She comes across as a little rude at first, but she is really nice. She is a good professor, but is having trouble adapting Intro to American politics to a third year comprehension level. I am sure that she will improve on this as she finds out what third yerar Canadian students know about American politics to begin with, and what they don't.

She came off as scary the first day, and the courseload seemed extreme, but dont let this scare you. I think she's great, really funny and engaging, my only complaint is that we don't go into any critical analysis of American theories or legislation.She is really smart, and surely has the capability to do this, but I feel like she's holding back!

Ha, I think that she is great. While the material wasn't terribly challenging, Dr. A is a great lady. And don't think about giggling or talking during class, she'll lay the 'smack' down on you. She caught one chick giggling during her lec. at the begining of the term, and Dr. A was quick to tell her to 'shut up' or leave...that is my kind of prof!

This teach is schmokin!!!

I agree that this coures was not as challenging as it could be, but Dr. Aragon explains that, in the US, this would be a first year course. Nonetheless, I found that, when it comes to the paper, she rewards critical thinking. She is an excellent Prof who encourages class discussion, marks fairly, and rewards good attendence. The course was great!

A very engaging professor who makes class fun. She is witty and wants you to do well on the exams and papers. Always available in office hours and gives you 'heads up' on examinable material. Given that she has young kids and teaches a lot I found her prepared for class and brought movies, presentations and snacks to class - great prof, cute too!

Dr. Aragon was an awesome prof and the fact that she was both from America and of Latino descent gave her an interesting perspective in a Canadian school.

Very enjoyable course, very enjoyable prof. She's funny and gives you cupcakes! Knowledgeable and a fair marker, but also strict on the guidelines she sets out and expects a high level of achievement.

A fair prof. Tough on the nitty gritty details though. Follow every little detail she says and if unsure, ask. She is really nice and passionate about the material.

Extremely effective professor. One of UVic's best, and exactly how college professors should be. She grades tough, but fair. She's expert and active in her field, but also interested in education and effective as an educator. She encourages additional interest in the subject being taught and values differing perspectives. Fantastic.

I think that Dr. Aragon is a very intelligent women. Her class was difficult but enjoyable. The only aspect of it that I could not stand was her clear preference of some students over others. It seems like she formed personal relationships outside of class with some students and those were the ones who received the most praise and attention.

Excellent professor, excellent class. Best I have taken at UVIC. Go to her office hours people, it makes a world of difference. Don't be intimidated by an assertive female professor and a class with "gender" in the title boys, chances are if you are hesitant to take this class, you need to be in it! One thing we needed though? a COURSEPACK!!!

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Prof.Aragon was an excellent prof! Very helpful and nice, but attendance is mandatory, if you skip a couple of classes, she could take 5% off of your final mark...so make sure you attend class!! Other than that, the lectures were always based on the readings from the textbook.

Very helpful, fair marker. Cares about her students.

Takes office hours really seriously. Works hard for students. Really knows material. Love this prof!

Really nice helpful prof but attendance is mandatory!! she will take off 5% if you don't attend

I hated every second, of every day that I had to sit through this horrific class. Not only are her lectures straight to the book, shes quite possibly the most demanding prof I have ever had. Sure she offers office hours, not that taking your paper to her helps your grade to much. Overall, I WOULD NOT suggest taking a course with her

great!

Aragon is an amazing prof. I have gone out of my way in the past to take courses with her. She is a bit of a tough marker, but very fair and offers helpful advice. She it witty, sharp, and a feminist to the core, which I love. I hope to take more upper level courses with her in the future.

There is a high workload, but Aragon is an honest marker and your effort will be reflected in your grade. This isn't a free ride, but she makes it easy to participate in class and encourages a lot of dialogue. Beware: tricky pop quizzes are meant to ensure you do your readings.

hard but fair. open minded,lots of office hours.

Lots of interesting perspectives and very knowledgeable and smart. Seems tough at first but with hard work and participation you can earn her respect.Definitley would take another class my favorite prof at uvic!

My absolute favourite prof at Uvic. If you do the work, your grade will reflect it. Go to her office hours.. she'll edit your whole paper for you!! and, she brings cookies, what could be better.

She is an excellent teacher. Although she is a fairly hard marker, you will learn a lot in any of her courses. She lectures on almost every reading and really goes through to make it clear for students. She is always available to help out of class. She is clear, organized, and fair.

While Dr. Aragon's teaching style is unorthodox, she provides incredible insight into the material. If you earn her respect her classes are intellectually rewarding. While she is very difficult marker on exams/essays she does provide "freebie" marks ie: library assignments/facebook/participation - so she isn't a GPA buster for good students.

Dr. Aragon is spectacular! Loved every minute of her classes and the readings were most enlightening. Work was manageable and she was a fair marker. Great teacher, great class.

