This is a tough course. The readings are difficult. The professor demands a lot. The explanations she gives are clear. Class discussion and group work is encouraged. Independent thinking is encouraged. I Iearned a lot about current political theories. I recommend taking a course with this professor if you're a serious student.

The writing tips help me in other classes and the homework keeps me reading the book. I was more prepared for the exams because i did the homework, and she gives lots of extra credit opportunities. She wants discussion but it's hard to engage a big class.

Extremely personable and fantastic professor. It's a very demanding class but I learned a lot about modern political theories which was the point of the class. Be prepared for a lot of writing though. Very fair and reasonable grader.

Professor Patterson-Tutschka is top knotch. She encourages discussion and is lively in how she presents the course material. She expects a lot though from students so be prepared for a class that you do not slack off in. Take her if you get the chance (esp. if you are a GOVT major)

Its not an easy class by any means but I really liked it. She is a nice professor and there's a lot of work but you actually learn something. Homework + writing tips were helpful. Don't be a hater.

Makes a potentially dry subject rather interesting. Very personable. Excellent teaching skills. Take her for any theory class you need to take.

Hard class, but very interesting. She is great at explaining theory, and her lectures really help clarify the readings.

This class seriously burnt me out and I don't feel like I learned a lot (but maybe that is because government isn't interesting to me). Anyways she is a fair teacher.... Gave lots of extra credit opportunities. Its not an easy class. Be prepared to do more than just exams...be prepared to work and I mean WORK for your grade.

Very tough teacher but in a good way. She incourages learning in the best way, overall my B+ in her class was a breath of fresh air. READING IS MANDATORY. If you dont read, your done. Class discussions do not relate to the books but do to the subject. Good class, but hard to get an A.

She's fun. Tough grader, yet fair. Read because you won't learn whats in the books in class.

Great professor. Attendance is mandatory but it helps with the writing assignments. Read the required texts. Yes I said the plural form. Overall fun and interesting course

Why would you rate a professor down for being difficult if you think she is good (as the person below did). Yes, Professor Tutschka is hard and you will work more than other classes but why should we lament that?

She is a great teacher. The subject matter is very difficult, and you MUST do the readings prior to class. The workload is heavy, but very interesting and fulfilling. She is very knowledgable about political theory and is very helpful to students that struggle to understand.

Super nice professor. She makes herself available to her students. The subject matter was tedious, but she made it bearable.

Prof P-T is very articulate, and regularly infuses 4+ syllable words into her lectures. I found this refreshing, considering this skill is virtually unheard of any more. She is highly educated, extremely intelligent -- more appropriately, brilliant. Highly recommended if you're mature, not lazy and want to attend a real college course.

Extremely intelligent! If you are serious about your college career and appreciate learning you will find this class very refreshing. Class material is difficult but Monicka is very friendly and encourages you to ask for help if you don?t understand either in or outside of class. If you read and go to class you will do fine. Also very attractive

Very smart. Very helpful. If you read, talk to her outside of class so she remembers you, engage in class conversation, and be there to her class even if you are late once in awhile you will get an A. Not easy but not difficult if you READ.

Knows her stuff and open to questions. Really great teacher.

Basically, if you can't handle this teacher you probably don't belong in college. This class is not an easy A but she will challenge you and actually help you learn. She is a harsh grader but sometimes allows re-writes. I can honestly say I felt my writing and analytical skills improve greatly. Definitely take if you are interested in law school.

Great and excellent teacher. Readings are difficult to understand at first, but they are not impossible to understand. she usually gives pop quizzes sometimes and will tell you in advance. Exams are hard. I suggest forming study groups. Participate in class and be there because points do matter. Challenging professor but great.

Great teacher! Learned a lot. Whatever you do DO NOT USE SPARKNOTES!

She's impressive- fun, energetic, crazy smart. Funny. Lots of reading, fair amount of writing, sometimes easy grader, sometimes not so much. I would take her again.

