2.9
Quality3.5
Difficulty57%
Would Retake90
Reviews57%
Would Retake
90
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
25
4
14
3
11
2
19
1
21
What Students Say
“) and not come to new conclusions, yet he says your paper needs to be unique”
POLI309 - 1.0 rating“Very knowledgeable, but a very poor prof overall”
POLI309 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
47%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.07 avg changeRatings by Course
402A
5.0
(1)POLI402A
5.0
(3)POLIMULT
5.0
(1)POLI440
4.8
(5)POLI402
4.7
(6)Difficulty by Course
POLIMULT
5.0
POLI320
4.5
POLITICAL
4.0
POL347
4.0
POLI347A
3.7
Reviews (90)
No Comments
Very interesting seminar that takes a philosophical approach to law in Canada
I have nothing nice to say, so, i will say nothing
fantastic facilitator. he keeps the class on track, doesn't dominate the time at all and is really quite fun. do not judge him by his lecturing skills!!!!
Talking to La Selva for even a couple of minutes makes one realize why he was a Rhodes Scholar, this guy is one of the smartest people i have ever met. definately a good class
Pretty interesting lectures and topics discussed, but TONS of notes so be prepared and bring lots of paper!!
I found him boring as hell. If he is a Rhodes scholar I guess there was a bad crop that year!
No Comments
I have never written an exam that was so hard in my life! Dont take this class, there are too many notes, (my wrists are still aching), and his final was completely unfair!
Smart Man, Bad Prof.
Whoever said that his final exam was unfair did not study. It was on relevant material, and not that difficult. His lectures are interesting if you like political science.
Knows his stuff, fair marker - but A LOT of notes!!
He's a true intellectual. You'll learn a lot from his classes.
Take this seminar if you're into Canadian politics and/or politcal theory. Prof Laselva is very good at leading stimulating class discussions and will guide your thinking about profound philosophical issues.
The Profs blabs endlessly about nothing. I witnessed a student asking for help. Only to leave in tears. Unhelpful, gives you 30 mins replys for simple yes no questions.
Very Unhelpful and Unsympothetic.
Smart man, Unclear, Unkind
DID NOT HAVE FUN. DID HAVE NICE NOTES ON BOARD BUT NEVER FOLLOWED.
He is an engaging and intelligent man. He tends to ramble on about a topic. Generally a hard marker. He provides substantial notes, but most of the exam material is taken from the readings. Read the text carefully and you will do fine.
The reading was bit tough - understandable. But he is the worst prof I've ever had. Totally unclear, rambling, and unintelligible in his lectures. His notes make absolutely no sense, as they are completely grammatically incorrect.
A bright guy, even if he does have a tendency to ramble occasionally. I like him - viva eccentric professors.
terrible and lazy
He tries, but he is just not a good prof, he makes no sense, its painful, and his notes are even worse
This man's essay comments made me doubt the reason of my whole presence in ubc. A very hard marker, but approcheable and tries to be very helpful. Very hard to talk to him as he keeps interrupting the students. Notes oversimplify very complex concepts/readings. Nice guy though.
Awesome prof! Lively discussions at every class. Reasonable marker - but you'll literally have to be a genius to get above 85% - not the kind of guy to set a cap or anything, he simply has high standards. A great resource during office hours - always willing to help. Bottom line: Great seminar :)
instead of a clear thesis, he wants you to complicate and take both sides of the issue even though the authors that should be refuted because they're humorless, dogmatic extremists... and this term, i have a prof that's the exact opposite: argue, and defend your point to the death. very annoying.
No Comments
Great prof, one of the smartest people I have ever met. Really tries to help people and encourages intellect and individual thought. High standards but not unreasonable. I would recommend his classes to anyone who wants to develope an individual perspective not bound by the profs own ideas.
The class was horrible. No one showed up because he just rambled the entire time. I was interested in the subject before taking this class but now I would never take another class on political phil (especially from LaSalva). Do yourself a favor and avoid Poli 240 with him.
Not the worst prof. but i've had better. Does ramble on and repeats every concept. Take close notes of his overheads and you can skip the readings and still do very well in his class. You just have to go to class, which is hard because he's boring.
he tries, so you've got to give him credit for effort in a class were the material is incredibly dull. He's not a bad prof, he's just not very good either. Helpful when you ask him and clearly knows his stuff. But you'll be too bored to care.