Top notch prof who marries theory and practice and enjoins it to our experience & popular culture. One of the few Poli Sci profs at UVic who can move outside the departmental preoccupation with theory and include gender in her syllabus. Some of the fellas should attend her class and learn!Tremendous work ethic, fine lecturer & informative marker.

Love this professor! She is definitely one of my fav! She is not afraid to call students on their**** ie> the students who raise their hands only because they like hearing their own voices- we've all been there before!

While everyone is attracted to her "chip on her shoulder", "no BS" style, she lacks the openness to consider that her opinions are not shared between everyone in the world. I found her incredibly narrow minded and hostile to anyone who would challenge something she said. She needs to leave her agendas at home and teach from a objective perspective.

A good speaker, interesting readings, hard marker, either likes you or hates you (clear preference of some students over others), and can be disrespectful towards certain opinions.

Dr. Aragon would have to be one of the best at UVic. She is very intellectual and really keeps up with the current events! She is a fair marker if you put in the effort. I admire her punctuality and time management skills the best!

Amazing woman

Very real, understanding and down to earth, (but does not take crap from students!) Show that you're there to learn and get an easy mark from an enthusiastic, knowledgeable prof. Lots of baked goods/candy! Tells you EXACTLY what will be on tests. Overall, makes class fun and the information sticks. Would definitely take a class with her again.

Dr.Aragon is fantastic: very friendly, very willing to help, and encourages questions. I agree that she has high expectations, but she is more than willing to help, esp. for midterm prep. However, come prepared with your questions and have a bit of background information because she clearly states that she isn't going to spoonfeed.

Wow. Amazing teacher. She made 830 am classes painless. Spends a lot of time preparing for class and marking papers/exams. Very easy on the eyes as well :)

Interesting class. Janni only taught a few classes but she was very helpful during office hours. She is very easy on the easy too.

stickler for proper formatting

Well-prepared, makes great cookies, likes her work, likes us!

Best professor I've had in my entire stint here at Uvic! Wouldn't seem hard to all of you first years if you laid off the booze and parties and actually put in some effort. Excellent reference, wonderful instructor, thanks for a great 4 years Prof. A!!

Great prof, very enthusiastic and interesting. She is very nice and extremely helpful in her office hours.

Can't help but notice most of the people complaining about the marking are from 103, where the TAs actually did the majority of the marking, at least in the fall term. I found Aragon to be helpful and engaging and her exams were fairly straight-forward. She does expect complete answers but is an effective prof for first years.

Dr. Aragon is a great prof. She will challenge you and in the end it will make you a better student. She is extremely helpful and accessible both in office hours and through email. USE HER OFFICE HOURS and listen attentively to what she says when you go. Unlike some profs she will prepare you for the demands of grad school and the real world.

The sassy political science prof! She's very helpful, energetic, passionate, and to-the-point. When she did teach class (team taught course) I didn't fall asleep once.

While Prof A was a good professor and made herself available to her students and was very helpful this is a team taught course and by the end of it you will be confused and tuning things out. Questions for midterm and essay were way too vague. While I would take another course with Prof A this course was garbage and not worth taking at all. AVOID.

Team taught course - marks are for Aragon's part only. My TA was amazing, exam requirements were clear, the paper was 6 pages, and marking was fair. All pretty reasonable for a 103 course. But the team teaching was disjointed and sometimes terrible. At the end it's hard to figure out the broad ideas of what you were supposed to have learned.

She was extremely nice and offered help. 103 was a team thought course and Aragon was only organizing it and supporting the students. Very hard marker, but she cared about the students and made sure they succeeded. She is great!

I have nothing but good things to say about Janni, and cannot list them in 350 characters. I would take every one of her courses if I wasn't restricted by graduation deadlines.

Dr. Aragon is an AMAZING prof. She marked 117 essay proposals in one night, had 100% written midterms back in a week in a class of 250 and is super nice and extremely helpful in office hours. Don't listen to the haters, they're probably the people that never tried in class and their mark showed for it - you get out of the course what you put in.

As a prof she knows her stuff, but I agree that she tends to focus on the 3rd/4th years. I was marked harder in this class than my polisci classes in the 200-range. She is helpful but I would suggest avoiding this class since its team-taught, take 101 instead, but I would take one of her upper-year courses. Also, the textbook is awful.

Janni is the best! I recommend everyone who is interested in poli sci to take her courses. She is not a hard marker, she is fair. If you work hard, and attend her class you'll do excellent. It is an honour to be in her class. She will learn your name and things about yourself. Also she is funny and has a great personality!