She is so sweet, intuitive, and incredibly thought provoking. She loves to talk about the topic. This class is reading based and if you do not do the reading you are screwed. She is super helpful and readily available in office hours

She's an amazing professor and a very sweet lady. If you want to take an actual college course and feel like you've actually earned the grade you received, take this class. She is very insightful and helpful when it comes to her exams as they are take home tests. Don't expect this to be an easy class. She's very inspiring and makes your brain work.

PT cares about the topic she is covering in class. Has a deep understanding of a broad range of political theories. I would go as far as saying she is the most knowledgeable Professor in the Government department at Sac State. She loves to play devils advocate and it is meant to give students a full articulation of the concepts she is covering.

Attendance is mandatory and graded. All of her tests are take home but very long. Overall very good professor, but can be pretty unorganized. Handwrites her notes so they can be all over the place, plus it doesn't help that she has messy handwriting. Uses classes to discuss the readings for homework and all of the classes were basically discussions

Attendance (graded) and books mandatory! Your assignments requires you to QUOTE the book a lot. You can get general knowledge from her lectures, but you have to read. ITS EASY THO, JUST TRY TO REALLY ABSORB what you are reading. 2 take home tests+2 take home essays. That's your midterm/final basically. 3 letters to a classmate about the readings.

Monicka is fantastic! Her exams are difficult, but they are all take home and you have at least a week to complete them. If you do the readings (and read critically), attend classes (attendance is mandatory and graded), and fully participate in the class discussions, you will do well. If you don't want to work for your education, don't take her.

you are graded by a few things, she does lay everything out clearly though. She is a very kind professor, but it can be hard to read her hand writing, therefore be ready to ask. She makes you work for the grade that you get. Her lectures can be boring and long sometimes, she is passionate about what she is teaching.

Strongly encourage others to take this Prof. because her classes are so easy and you actually learn from them. Her classes will require a lot of readings but she does go over them in her lectures. She's a very lenient grader on essays and some of the readings will be difficult but she explains them in class for those that get confused. Great Prof.

I liked this professor a lot because she really cared about student success and really engaged with the class on the readings. Her format of teaching is a discussion class so she does ask students to participate and go over the readings. There are lots of papers to do but she usually drops the lowest score and she is fairly lenient in her grading.

I really enjoyed professor Tutschka's class. At first, she kept giving me B's on my papers so I just started thinking more critically and started getting A's. She's also so cool to talk to outside of class. I would like to take another class with her in the future.

Also took her for 119B. Both classes had a lot of reading but obvi these are political theory courses so that is to be expected. Standard range of assignments, all nicely explained. She gives choices e.g. only 3 out of 5 pen pal letters count toward a grade, etc. All lecture, some group discussion. If you put the time in you'll do fine.

Sac State is lucky to have Monicka in the Political Science department. Shes incredibly intelligent and well spoken, and she truly cares about her students. She makes her classes examine issues through many different lenses and perspectives, and doesnt shy away from playing devils advocate. Lots of reading, but great selections. One of the best!

Liked this Professor alot because she's chill and an easy grader. The readings for her class are difficult but she at least discusses it with the class and goes over it the day before an exam or quiz. She does lecture differently because she randomly writes stuff on the board as she teaches the material. But other than that, shes a solid Professor.

She's actually not all bad. Pretty chill and loves to talk about Marx and socialism. Has the class do lots of papers bu pretty chill grader. I easily got A's on her essays and exams because they're all take home so I did them with a partner. But you'll still have to work for the A because there's alot of reading.

Tutshka is a real gem. When it comes to political theory and American Development ,she goes into depth of the political philosophy of Marxism and Socialism and thoroughly goes into their criticism of capitalism. If you like a professor who enjoys what they're teaching and is very experienced then professor Tutshka is your professor.

She assigns a lot of reading and all of her exams are take home. She also required 5 papers for our class and she drops the lowest grade. When I took her class, I thought she was going to be a hard grader because of the amount of readings she has; but noooo, she actually isn't. Instead its the opposite she's a very easy grader.

