It's a great course and he is a good prof. Lectures are really well planned out, but there are LOTS of readings. Prof Levy knows alot and it seems like he just wants his students to learn as much as possible. His lectures can sometimes be intimidating since he speaks with ALOT of self-confidence... but it seems pretty genuine. Overall recommended.

Levi is simply amazing. I was intimidated and lost in the first couple of weeks but once it clicked I really started loving this class. It is pretty demanding and if you have no theory background some of the readings are pretty hard but he is a genious and his lectures are captivating. Go to class and do your readings beforehand or you will be lost

Amazing. In the first few classes I found his self confidence hard to handle, but after that I started to love the class. The lectures and the reading all weave together. There is so much reading, sometimes its difficult, but worth it. Take a levy class, if you are willing to work, because it is worth it.

I'm surprised so many people find his course hard to follow. This is my first PoliSci course and it's convinced me to pick up a minor in it. His public speaking abilities are very impressive and I look forward to every class because it's so interesting. I agree it's a lot of reading but learn to skim and you should be fine. Very fair course.

really great teacher, VERY SMART, knows what he is doing, some people think he is arrogant but i did not see that, even if he is arrogant, he deserves to be. if you like politics/philosophy/morality at all, TAKE IT 232. NOW. he also knows a lot about european history.

Professor Levy is quite possibly the most fascinating professor that I have ever encountered. There is a lot of reading...but, he clarifies essentially everything in lecture. If you go to class, you'll be fine. There is no final exam, only one midterm and three papers. He is so absolutely fascinating! The course material is very thought-provoking.

Very smart man, extremely good lecturer. His class is very well put together and touches on very central issues relating to ruling and obeying. Some may be unable to cope with his intellectual standards, so, if you can't handle the heat get out of the kitchen! (to all those who whine about his "pompousness")

POLI 232- He is a very articulate lecturer and is lectures were interesting. The course is very useful if even if you do not plan to go on with political theory, as the concepts are applied to comparative politics and other subject areas. Would recommend this class to anyone who is prepared to handle the reading and writing, reading group = good id

Interesting lectures that complement readings as opposed to summarizing them. While his lecture style might be intimidating at first, his material is very interesting and he presents it well, though the lectures can be hard to follow at times. Lots of reading in the course (500 page course pack).

Levy comes off as a dork in his element, I'm not sure why everyone is so intimidated. Last year he did a lecture on the parallels between 'LOST' and political theory. If you are a geek who also likes politics he is a must.

Smart and eloquent lecturer. Ties ideas together well and good at providing intellectual context of readings. Efficient lecturer and course was very cleverly organized. Very nice in an awkward academic way.

Prof Levy is amazing- this was my first university political science course, and although the level of the course was intimidating at first, I have never learned so much. Levy's a genius, he's interesting, and always willing to talk about course content. I loved this class and cannot wait to take Levy's 300-level theory class.

Levy?s a BEAUTY. The guy talks like he?s from 17th Century England, but by the end of the course you will really come to appreciate his depth and insight. His encyclopedic memory has the ability to impress; his words, the ability to inspire.

Excellent teacher. Obviously passionate about topic, easy to understand, and teaches the subject matter in a dynamic and interesting manner.

The man is not pompous, he's intelligent. Albeit, he would have every right to be pompous. If I could think or orate like that I'd use that keen wit to systematically debunk the confidence of each and every one of my students gradually throughout the semester, and I'd make every day's lecture a palindrome that starts and ends with the letter Q.

He's a great prof! Lectures are interesting and so are the readings, the class asks and answers all the basic and essentials questions. Levy is a great start to political theory, there's a clear sense of direction when he teaches.

Prof Levy is an incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and involved professor. Speaking from a graduate level, he encourages freedom in class discussion while also trying to mediate and keep dialogue on point. He is an incredibly encouraging and helpful professor. I would definitely recommend his classes, I've no doubt they will be enriching for you!

Jacob Levy is easily one of the best orators you will ever take at McGill. He makes the material difficult and he will challenge you to be sure but he is a reasonable grader. A little pretentious but deservedly so. Take every class you can get with him.

Loved him! Sparked my love for political theory. Won't miss a single lecture even though it's an 8:30 am. Brilliant guy, so much respect. It isn't easy to get a good grade though. Make sure your writing is up to par.

Amazing orator, sheer brilliance yet no pedantry, 8.30 lectures yet the most enjoyable of the week by far, wish they'd last hours. Interesting conferences, challenging papers, grading is quite severe. Lots of readings, have to do them to keep but they're all very interesting. Gotta attend class to.

