Fall 2026

Introduction to American Politics and Government

POLISCI 104 covers basic institutions and processes of American government, including constitutional structures, parties, interest groups, elections, and policy formation.

offering recorded3–4 credits

Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Ana Oaxaca Carrasco Claire Herbert Clinton Rooker +3 more

Summary

1 / 7

Historical reviews of John Coleman, Kenneth Mayer, Signe Janoska-Bedi: Students report significant reading requirements and exams that demand specific answers from lectures and textbooks. Some found tests difficult, while others noted that prior knowledge or attending office hours helped manage the workload.

Grade history

average GPA
letter grades

A

AB

B

BC

C

D

F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Not open to students who have taken POLI SCI 184 or POLI SCI 404

- - POLI SCI 184
  - POLISCI 404
  take one
not eligible with

POLISCI 104 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Not eligible with
- Any of
  - POLI SCI 184
  - POLISCI 404

Professors

Fall 2026

Ana Oaxaca Carrasco

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.31 GPA, 64.2% A/AB (n=243 letter grades).

Claire Herbert

No course-specific feedback yet.

Clinton Rooker

No course-specific feedback yet.

Emily Martinez

No course-specific feedback yet.

Jess Harlan-Gehl

No course-specific feedback yet.

Natalie Smith

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Current instructor Ana Oaxaca Carrasco has no reviews. Historical reviews for Kenneth Mayer describe him as funny and good at lecturing, though one student found the class boring due to heavy reading. Another review notes his lectures can be long and tests require specific answers.

ANA OAXACA CARRASCO is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DAVID CANON is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN COLEMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KENNETH MAYER is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity	Waitlist
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	255 / 315	0
DIS 306	Classroom Instruction	15 / 21	0
DIS 311	Classroom Instruction	17 / 21	0
DIS 312	Classroom Instruction	21 / 21	0
DIS 314	Classroom Instruction	17 / 21	0
DIS 302	Classroom Instruction	20 / 21	0
DIS 303	Classroom Instruction	21 / 21	0
DIS 305	Classroom Instruction	21 / 21	0
DIS 309	Classroom Instruction	18 / 21	0
DIS 313	Classroom Instruction	16 / 21	0
DIS 532	Classroom Instruction	3 / 0	0
DIS 310	Classroom Instruction	20 / 21	0
DIS 304	Classroom Instruction	12 / 21	0
DIS 307	Classroom Instruction	20 / 21	0
DIS 308	Classroom Instruction	11 / 21	0
DIS 315	Classroom Instruction	9 / 21	0
DIS 316	Classroom Instruction	14 / 21	0

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records

Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Historical reviews praise instructors for making American politics engaging through humor, clear lectures, and unbiased discussion. Many students found the course enjoyable and well-taught, highlighting the instructors' enthusiasm and clarity.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.43 GPA, 67.4% A/AB (n=181 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.31 GPA, 64.2% A/AB (n=243 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.23 GPA, 58.5% A/AB (n=195 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of John Coleman, Kenneth Mayer, Signe Janoska-Bedi: Students report significant reading requirements and exams that demand specific answers from lectures and textbooks. Some found tests difficult, while others noted that prior knowledge or attending office hours helped manage the workload.

Historical reviews of David Canon, John Coleman, Kenneth Mayer, Signe Janoska-Bedi: Lectures are often described as clear, humorous, and well-prepared, with some instructors recording sessions or using videos. Students valued responsive office hours and engaging teaching styles.

Topics

American government institutions and processes
Constitutional structures, parties, interest groups, and elections
Policy formation and content

Grades

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.22 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1

Selected offering source records

POLISCI 104 · Fall 2026

Introduction to American Politics and Government

Recorded 2026-09-07

Raw records

[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:778:015858",
    "course_id": "POLISCI 104",
    "course_uid": "course_46931ba805a3f9e7507d5db1",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "015858",
    "source_subject_id": "778",
    "title": "Introduction to American Politics and Government",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]

Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews

Download part 1

Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades

Model outputs & technical records

nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4

LLM outputs across runs

Download part 1

Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1

Model & dataset provenance

{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "c3c6ec36e67a456aec73d821173c18f7976ec67b1678dedd5714e05fc63ed23b",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}