastes entire class periods reading articles word for word off a screen that we could read faster and better than she can. No joke, she literally read Orgasm instead of Organism out loud during her lecture. I am a returning college student who changes majors late into my college career so I have taken my fair share of college classes and I can safely say she is the single worst teacher I have EVER had. Find another class if at all possible. Vis a Vie

Material was really interesting, but Hurt was terrible and ruined the class for me.

Be warned when taking this class. It is a 200 person lecture, so I thought she couldn't make it all that nit picky or miserable. I was wrong. If you get easily distracted by someone that uh can't uh make a uh complete uh sentence without saying um uh 250 times in 15 minutes (we counted), don't take this class. She preaches mutual respect, but shows utter disdain for her students. The quizzes are extremely difficult for reading comprehension quizzes. Open book, open note, online quizzes and yet people frequently fail them because she chooses the most minute details from 50 pages of reading, or she even chooses a question outside of the assigned reading. The tests are ridiculous, she tries to keep a multiple choice test from being to easy so she makes every question ambiguous and difficult to understand. I mean, you can easily pass this course if you need the GE credit, but you might see your neighbor has stabbed a pencil through his ear from her droning "vis a vis."

Shelley Hurt is one of the best political science professor's at Cal Poly. That being said, if you are not a POLS major, her classes might seem very content heavy and difficult. She is incredibly knowledgable about the subjects she teaches and expects her students to put a lot of effort into their work. I think many people find Hurt to be to demanding and a little out of touch with her students, but if you take initiative and talk with her during office hours or after class, she is always available and willing to help you. Her classes are nicely structured, tests cover exactly what she tells you they will (no surprises or trick questions), and she grades her essays toughly but fair. I would recommend Hurt to every Pols major who's willing to put in a little extra effort to learn a great deal.

The class is awesome. The information you learn, you will remember because it effects everything. The midterms were easy. Weekly Reading quizzes easy. Essays easy. She doesn't offer respect to students. If you ask a question confronting her about the contradictions of her answers on a questions she will come off brash but will say at the end, well I'll change it. However, you don't need to ask her questions very often because all you have to do is study the powerpoint slides she puts online and the main policies, dates, and people that were covered in lecture. My only complaint is that she jams through the lecture like it's Christmas Eve so we all can hurry and get home for dinner. You will rarely be able to write down all the information you want to but that's why the slides are online. Overall, insightful class one of my top 3 best at poly.

Cool class, just go to all the lectures. She takes a lot of the exam questions from the lecture presented current events.

Dr. Hurt has a dismissive personality and absolutely fails as a lecturer. She got better as the quarter went on but in the beginning she couldn't complete a sentence without going uh uh, or vis a vis. The class itself really is not all that hard, which is the only reason I'm sure she hasn't been fired. The essays are pretty much guaranteed A's or B's and the online quizzes aren't that hard either. An easy way to take the quizzes is to underline every date and statistic because she seems to love focusing on those for the quizzes. The thing about this class which I found odd was that the material is actually interesting. I actually tried to enjoy this class, but all the class consists of is about 40 minutes of watching videos and another 50 of her lecturing. Going to class and watching her read directly off the power point slides came off a bit lazy, and at times she couldn't answer student questions. I would say if you have to take an area F and this is what your stuck with you could do worse. She's definitely mediocre in every way, but hey mediocre is better than terrible.

SELLING ALL BOOKS FOR POLS 333: WORLD FOOD SYSTEMS for cheaper than the bookstore (especially her handbook). There is some highlighting... but trust me, you will thank me for the highlighting considering all the quiz questions are based on small words/concepts and statistics hidden in the HUNDRED OF PAGES you will have to read for the weekly quizzes. Text ,call, or email me for details so I can get them to you ASAP: Katie, 916-524-0334 or kedmiston5@hotmail.com

If you don't like to read A SHIT TON of material, avoid this class. quizlet.com/19424960/pols-333-flash-cards/