I think he is one of those profs that you either really like or really dislike. He was one of my all time favourite profs. Probably one of the smartest people I have ever met, really makes you think and has entertaining discussions.You can learn a lot from him if you are willing to listen.
Annoying as hell.
I am absolutely appalled that people can say that LaSelva is a good prof!! He is by far one of the worst profs i've EVER had. He mumbles, rambles, tells idiotic and offensive jokes. If he kept his mouth shut and just presented the overheads, then that is the only time you can say he is somewhat of a good prof.
He tries, but he's just not a very good professor. His teaching idiom violates department guidelines, and his poor public speaking skills really interfere in the learning process. Go to class and copy down his notes; nothing else really matters, seeing as the exam is 100% from the notes and lectures.
One word, booooring. He cracks the corniest jokes and tries to drag his lectures to the full time, while students shuffle to get out. Notes are really good though, but hard to get an A in his class, no matter how hard you try.
Definitely a very boring professor. His policy makes it hard for students to get a high mark in his class as hard as you try. Before I was one of those who say that hes only boring because the material is boring. After taking Poli 340, with similar material and with an awesome prof, I can firmly conclude that LaSelva sucks.
Nice guy by all means, intelligent and insightful. BORING LECTURES! Simple questions lead to one hour rambles. Seriously, how long does it take to tell us where some thinker studied school. Apparently that takes an hour, no need to focus on the theory or anything else of importance, it's not like we need to pass the class or anything...
At first he seemed okay. The last few classes I had with him made an impression however, especially how he responded to questions in class. He doesn't appear like he really wants to help students.. which is his job!! So be careful when talking/asking questions, you might feel talked down to (happened to me on several occasions).
AVOID. A subject I was looking forward to became my least favourite class. Maundering, unclear, and boring lectures, poorly organized notes/ class format... I was very disappointed. Although he seemed like a nice enough person, he jumped on people who asked questions, very hostile. I wasn't a fan of the essay topics, either. Again, AVOID.
absolutely atrocious. the lectures are fragmented and scattered, and you're left wondering what it was you were supposed to take away from the whole experience. how can you possibly study? the final is an *urban legend* - we've heard it's easy, and that it's "unpassable" .. no one seems to know. this is fascinating material .. *what happened*??
horrible.
Lectures are boring and the final was really abstract (he is an Oxford Grad). The multiple choice was basically impossible to study for, even if you know everything, you will still be screwed. The TA's in this course are awesome. Other than that, just watch out for the final and make up your marks in the tutorial cause the final is ridiculous.
HE has ruined political theory for me. Worst class i have ever taken. His lectures were very trivial, spent most of the time talking about the lives of the ppl, rather than thier theories. Also, he emailed all the lectures to us, so no one ever came to class. It was painful to say the least. AVOID at all costs.
Laselva is obviously a knowledgeable person but he is a terrible lecturer. He rambles on forever about unimportant things and then runs out of time. He simplifies everything way too much, when it would be better if he tried to be more challenging.
BRILLIANT guy. Offers excellent feedback on all assignments. Reasonable marker, interested in the subject. Did tend to ramble a bit, but it was always related to the broader topic. Did his PhD in philosophy, so his class is a great mix of political theory and philosophy, and really, the two subjects need to co-exist. Would recommend this class.
Worst. Prof. EVER. Made political philosophy DULL and didn't understand any of the students's questions so he just talked in circles until you gave up. Reading choices were uninspiring. Very difficult and rather arbitrary exams and midterm marking scheme. The one prof I was told by older students to avoid like the plague; too bad 240 is required.
An unsympathetic man with a poor lecture style. Avoid his classes.
one of the greatest professors UBC has to offer. He is very intelligent and has great resources. Take the time and talk to him after class or email him. Classes are very interesting if you are into political philosophy. However, he brings in every academic field which a lot of other profs tend to ignore.
I loved this guy, I could listen to him talk for hours, you won't get answers like his anywhere else. Some people don't like how he talks a lot, but I actually quite enjoyed it. Very friendly guy, he's even funny too. I didn't keep up in readings and still managed to get 84.
Tries to be funny - but isn't. Nice enough guy, just can't teach. The worst thing has to be how he goes around in circles about things that have little significance.