Very good lectures, despite the early class. Helped students whenever possible, but mostly was the duty of the TAs to help clarify things. A fair amount of reading through the term. Truly great orator, as the comments below will tell you. Essays required depth and good understanding of the texts, but not impossibly difficult to get a decent grade.

Prof. Levy is an incredible lecturer and Intro to Political Theory was the most inspiring course I have taken so far at McGill. I couldn't help but hang onto his every word in lectures and he was there for me when I needed further explanation. That being said, the course is very demanding so only take it if the subject interests you.

Amazing, amazing, AMAZING! Easily my favorite prof. His lectures actually make you want to wake up at 8:30 in the morning and come to class. You have to work for your grade, but the material is extremely interesting. If you're a poli sci student, this class under this prof is a MUST.

Get ready to read, really. He's a good prof and should be respected by us, he also helps us out a lot when you visit him during his office hours. Horrible and difficult as f papers though.

By far the best lecturer I've ever seen. Every class is mind-blowing.

Amazing lecturer with a humorous side you won't get to see as often as you would like. Super knowledgeable about what he is teaching. Tough grading however, did not meet many people who got above B+ in their essays.

He is a good prof but was definitely a prof more for the upper levels and was a bit of an adjustment as a U0 student.

Professor Levy s a really clear and captivating orator. He does not use slides and makes you read a lot but it is all well-thought out and cohesive with what he talks about in class. I highly recommend taking poli 231 if you are interested in the philosophy behind politics and how we choose to organize ourselves in society. This class changes you.

He gives excellent lectures, which I've found to be very informative. I didn't find him pompous at all, just very direct. Definitely not a great starting point for U0 students, should really be a 300-400 class. You'll read yourself to death. But interesting subject matter, and his subtle, kind of dark, but very funny humour underlines it all.

Prof. Levy is an amazing lecturer! There are a bunch of readings and I seriously suggest you doing as many as you can because you will need to do them for the 3 essays anyway and it is hard to catch up at the last minute. Also if you have done the readings when going to class his lectures will be so much more helpful, he really explains a lot.

Amazing lecturer but tons of readings...

(Online Class) Definitely reading heavy, multiple readings per week and the lectures can be a bit long. However I enjoyed the material, Prof Levy was clearly knowledgeable and even though the lectures were sometimes tough to get through, they were always interesting content and presentation wise. Also papers heavy, grade wise.

Professor Levy was very considerate about the pandemic and our mental health which was amazing. The course was very interesting but a bit heavy for a first year. The readings can be overwhelming but you'll finish this course with soo much knowledge!

Fascinating course, fascinating prof. The best aspect of it are the lectures, short and frequent. Instead of having to plough through 2 hour lectures, I could sit down and choose which 15 minute snippet I would watch at a time, and having one topic for every lecture was beautiful to go back to. Prof clearly knows his stuff also.

Levy's lectures are engaging, and he adapted to the online format of the class by making small, 15 minutes segments to watch and keep students interested. He makes political theory concepts very accessible. This class is one of the best POLI classes at McGill thanks to him. Getting a good grade isn't impossible if you put in the work for it.

This professor is amazing, I would definitely take him again. Levy has a great culture that he will share with you in a very engaging manner. His sarcastic humor is not for everyone, nor is his very heavy reading workload. But overall I am so glad that I took this course, even if I am not a polisci major. I learned so much.

Excellent professor. Really cared about the class, and you could tell he was excited about the material. He cultivated a wonderful academic atmosphere where students felt encouraged to express their opinions, but not without rigorously defending their point. Professors like him are truly the reason I'm in academia.

This prof is easily my favourite of all time. He is incredibly smart, well-spoken, and a captivating lecturer. Cares deeply about his students too. If you take his class though get ready to read; readings can sometimes exceed 100 pages lol. Loved

Fantastic and caring person, arguably the best and most professional lecturer at McGill that I've taken. A different person grades the essays, so the previous review falsely attributed the non-professionalism to Levy. But I found the grader's comments very helpful though a bit inappropriate (overly comedic). Goat prof but TONS of reading.

Great lecturer

Prof Levy is undeniably one of the most knowledgeable and well-spoken professors at McGill. What started as a course I greatly feared due to its difficulty unexpectedly became one of my favorite classes I have taken so far. He truly challenges you in the best way possible and encourages you to develop refined argumentative skills.

Levy remains my favourite professor I've ever had. He doesn't use slides, just paces back and forth and talks, but he's a fantastic orator so it just makes class that much more engaging. He is very clear on grading criteria and gives good feedback. Really lucky to have taken his class, and wish I was in poli so I could see more of him.