Although Professor Hurt is an intelligent woman who enjoys politics, she is one of too many examples why the American University system and its "educators" are such a hot mess. This woman can't teach for shit. I stopped going to class after the midterm. As this is a political science class, it should be more focused on the CURRENT problems we experience within the world food systems. Then, it would be beneficial to explain all options available for improving world poverty and other issues involving farming and such. Then, maybe we should apply political science and theories, etc which we have learned to such issues and discuss them in class. I'm all for a little history and background to get me going, but the whole class doesn't have to be a history. I'd like to solve the problem, not dwell on the shit from the past. History is great and all, but at a certain point is redundant. Most of the reading assignments are from 2011 or earlier anyways, so how accurate is all this blabbering stuff she assigns anyways? After all, doesn't the outcome of our future lie in the hands of our youth? I mean a lil' coaxing wouldn't kill ya lady. It's kind of supposed to be your job. Anyyywhoooooo... Exams: midterm is all multiple choice. final is 100 multiple, with 5 essay prompts where you must pick 2 and answer them in 5 paragraph essays (what is this, high school?) Start with her powerpoints and then go through the outlines for any missed concepts. Review the current events, especially TED talks. She loves people (like the ones she covers in powerpoints) but isn't huge on dates (but watch for important years). Also check the website 'Quizlet' for a fair amount of pre-made flash cards with important terms. "Conventional Wisdom" is a common phrase in lecture, and it means the general assumption most people make about certain issues. In Example... Most people think world hunger is caused by scarcity of food, supplies, or means of efficient farming, but its more heavily caused by unavailable means of transporting surplus food, thus resulting in lots of food waste. We have enough, we just have more than needed in certain places (ie... 'MERICA) Quiz suggestions: She assigns weekly reading quizzes. 15 questions, timed for 15 minutes. Best done in groups (make newwww friiiiieeennndsss). *Advice* look up the articles ahead of time and search for any PDF's available. Then use 'find' to search key words in the articles. She often pulls direct phrases or at least key terms. Moral of the Story: Get out while you still can. Even for an upper division GE, this work load in shenaniganry.

She is just too arrogant. I understand arrogance if you are generally right, but political science is so subjective so her arrogance only hinders her ability to convey any sort of useful information. ALSO, she can be just so mean sometimes, out of nowhere. She for sure smells her own farts.

She's a nice lady, but not a good teacher. Professor hurt assigns readings for weekly online quizzes every week, but does not quiz on the overall content but rather on "the percentage of blah blah blah last year". Her powerpoint slides are examples of exactly what they teach you not to do in a public speaking class. They contain paragraphs of size 2 font that are unreadable, and she just reads word for word of these slides. When you ask her a question, she does not answer it, and rather goes off on a tangent to explain her "archival research". I honestly don't know how she hasn't been talked to about changing her teaching methods, because she's basically a living example of what a professor shouldn't do.

Avoid this teacher, her "teaching" method is pathetic. How did she get this job? shes a joke. Her slides are so full of text you do not have enough time to read them during class, she flies through the material and skips slides. Studying for the midterm and final is a huge pain (you pretty much have to teach yourself the material). If you challenge her in any way with a question...she will shut you down infront of the whole class. She expects way too much from a GE course (most of us are no poly sci majors). Lecture consists of her just reading articles and parts of the slides and giving HER opinion (which will be asked on the test). Do yourself a favor and avoid this mess.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!! I tried so hard to like her, and I'm not typically the type of person to go on here and senselessly rant. That being said, she has an absolutely terrible style of teaching (reads directly from the slides, which are mainly other people's quotes/ concepts taken directly from the reading w/o analysis) and is just a horrible public speaker. The class is mainly busywork, which is a bummer because it has so much potential and could actually be a cool subject if taught right. Didn't learn shit and will be forgetting the little I do know immediately after taking the final. last but definitely not least: 100% OF HER SLIDES ARE IN COMIC SANS! WHO DOES THAT?!?! LIKE HOW UNPROFESSIONAL CAN YOU BE MY EYEBALLS ARE BURNING :((((

I honestly wish I had checked Polyratings before I signed up for this class, because the reviews are SPOT ON!!! Her current teaching methods are very below-par, especially for Cal Poly. The lectures are impossible to sit through while she drones on, reading direct quotes from documents or articles (literally copy & pasted) and skips through entire slides that have tiny writing and no analytical content. My biggest complaint with the material is the use of articles outdated by 10 YEARS, I mean it is a class about the CURRENT world food system... She also uses her own opinion-based scholarly articles as readings, which is absurd. The harsh TAs will be grading your papers as well, LOL good luck.