Not terrible but far from great. Unsympathetic, repetitive and very standoffish when answering questions. Hard marker. For some reason he doesn?t want you to pick a side in your papers and seems to prefer it when you sit on the fence with a weak thesis. Interesting class but that was more the reading's and paper topic's doing than the professor's.
OMG MUMBLES!! and no real e-mailed notes or powerpoint.. just blurry overhead projections. optional presentation instead of midterm was a nice alternative though!
He does mumble a lot but he's not a bad teacher. The material could have been more interesting if presented better. Overall the class was okay.
He seems to get a bad rap but I really liked this class...he talks too much and is a bit odd at times, but stimulates a great discussion and has put a lot of thought into the reading list. Seems like he'll be a hard marker, then ends up marking everyone over 80%. Starts marking lower on first paper. Generous late policy (4% per week)
a kind and intelligent man in my opinion but still very hard to listen to. he seems to like theory and ambiguity in essays so if you go with that, you can do really well on the paper. content of the course rather uninspiring, but like i said, be ambiguous and theoretical and you can succeed. wrote the paper overnight and got an 86!
Extremely knowledgeable prof! Has great seminar discussions.
Knowledgable prof. Content of class is very interesting. Presentations are preferred...
Topics and readings were interesting. La Selva created a relaxed and inclusive discussion. A memorable course that was enjoyable to attend. Highly recommended.
Yes, he mumbles. So sit in the front of the class, and stop complaining! If you choose to listen, you'll start to understand that he's quite brilliant. Ask questions. Do the readings and you'll get a decent mark. Also, he's quite helpful and nice after class or during office hours, and he'll remember your name.
Very difficult class if you do not have a lot of pre-existing knowledge on the subject matter. Class isn't beginner-friendly. He is very knowledgeable and that's helpful but his evaluation criteria fluctuated like crazy. I didn't like his essay topic choices and he shut me down several times in class when I counterargued. Was not the best but OK...
If your thinking about law as a career this is probably the one prof. who can full engage in you in the UBC Poli Department with respect to the philosophy that underpins the Canadian Constitution and the Charter. A's and A+ are possible on tests and papers.
Professor LaSelva is brilliant! He is a fair marker and a lot of the times his lectures will incorporate materials outside of course readings. An A is definitely achievable. Do the readings, go to lectures, bring in your own arguments or thoughts, and you'll do fine.
very knowledgeable prof, if you get past the mumbling you get to learn a lot of things. he's very straightforward with his grading. do the readings, go to lectures and you can get an A. oh and he loves referencing seinfeld.
He's the type of professor you want for a seminar course, not one of those regular lecture ones. He knows a lot, and if you're interested in hearing about everything to do with the subject, LaSelva's the one. Marks very easily and really cares for his students and the subject matter. He may go off tangent and may seem dry but worth listening to.
Pretty tangential lectures in 347 but incredibly intelligent and ready to have a reasonable back-and-forth exchange with students in class and out. Probably not a walk in the park if you have no background in political philosophy. However if you put the time in he will help you out and you will get the A.
Professor La Selva was very engaged with the material, but was absolutely difficult to listen to in class. He seemed to go on tangents a lot and the lay out for his notes were very disorganized and unclear. Also unhelpful when going to his office hours for essay help, and wasn't too easy of a marker.
UBC is extremely privileged to have Professor Samuel LaSelva. Oxford graduate, LaSelva is the most authentic Professor I have ever had. He is brilliant, funny, and a great critical thinker. The courses he teaches are challenging and you should expect to work hard on the readings/papers. He provides useful comments on essays. THIS GUY IS LEGIT!!!
By far the worst prof I've ever had at UBC. He jumps from anecdote to anecdote without any real substance behind his blabbering. Unwilling to give guidance in his office hours and generally loves his own voice more than anything. He plays it off like he marks easy but expects far too much. 0 supplementary material. 0 help with essay. DO NOT TAKE309
When asking about guidance for papers he talks in circles and doesn't provide you with any information.
The ambiguous general criteria for the essays with the fact that he is super hard marker, make a difficult case for a student to get a good mark in his essays. like seriously, he requires you not to make it ideological (you know, in a political philosophy class!) and not come to new conclusions, yet he says your paper needs to be unique!