As a second year I found this course to be a bit more demanding than expected, considering I took it for an elective. It's an interesting course if you're looking for an intro into what poli sci is about- looks at the main areas of poli. dont slack off, get her to read over your papers before theyre due for good feedback.

Wow, is the best word to describe Dr. Aragon. Hands down, she is the best teacher in the Political Science Department. Oh, and if that didn't entice you to take one of her classes, did I mention she's smokin'? Seriously though, she's an amazing professor, resource, and person. TAKE HER CLASSES FOLKS.

335 was probably my favorite course this semester, it was absolutely excellent; Prof. A did a wonder job. Be prepared to do actually do the readings for once for there are lots of them and are critical for the way the course is designed.

Encouraging, supportive prof that doesn't put up with any BS from students. Sometimes a bit short with students in class, esp. if he or she asks a question that has already been answered, or starts making generalizations about feminists or feminism. She's a strong personality- love her or hate her. In my case, LOVE her and highly recommend!

She is clear on what her expectations are of you from the very beginning and is always willing to help you if you just ask!

I felt the textbook was a bit too much for a first year course: that book is DENSE and a very tough read. I found the textbook easier to understand AFTER the lectures. Dr. Aragon was great! Very helpful if you ask. Attend every class or you will be left far behind.

Dr. Aragon is helpful, knowledgeable, and usually personable. My one complaint is that I find her constant twitter updates regarding students to be unprofessional at best. Exams are fair, no surprises. The itself course is very interesting, however the text book is horrible: way too dense for a 1st year course and very hard to follow.

Sassy, personable, very accessible. A prof with opinions which can be both refreshing or too much. Social media overload! I liked the class & what we covered, but ultimately I learned very little from the class itself. She didn't lecture in it so you were left with your classmates opinions instead of her knowledge. Too many readings. Hard marker!

She's a good prof as long as you do it her way. Not too hard of a first year course.

Overall good prof. This is made for third or fourth year students so second years may find it a little difficult but if you attend class and go to her for help then you will not be disappointed in what you get. Put the effort in and and a good grade will be the result. Very knowledgeable overall.

Dr. Aragon is the bomb and she knows it. Most criticisms on this page come from first year poli sci students with zero credibility. Aragon is by far the best professor at Uvic, and makes learning very personable and interesting. Definitely recommend this professor to anyone.

Dr. Aragon is the best prof I've had. I'll definitely be taking a class with her again. She is very engaging, helpful and hilarious. I feel as though she has a strong respect for students despite being very opinionated; I felt free to be myself in class, and felt like I could express myself in an uncensored way, even in assignments, like the blogs

Someone give this woman a gold medal! She's not only the best prof in the poli sci dept, she's probably one of the best prof's I've ever had. Glad I decided to take the last class of my degree with her.

Liked her a lot. Tests are based off of the text book so if you dont want to do the readings and take notes on them dont take her classes. I would recommend getting her to like you--I've heard from others you'll run into trouble if she doesn't. Did not seem tough to get in the A range for me but its a first year class so who knows

Great prof! Very strongly opinionated, very feminist, very american; but it doesn't affect the class negatively. Fantastic, brings so much energy to the course, and is so passionate in everything. Is very specific about what she wants from students, and is a very hard marker, but it makes you a better writer. Take courses with her, won't regret it

Dr. Aragon is a fantastic professor. She is always willing to help, and is incredibly compassionate. Her passion for the subject area is unparalleled, and if you go to her office and show her that you care about the topic matter, it will resonate with her.

I really liked Aragon, however I liked her as a person rather then a teacher. She demands respect which is good and is very opinionated, which was good for me because we share the same opinions, sadly those who do not agree with her opinions will not have a fun time with her.

Aragon is an interesting lecturer, however, she is an unreasonably hard marker in some respects. For example, on an attendance grade for a single day of class, if you went you got 85% and if you didn't you got 0%. If you want to get A+'s, avoid her classes.

While Dr. Aragon's lessons at the lower level can be a bit tiresome and she obviously doesn't want to be there, her upper level courses are completely fantastic. She is extremely passionate about her areas of study and conveys complicated and controversial ideas with ease. Skip Poli103 and go straight to her upper level courses!

Good Class, Dr Aragon is a tough marker but very helpfull in office hours.

I was in poli 103 with her and two other 300 level courses. First year is tuff as it is but once you take an upper level with Prof.A you won't regret it!!!! She will go above and beyond for her students. Also, use her office hours and talk in class even if its one comment a week.

She comes off as intimidating but she is pretty great. Tough marker and wants her students to dig deeper than just the course textbook. You have to apply what you learn. Her office hours are quick and always packed - but she's there for you. Can be blunt but I never found her cocky. Hard to get high grade though! Tough exterior, soft interior. :)

Dr. Aragon is a fantastic professor. Her lectures are clear and engaging, and she provides helpful feedback on assignments. No exams in upper level courses which is great as it allows for greater application of knowledge. Huge technology focus through blogs and Twitter use. Lots of work, but provides unique insight into feminism.