I don't really understand why everyone is complaining so much. This is a class at Cal Poly so obviously you have to put in effort to get a good grade. I found it funny that everyone that complained in class didn't go to class (she doesn't take role). That being said, Professor Hurt is very knowledgable and passionate about food politics. She tries to make her classes current and less boring than just your average lecture with videos and current events that were helpful and entertaining. The online quizzes were really annoying but the essays were so simple and graded so easily. The tests were all about stuff she talked about in class so it makes sense that is would be hard for someone who didn't show up much. Overall, I learned a ton in this class and would definitely recommend it!

I honestly think this class is only possible to do well in if you have a limited workload or are only taking a few courses this quarter. Expect to be reading 20-40 full size pages of text twice a week and be quizzed heavily on dates and obscure numbers. She likes to bloat her tests with questions like "Who said this?" or "How much of this was sold" or "When did this happen" that do not contribute to the overall learning of the course and simply end up with you wasting an ENORMOUS amount of time memorizing people, dates, and stats. The final exams consists of 100 multiple choice questions and two five paragraph in-class essays. She expects you to MEMORIZE quotes for the in class essays (four total). Overall, I would recommend you avoid the class unless you absolutely have to. I believe that my other grades suffered because I spent such a stupid amount of time studying and reading for this class.

HONESTLY, I would not recommend taking this professor for anything below a level 300 class because she will definitely hold you to a high standard; she'll expect the absolute best out of you and you'll work really, really, really hard for a B. Which does suck if you're not a political science major particularly. She talks pretty fast and lectures for two hours straight a lot of the time without any kind of break in between, but participation is huge in the class and there will be multiple people talking for up to half an hour, sometimes half the class meeting. HOWEVER, you will learn so much. I'm writing this the fall quarter after taking her in the spring, with the entire summer break in between, and after coming across material she presented and assigned, I found I have a real understanding of it. You learn a lot throughout the quarter, and aren't necessarily just in the class to take tests. Her tests are difficult though and filled with very specific jargon, and you have to pay attention to your reading, but the classes are so discussion-based that you get a lot more out of it if you do the reading anyway. As most of the professors in this department, she's left-leaning and I know some people in my class were frustrated with this, but if you're also liberal-leaning, you won't mind. I also really liked how she implemented multiple mixed media into her lectures, such as movies and TED talks, but those are also fair game for the tests. I also feel like I have to say this based on some of the other reviews, but even though she's a difficult professor and she comes across as intimidating, she's actually so nice and so willing to help students when they ask for it. She literally baked cookies for us on the last day. A small consolation if you're failing the class, but a sweet gesture overall.

Before taking the class and looking at these reviews, I was very scared. As someone who was not a political science major, I was very worried that I would make a fool of myself and that I would not be able to keep up with typical political jargon. The first day of class is pretty overwhelming. She hands out a hefty but informative syllabus, as well as pages describing in detail one of the two types of writing that you turn in over the quarter. She also front loads you with sign in sheets for when you turn in the those two types of writing, (so if you can, bring your other syllabi with you so you have a rough idea of when your other projects are due so you don't have everything due at once ). However, those papers are really helpful throughout the quarter, so important that there is also a copy of them in your course reader that you have to buy. Going into the format of the course, I really liked how it is mainly discussion based with limited lecture. The small class size allows more to to speak and have a productive discussion while seated in a semi circle that allows people to see each other. She gives you an outline every class that gives you a rough idea of what you will discuss during the two hours that are really useful to review for the exams. Along with the discussion, she brings in her own current events, in addition to videos and multi media sources that help make the class go by pretty quickly. The online weekly reading quizzes took me a week to get the hang of in terms of what to take notes of since the quiz is timed, but she drops the lowest one so it's not that bad. Also, the readings were all pretty interesting and she groups them in a way that makes sense and allows you to connect to the material better. Throughout this class, you can see how passionate about the material she is which is really refreshing. The midterm and final are not meant to trick you, so if you pay attention to what she repeatedly declares as important, you will be fine. I would recommend marking which key concepts she talks about each class, since we sometimes did not get to all of them because of our discussions. If she does not talk about a concept and does not think it is important she will not test you on it. She also dedicates the last 30 minutes of the class before the test to students asking questions, so bring out your outlines and ask her about concepts you are unsure of and she will tell you if it will not be on the test. So if you show up, participate in class, take notes, and do the readings you will be fine. Also she brought us homemade bread once and it was so good. Overall, she is a fair professor and if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded for it.