This course was probably one of the most interesting classes I've taken since I started McGill. Professor Levy is an amazing professor who clearly knows his subject. All his lectures are clear and the readings are well chosen. I would highly recommend!

Prof. Levy is clearly an expert in his field and has the cv to back it up. He has a unique sense of humor and showed personality more as the class went on. There is a TON of reading and missing lectures can be difficult. He is very eloquently spoken but it felt almost performative at times and less educational. I would take another class with him.

I loved Levy so much. I'm not a poli sci student, so I took his class for fun. His lecture were amazing. He is such a good lecturer. He can be a tough grader and assigns lots of reading, but it's manageable. Highly recommend!

If you enjoy a more lecture style, no slides teacher he is the man for you. He speaks clearly and knows his stuff, but the readings are heavy.

lectures are great, although readings are heavy. would take him again, he is a very educated person within his field.

An amazing lecturer who always attempts to make the material interesting. He tries to inspire us rather than asking us to memorize the content of his lectures. Charismatic, pithy, witty. Be prepared to put in the work though.

Professor Levy's lectures are exceptional. There is a lot of reading, but he explains well enough in lectures that just skimming what's assigned beforehand is generally good enough. Audio of lectures was recorded and posted to MyCourses but sometimes didn't work. Prof was reasonably accessible, but come to office hours with specific questions!

One of my favourite lecturers in POLI. Dr Levy is the kind of professor I love learning from. I found the criteria very clear and the class pretty easy to manage once you understand the flow of the quizzes. He was very organized in expectations and the TAs conveyed it well during conferences.

I was anticipating this course to be terrible based on the first few lectures but as the semester went on it became my favourite course. Do every reading, the quizzes/essays are entirely based on them, but tbh you can get away with doing summaries of the longer texts. I would definitely take 231 again, Levy alone made me excited to study politics.

An eloquent, smart, and well-educated professor who teaches without slides and simply talks for an hour. He makes the material very interesting and captivates the audience. However, the format of the assignments was not ideal and was quite punitive at times, with little feedback.

I was not looking forward to this class, but I was pleasantly surprised. He was inspirational and made every lecture concise, and structured them in a way that you would walk out remembering everything he said. He does not allow computers, but it is not a big issue since he repeats concepts and the class is based on themes instead of facts. 10/10

best prof. ignore bad reviews. actually go to the lectures and even just read summaries of the readings and you'll do well. cannot recommend enough.

Amazing lecturer, he doesn't allow computers but handwriting notes really helps you process the material during class. The readings are pretty heavy but if you do them diligently you can get high grades on the quizzes without much studying. Final paper was graded fairly and the TAs are very helpful. Levy is my favourite prof at mcgill so far.

Very good lectures, prepare to read, make sure to participate in conferences as well

Levy is an amazing prof! Answers emails promptly and has passion for what he teaches. How you do in the course largely depends on your TA and how they grade. Do the readings, go to class, think about how the authors interact with each other and you will be fine. I did not think political theory was for me but this class changed my mind.

This was the best course I have taken so far. Professor Levi was great, and the lectures were so interesting. Even though the quizzes can be challenging, he is always available and provides helpful recommendations, making this course 100% worth it. I would totally recommend it—don't hesitate to take it!!!

My favorite class I have taken so far! The course was extremely well structured (very satisfying, imo), constantly having me see each side of an argument clearly.

Honestly the best lecturer I've ever had: inspirational, very organized, and easy to understand. I don't understand the bad reviews, he gives amazing feedback, the grading isn't more strict than other profs, and there's not more reading than other poli classes.

One of the best professors I've ever had. There's a lot of reading, of course, but his classes are very interesting. The midterms are more or less difficult. And the final paper is quite simple. I recommend him.

He was my teacher during the fall semester. I'd never had such an amazing teacher and lecturer before. He is so entertaining and his lectures are soooo interesting. He's a tough grader but if you plan to take political theory classes, he's definitely the teacher you should have!!

Amazing professor and amazing class. Don't expect to be able to pass the class without attending the lectures or simply half-listening; pen and paper are mandatory. Despite this, Professor Levy gives the best lectures, and you can't help but listen as his insight and style of teaching are so fascinating. Overall, a class I'd strongly recommend.

Levy gave the most interesting lecture I've taken in poli sci, and its my major ! I may be biased as i love political philosophy tho.. It was very test heavy, there was a lot of readings, and conference attendance and participation was graded, so you really have to work hard to get a good grade.