Grades by a few things: papers, tests and quizzes, and participation. She really knows her stuff when it comes to teaching political philosophy and likes talk about marxism and socialism. Had us do 5 pen pal letters and drops the lowest 2. Class is an Easy A. Cool profesor

In 119 we did pop quizzes every week, had 3 papers, and 1 extra credit assignment which was also another paper. You will have to work for an A in her classes but the professor is pretty cool because she wants students to succeed so she makes it easy fo us. Pretty good professor. would encourage all majors to take her.

Tutschka is a solid. It discussions are great. the coursework is interesting, and she really wants students to succeed. Usually I don't recommend many professors, but I would recommend her for students who really want to learn and be challenged.

Get ready to read in this class because she has the class read 5 different books and they're all on political theory and Marxism. But since the readings are difficult, she is generally a fair grader and at least goes over the material in class. She also tells the class the answers to the take home exams in class so just record her lectures.

Don't go into this professor's class thinking you'll get an easy A. You will have to work for the A; but, the professor does make the class easy enough to get an A because she loves what shes teaching and wants students to succeed.

Easily one of the best professors at Sac State. Loves what she teaches and is very engaging with the class. Assigns a lot of reading and goes over it in class. I would have done better and have gotten an A if I tried. Highly recommended to take tutschka!

Monica is a real gem! She is so lively in her lectures and is the fairest grader I have ever met. She just knows when her students actually do the rewarding and rewards those who do with 100% on assignments, including the essay! Quizzes are easy, overall this class is one I didnt have to worry about. Monica KNOWS HER THEORY and is a must take

Awesome professor, she really knows her stuff! One paper that is the midterm grade, one short answer take home essay final, in class quizzes where you summarize the readings, and three pen pal letters (1 dropped), plus attendance grade. She really knows her stuff. Since this is a class on Marxism get ready for a lot of discourse.

Fantastic teacher. Genuinely cares about the topic. Offers objective feedback about the topics and allows students to come to their own conclusions and beliefs. Very knowledgeable. Cannot recommend enough. Wont regret taking her.

I've taken two courses of hers. She's a wonderful professor and intellectual guide, and a very kind person. You will need to do the course readings, and you will be tested on the knowledge of the subject. Her lectures will clear up any confusion or misconception that you may have of the content. If you like theory, be sure to take her courses.

She's a great professor if you can keep up. Assigns a ton of reading, most of it is really abstract and mind melting to sift through. She sends out the exams a week before which means you don't need to read everything. She checks in often with students and will throw out material that isn't working. 3 exams, 1 presentation, penpal letters were fun.

This was by far the hardest class I have taken in my 4 years of college, however, I did learn a lot thanks to Prof. Tutschka. While she does assign one to two 30-40 page articles every class, that you /definitely/ need to read, she does go into detail and is always trying to improve our knowledge. I will be taking her next semester.

Best professor I have had at sac state. How anyone possibly rate her below a 5 is beyond me. She is the ideal professor and greater than many of her peers. If I could take more courses with her I wouldnt hestitate at all. She genuinely has empathy for her students and loves to see you understand and engage with the course materials she assigns.

Overall an excellent professor. Monicka is very passionate about what she teaches and loves to see the students succeed in the course and really grapple with the material. The discussions in class were excellent if you didn't quote understand the weeks material, and her tests were manageable as well. Her feedback is always very constructive as wel

I took her in the middle of a pandemic. I didn't do great in the class but I'm owning that one because it wasn't her fault. It was mine. She's a good professor. Always checked in with us at the start of class because we're more than just students, we're human beings.

You will be reading in this class, and some of it will be difficult, but I found that she knows this, and is very insightful with her grading. You can tell she actually likes to teach what she knows, and is very personable. It also helps that she checks in on her students before class. She's a lovely person and professor.

She is challenging but very clear about what she expects and gives you great feedback on how to improve. I had to take her class online thanks to the pandemic but she really accommodated the set up well. There is a lot of reading that you need to keep up on for the assignments but the assignments aren't difficult if you've done it.