Professor Hurt is my favorite professor here at Cal Poly. She can be intimidating because she is extremely intelligent and talks really fast but she cares more about her students than any professor I know. If you go into her office hours she will totally help you with your paper and she is really good at sending you relevant information for your research. You will learn alot in this class and she prepares you really well for the real world. She also knows more about current events than anyone I know!

Hurt is extremely knowledgeable and informed. The seminar style of the class (which often includes Masters of Public Policy students) is great and the class is very focused on news and current events, which I loved. You have to do 3 easy reflection papers on the readings, 3 easy sets of questions for different readings from the reflections, and a 15-20 page (super structured, very specifically composed) research paper which is broken down into a proposal, and outline, a 3-5 page first draft, the final product, and an oral presentation. The instructions and help she offers are so specific that it's your fault if you do poorly on the paper or in the class. That being said she is intense. She talks extremely fast (note taking is not at all necessary) and can come off as intimidating, and at times kind of self-indulgent. But she is a great instructor and willing to offer all the (actually useful) help you need. Like I said, it's your fault if you do poorly in this class because it is structured in a way that helps you succeed (and I didn't do the vast majority of the reading).

Very disappointed in her ability to effectively teach this course. Her syllabus was unclear and unorganized, and her lectures never pertained to the schedule, let alone the content of the syllabus. She constantly changed her mind about course work, assignments, etc. Thus, making it terribly difficult to complete any piece of work. She repeatedly shut down questions that she didn't like or were different to her reviews. I agree that she is very knowledgeable and intelligent, but it makes it difficult to approach her with help, etc.

Dr. Hurt is a very smart woman. She can be intimidating and can demand a lot of work, but you learn so much in her classes. She is one of those professors who genuinely cares about her students, and she wants to see you succeed. If you ever need help, just visit her office hours. This class taught me so much. I would definitely take her. The only piece of advice: she can be very strict about attendance, so make sure you always show up to class.

Dr. Hurt runs a pretty straightforward class. You know exactly what she expects and her grading system seemed reasonable enough. Very large research paper at the end of the quarter which you work towards most of the quarter. Each day expect to present a current event or reflection on the reading. You must do the reading in order to succeed. Definitely go to office hours it will let her know you care about the class which is what she wants to see. The reason I rated her so low was her presence during discussions. The class is largely discussion based and participation is key, but if she does not like what you have to say, she will shut you down. I'm by no means a fan of Donald Trump but the readings were overtly critical of his administration. Definite liberal bias in the class. Worse, she never admits she does as some professors will. Overall, give equal deference and criticism to all of your students and you will do much better as a professor. Also make note of how many times she says "400 level political science class" throughout the quarter, it was in the high 80's.

Professor Hurt is absolutely fantastic! She cares more about her students than any other professor I ever had at Cal Poly. Yes, she demands a lot from her students, but she does it because she genuinely cares about their success. The best way to succeed in her classes it to be prepared for the lecture by reading the material and participating in class. She is incredibly knowledgeable on a wide variety of political issues and can guide you to great sources in any field of interest you may have. Anyone who may have left her a negative rating is only because they were unwilling to commit to the high level of achievement that she believes they can obtain. I would highly recommend every POLS student to take one her classes during their time at Cal Poly. Finally, if you want to pursue a Master's degree or attend law school, she will write you an incredible letter of recommendation!

Dr. Hurt is the BEST professor! She is ridiculously knowledgeable about her field of expertise. In this class, it seems very intimidating, but it is actually very simple to get an A. She does not give out any quizzes, midterms or finals. She only has a 15-20 page research paper, which she walks you through like a baby so there is no reason why you should not get an A unless you completely slacked off and did not do what she said. She literally spells EVERYTHING out for you... if you do it, you get a great grade. If you don't, then you don't. It is really as simple as that. Plus, her class is VERY interesting! I DEFINITELY recommend it to anyone from any major!

I was very disappointed in "Professor" Hurt's ability to actually teach. Her rambling on about unimportant information, total lack of structure in her lectures and syllabus, and her lack of clarity on important projects (that ultimately resulted in a poor grade) are what prevail me to give her an F as a teacher. If you want to do well, impress her with your discussions and get on her good side, otherwise it's downhill for you!