Very knowledgeable, but a very poor prof overall. His tangents that he tries to use to explain the course material make it more confusing than anything. Overall, a very difficult marker, poor teaching style, and isn't clear about the expectations he has for students in the course.
My favourite professor in the POLI department. If you enjoy reading political theory, are a skilled writer, and are interested in pursuing a career in Law, take this class! He tends to go off onto tangents, but if you listen to his madness, you'll find that he's brilliant. He's a tough marker, but if you engage with the material an A is possible!
A passionate professor. I found his lectures very engaging and inspiring, the 1.5h would go by really fast. Getting a good grade is definitely achievable in this course, but you HAVE to do the readings, you won't enjoy this course if you're someone who slacks off and looks for shortcuts.
Rewarding classes if you have an interest in political theory or Canadian constitutionalism. Can be a challenging grader but is clear about guidelines and expectations.
One of the most ineffective profs I've had at UBC. Incredibly hard to understand what he says due to his constant mumbling. Doesn't have powerpoints, but hands out sheets of paper that he calls lecture notes but are really just names and concepts written down with no accompanying explanation. Content is interesting, but delivery isn't there.
He is a prime example of the fact that just because you have a high degree in a field, doesn't mean you are qualified to teach it. Absolutely no clear criteria, tough marker, and he is stiff and uptight when you ask for his help. He has a strange rule t of not giving any student anything above A- on their papers.
If you are not: (1) sufficiently versed in Canadian history, politics, and some legal theory, (2) intelligent, critical, and outspoken, (3) an excellent or hardworking student looking for an intellectual and academic challenge, you are going to be in for a rough time. If you want to be taught by a world-class Canadian mind, this is the Prof for you
I enjoyed this class and learned a lot. Professor LaSelva is an excellent instructor.
everythings asynchronus and it made it really hard to stay on top of things. Also, Dr. Selva's a bit of the classic prententious white guy. I wouldn't take it again
LaSelva isn't the best prof but his grading is super easy
Super cool class. Participation: mandatory, pretty much just group discussions. Enough work to be a challenge but interesting and enjoyable. A fair marker and compassionate prof. cool assignments. If you hate content heavy lectures this is the class for you. literally 3 hours of talking about politics. 10/10 recommend if you like that
You can tell LaSelva really loves teaching but this course was not it. Tough grader for sure. Lectures were hard to follow but not necessarily mandatory as he also posted videos. I found myself teaching myself all the content again. That said he's pretty easy to contact and wants to help. I no longer want to go law school!!!
Most knowledgable prof I have EVER had. hes an old professor with classical academic policies. do NOT take this class if all you want is a good grade. take it if you actually want to learn, especially for law school. hes a mumbler but if you sit close and really focus you will be rewarded. absolutely incredible if you can connect intellectually
Let me begin by saying that Prof La Selva is incredibly intelligent, the guy knows his stuff. But this class was unreasonably difficult. Lectures were hard to understand as he talks to the class as if we are first year law students. I had to teach myself a lot of the material. Avoid this class, it is a lot of work and you won't get a good grade.
I have no clue what this man is saying. He goes on tangents for 50 mins and then mumbles over all the actual course content, I literally learned nothing
Excellent professor. My best prof in all my years at UBC. Really approachable. Interesting guy. Thanks Sam!!!
If you want to go to law school take this class. You need to do the readings before class and find online videos to supplement before you attend lectures. He is an old-school lecturer which most students aren't used to but a fair marker and gives incredibly helpful feedback. Overall I'd recommend and would take a class from him again.
Readings and lectures touched on fundamental topics in legal philosophy. Be prepared to read and it helps if you have an aptitude for philosophy, political theory and critical discussions. There were lots of research paper topics to choose from based on your interests. Professor is friendly and helpful to chat with during office hours.
Super knowledgeable and very friendly. He gives great feedback and is very accessible through office hours to get clarification on some of the tougher readings. Sometimes it's hard to hear what he's saying so I'd recommend sitting closer to the front for lectures, but overall a really great professor. Would definitely take another class of his!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
47%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.07 avg changeRatings by Course
402A
5.0
(1)POLI402A
5.0
(3)POLIMULT
5.0
(1)POLI440
4.8
(5)POLI402
4.7
(6)Difficulty by Course
POLIMULT
5.0
POLI320
4.5
POLITICAL
4.0
POL347
4.0
POLI347A
3.7