A great professor. A bit intimidating but I am sure it is easier to talk to her than it seems. Although I didn't really talk to her much I can tell from her lectures and posts online that she is a very helpful professor who is devoted to her students. She provides great advise in classes and helpful information and links online.

Dr. Aragon is a really good professor, who provides a lot of support and information to students. Her lectures are interesting. She takes class time serious and makes sure that there are no interruptions (no one texting, using fb, walking in front of the class) - rules that many found too harsh and unnecessary but others appreciated.

Good teacher, passionate, engaging and great use of technology. Put the effort and it will be returned. TS in itself wasn't an 'academic' class per se which I think really influenced my opinion. Really enjoyed the course. Attend class, read the syllabus and do the course readings, and you'll be set.

Professor Aragon is an engaging and devoted professor. She posts videos and helpful links in order to further your understanding of the material. Can occasionally come across as intimidating, but make sure to see her in office hours. She is extremely helpful and will assist you as much as she can.

Prof. Aragon was extremely efficient for responding back to emails and extremely helpful when you go to her office hours. You definitely have to work hard for the assignment and the exams. I would take another class with her again as she is a wonderful prof.

Worldly, dynamic, funny, expressive, interesting facts, explains concepts well, gave us opportunities for extra credit with attending seminars. Helpful with answering questions in her office. Upbeat and passionate with her teachings and how power concepts are related. The difference between a parliament and a president was a fascinating subject!

A very global and intelligent professor. Very much in touch with progressive politics as opposed to only modern politics.

Great prof! Very intelligent, sparks intellectual conversations, respectful and encouraging of students, likes class participation, and very approachable. However, she is a tough marker, definitley looks for that "over and above" and key insights into class concepts. brought in great guest lectures.

Prof A has shown amazing compassion and care for her students during this COVID-19 pandemic. She is flexible and kind, allowing students to choose how theyd like to finish the semester. Is her teaching style a bit scattered and unclear? Yes. But you will never meet another prof that cares for her students the way she does. A real gem.

Between strikes and COVID this semester has been wild. I've never had such a flexible professor. Prof. A genuinely cares about her students and she is one of few professors that teaches extremely well. She teaches you about the real world not just outdated text. If you're disrespectful she will call you out. Also make sure you go to class.

She cares SO much about her students. She is very accessible outside of class and wants to see you succeed - don't be afraid to ask for help. She is very left wing, and sometimes she prevents 'opinions' as 'facts'. The assignments were interesting and varied which made the class more enjoyable.

Janni is a fantastic prof!. I appreciated how much she cares for her students, and she's very flexible and understanding. I don't know if I've ever had a prof who seemed to care so much about me as a person as opposed to just as a student. I didn't use the textbooks much, but they were required for the final paper.

All the 1 star ratings couldnt be further from the truth. Ive taken several classes with Prof. Aragon. She truly cares about her students and makes extra time to answer questions and go over assignments. Her response to teaching through the pandemic has been guided by kindness. Provides extensions, teaches practical skills, and fun assignments!

It's discouraging to see poor reviews. We all can agree that Prof A was flexible&kind- especially in a pandemic. However, few reviews extend the same gesture back to her. Who cares about grammatical errors&some disorganization rn? I found assignments were engaging&clear&analysis heavy. IE a normal 300 level- she can't teach you how to analyze...

Dr. Aaragon is an amazing professor. Not only does she give great, aspirational lectures, but she is also incredibly kind and helpful. She genuinely cares about her student, and is always willing to offer her support.

All these other negative reviews seem like they were mad at Prof A. as a person. She is a wonderful resource of so much good information, is upfront about grading criteria and devotes time to explaining assignments. This was my favourite class this semester. Her radical empathy made this pandemic easier for me.

The kindest professor I have ever had. My advice for future students: USE HER. Reach out to her when you have question, or if you are confused and she will not judge, and set you on the right track.

Professor Aragon is nothing short of amazing! Her lectures are inspirational and she was an absolute gem of a professor. I recommend her to all of my fellow peers. Seriously never a dull moment with her :)

One of the best classes Ive ever taken. Prof A is understanding and very respectful. Shes very open and straightforward when talking about difficult subjects matters and I wholeheartedly respect her for that - as many professors tend to be vague on these topics. I hope to take another class of hers in the future.

Honestly one of the kindest profs I've ever had. If you make the effort to talk to her, she makes the effort to talk to you. Found her class to be very accommodating and I really enjoyed her as a person. As for content, a lot of the learning is reading based, and the concepts were incredibly easy to understand