436 is International Law and Organizations (which is only sort of what the class is actually about). Almost all of the advice here is based on 300 level and below classes. I never took that level class with her, so I can't speak for those, but her 400 level classes are very good in a certain way. She is very enthusiastic and intense, but knows what she is talking about and incorporates a mind-boggling amount of current events into class, which I think is much more useful than teaching abstract theories and the like. Like all of her 400 level classes, this one consists of 3 discussion leaders, 1pg (single spaced) reflection papers, and a 15-20pg research paper. The paper is broken down into an ungraded topic proposal, and ungraded outline, a graded draft (the first 3 sections or about 3-4pgs) and the final draft. She holds your hand the entire way and makes the paper insanely easy as long as you follow basic instructions. Her writing requirements and tips packet in the course reader is more helpful than anything you'll ever get from another professor. It is completely your fault if you do poorly on the paper; that's how explicit and clear she makes the process and requirements. Show up to class, talk once in a while, do the busy-work short assignments (only 6), and follow the instructions on the paper and you will be just fine. Also, her 400 level papers are very easy to convert into senior projects if you take her as your adviser, which makes that whole process much less stressful and generally much easier (i mean half your senior project can be done if you base it on an earlier paper from one of her classes).

Dr. Hurt is incredibly smart and knowledgeable and puts 110% into her class. Does she expect you to be on time? Yes. Does she hold you accountable for your work and expect you to put your full effort into the class? Yes. If you can't be on time and want an easy A, don't take Hurt. If you want to be challenged and learn a ton in a super interesting subject, take Hurt. She is tough but she explains concepts in detail, encourages discussion, and honestly, is everything you'd want in a college professor. To be frank, many younger students don't like her because she doesn't tolerate bullshit that many lazy, tired professors put up with. Towards the end of the quarter she assigns a massive research project but gives you tons of time to complete it, has plenty of available office hours, and will tell you exactly how she wants you to format it and set it up. If you can't follow directions, taking her class may be a challenge for you. When everyone presents their research project to the class, she throws a little potluck where everyone brings in snacks and we eat and discuss our research findings. Hurt is great! Work hard and put a lot into the class and you are practically guaranteed an A.

Honestly, I dont think Cal Poly pay Dr. Hurt enough to teach here! I agree that she talks fast and sometime seem to be a little bit intimidating, but she is a very fair instructor. If you go to her office hours, she will hold your hands and walk you the whole way on your assignment. This is a brilliant woman and by the end of the day, when you walk out of her class, you know you learned something valuable.

Technology and Public Policy is an eye-opening class. I could not believe all of the stuff we were learning. This is my second class with professor Hurt and I am so happy I took her class again. There are no tests of any sort. Just a paper due at the end of the quarter, like most people have already said, it is very manageable because she explicitly spells out what she expects in her writing requirements. I do not really ever want to read my assigned reading, but the topics were so interesting, that I do not even want to sell back my books. If you show up to class and do the work, this class will be an easy A for you.

I chose Professor Hurt for my senior project faculty advisor and I am SOOOOO glad that I did. Her writing guidelines packet made the structure for my paper very clear. I went from being very intimidated from having to write a 35-50 page research paper, to thinking it was very manageable because she helped me divide it into workable sections. Unlike some professors who care enough as required for their job, professor Hurt puts them all to shame. She goes ABOVE AND BEYOND to help out her students. She bought my books, always emailed me articles and URLs that dealt with my topic. Without a doubt, I would not have been as successful in my senior project if it was not for Professor Hurt. She is seriously the best professor ever!!!!!

461/462 is senior project. For Hurt, the format and instructions for writing your senior project are just an expanded version of the requirements for a research paper in one of her 400 level classes. So if you have taken a 400 level class with Hurt, it is very easy to expand the research paper for that class into a senior project. Doing this helps make the project much easier and more manageable. From what I've heard of other instructors' senior project requirements, Hurt seems to require a shorter paper, a somewhat more lax literature review, and just generally grades a little easier. I know that a lot of people have a hard time dealing with Hurt, but if you can just deal with it and "play the game", then she is actually a pretty good senior project adviser. Her writing requirements packet is extremely detailed and clear about what is required and she as a new guide for writing literature reviews, which to me was by far the hardest part of the project. Basically if you've taken Hurt at the 400 level before, consider taking her for senior project as you'll already understand the format and requirements and have a good chunk of the project already done if you just expand a previous paper.