FANTASTIC professor. Assigns incredibly difficult readings, but she is able to deconstruct them in class which made them super easy to understand. If you show up and take really good notes in lectures, you'll have no problems. Exams come from content covered in class. I stopped reading after I got in my summaries because she would explain so well.

She was honestly great ! A little scattered but nothing unmanageable. She lectured well, attendance matter, a lot of reading but overall great person.

Prof Tutschka is amazing. She's a little scatter-brained, but she really cares about the material & the students. She gives study guides for the exams. We had to submit reading summaries and discussions weekly on average. She recommends readings before every class, however I read for the summaries & discussions- she goes over the readings in class.

She was a little scattered in the lectures but she was a great professor. Her assignments weren't hard by any means but there's a lot of readings and the readings were long and kind of difficult to comprehend but she broke them down in class. Going to class is a must as lectures aren't posted and she does take daily attendance. Very easy professor.

Monicka is a very kind and caring professor, but her lectures were a little boring and I wish that we related topics to real world events and situations more often. Her grading is fair but the amount of reading is astronomical. The textbook she said we needed eventually was never used, waste of money. All of the reading is in online PDFs.

Extremely tough on grading there's no bullshitting, do the first 6 reading summaries as best as you can then you'll be cruising the rest of the semester PAY ATTENTION TO LECTURES and watch youtube videos to help with the readings it will help greatly. This class is not for the weak If you are not a Ps major but you will make it through promise.

Note: I took POLS 119D but I don't know how to add that course in. She was organized and explained the readings well. Her grading was fair and sometimes a little tough imo. The papers and readings are very short. You also don't have to write on every one of them, which is nice when you're busy in other classes.

As someone who is really weak in the history section, this class was easy. This was my first POLISCI class and at first, I thought it was going to be hard. The textbook isn't required since she posts PDF on the canvas, or you could get a classmate to take a pic of the pages if they bought one. Exams were exactly like the study guide!

Professor Tutschka is a fantastic professor and individual. She's really passionate about the material, and you'll notice it in her lectures. There's a lot of reading, and the course material can be challenging. But she doesn't expect you to understand it right away. Make sure you go to class because that's all you need to do well.

Note: I took Pols 115 not 113, but that wasn't an option for me to put in. The class was pretty boring, lots of group discussions (which I don't like), and the lectures were super boring. However, she is very kind and approachable outside of class, which makes the class infinitely easier to take.

Professor Tutschka is an amazing teacher who really loves the subject. The lectures can be a bit dull and you have to show up to class to understand the material, plus you'll need to write summaries for your notes that will affect your grade. She's really nice, but sometimes she seems a bit disorganized.

This was one of my favorite classes I have taken at Sac State. She single-handedly made me consider changing to a Poli-Sci major. Her class consists of weekly (somewhat) notetaking assignments and 4 total reflection papers. The papers are very easy as long as you pay attention to lectures and read the assigned readings. 2 exams, final=noncumulative

The class consisted of 5 papers mainly 1-2 pages on different political topics. 5 papers on fed papers. Notes assignments every week which you just take notes and submit for points, and quizzes and exams in person based on certain readings. She makes it clear what papers/readings you should do before exam.

She taught the course well, had clear assignments/instructions, and I liked that most of the work was in-person and/or written, rather than online. It is an intensive class and if you're just taking it to fill a requirement, be aware of that fact going in– you will have to think, engage, study, and show up to do well.

She is a really great professor and I enjoyed coming to her class, there is quite a few assignments that aren't worth a ton but still to them because they add up, midterm and final are a big portion of the grade but they aren't that difficult. do the readings ahead of time she has them all posted on the canvas, but the lectures cover most of it.

Professor Tutschka is a very kind and funny professor with a lot to offer her students. Her class is interesting and has a lot of opportunities for discussion. She can be a tough grader, but despite that, there is plenty of opportunity for learning and to bounce back.

This course is a lot of work, but the assignments and tests are very much doable if you are attending and paying attention to her lectures and taking good notes. Don't take this class during a semester where you are taking another hard class with a large workload. But if you can handle it, I highly suggest this class. You'll learn a lot.