Short addendum on courses

For those who were wondering, my subjects -

Fall Quarter:

Environmental Law (Rodgers)
- A good course with a teacher who loves the subject and loves teaching, and it's innately interesting because of all the stories you hear about the government. BUT very statutory and technical, a lot of emphasis on the technical doctrines of case law, and the cases are frustrating like heck.

Freedom of Expression (Walsh)
- Prof Walsh is on sabbatical, so I'm not sure if he'll be back. The course is interesting if you like constitutional issues and like reading conflicting cases that reveal how messed up the common law can be. A bit too socratic but it's a cute course and Volokh (coursebook author) does a fine job in the textbook.

International Law (Kang'ara)
- The teaching isn't fantastic, I'll be honest. But the course itself is run well, and the discussion in class is very revealing, and a lot of learning goes on when you listen and when you share. If you like discussion and you like theory of international politics and law, this is a pretty decent run at it.

EU / US E-Commerce (Wynn/Daemen)
- If you like comparative law - fantastic course. I don't know if this will be offered (see note), but if it is and you want a quick intro to EU Law and comparative study, this is a good place to start. Mr. Daemen is from Microsoft so his views are interesting, while Prof Wynn has a lotta info bubbling out her head, so it makes for a fun class.

Winter Quarter:

Intro to IR (Strausz - Political Science cross-fac module)
- I'm not going to say much about the specific course since it's a cross-fac and whoever reads this may not want to take it, BUT a note about cross-fac udnergrad modules - can be particularly frustrating when general knowledge is required. Many American students have a talent for being ignorant and poorly-read, and may not get the material the way you do. Be prepared for frustration if you take a very knowledge-intensive course and you're like me: i.e. highly arrogant but with a complete right to be that because you're so damn smart. Like me. :p

Alternate Dispute Resolution (Kirtley)
- Good course, must take. It's kinda like an intro to all the different forms of ADR available - negotiation, mediation, arbitration and the funky mixes that America is coming up with in betweem. A lot of class exercises and group projects, you meet new people, you learn about the processes - a good course if I do say so myself.

International Criminal Law (Allen)
- As I warned in the previous post, this is not international crim law in the sense of the International Criminal Court, European Court of Justice - none of those. Instead, looks at how specific US laws apply to extra-territorial crimes and the doctrines that govern. Starts at breakneck speed but once you get into the swing it's actually comprehensible and at times enjoyable.

Legislation and Public Policy (Andersen)
- Seminar course. 've only gone for 2 lessons so I don't feel at liberty to comment - save that you should be prepared to do a lot of work given the 2 class presentations and 40-page research paper due at the end of it.

NOTE:
UW has this freaky tendency to drop courses from year to year. I don't know if it's to do with the size or the school, but NUS has some regularity from year to year, usually only seminars drop off the radar. The ONLY courses that are certain are Property, Contracts, Torts, that kind of thing. It's just a warning - it might work in your favour but also may work against you, especially if you're like me, who foolishly goes for exchange to actually learn. :p

P.S: For all that muggerness, got back 2 grades. They were good. :) HA!