No course-specific feedback yet.
Fall 2026
Introduction to Political Theory
Introduction to Political Theory explores core problems of political life, including obligation, justice, equality, and liberty, through ancient and modern sources.
Summary
1 / 7
Historical reviews of Michelle Schwarze: Students face dense, difficult readings, but graded assignments like in-class essays and multiple-choice exams are relatively easy, with opportunities to revise essays.
Grade history
↗ average GPA
letter grades
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
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F
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
- None
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- None
Professors
Fall 2026No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Historical reviews for John Zumbrunnen describe him as interesting and engaging, though he tends to get sidetracked by student discussions. Some students found the excessive discussion annoying and irrelevant, while others appreciated his attempt to connect with the class.
DANIEL KAPUST is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
HOWARD SCHWEBER is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
JOHN ZUMBRUNNEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MICHELLE SCHWARZE is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. 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 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 253 / 257 | 3 |
| DIS 302 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 22 | 2 |
| DIS 303 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 304 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 305 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 309 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 308 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 310 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 20 | 0 |
| DIS 311 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 312 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 21 | 0 |
| DIS 313 | Classroom Instruction | 21 / 21 | 1 |
| DIS 532 | Classroom Instruction | 5 / 0 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Historical reviews of Daniel Kapust: Daniel Kapust delivers engaging, funny lectures that make political theory accessible through role-playing, though he requires careful note-taking and some reading.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.71 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=163 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.60 GPA, 84.0% A/AB (n=188 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.50 GPA, 78.5% A/AB (n=163 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Historical reviews of Michelle Schwarze: Students face dense, difficult readings, but graded assignments like in-class essays and multiple-choice exams are relatively easy, with opportunities to revise essays.
Historical reviews note that John Zumbrunnen and Howard Schweber can be sidetracked by student discussion or deliver rapid-fire lectures that are hard to follow, though Schweber is approachable.
Topics
Skills
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.
7 earlier forecasts · 0.10 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.
Selected offering source records
Introduction to Political Theory
Recorded 2026-09-07Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:778:015871",
"course_id": "POLISCI 160",
"course_uid": "course_f316b1c0bcfe1eba601b7ab6",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "015871",
"source_subject_id": "778",
"title": "Introduction to Political Theory",
"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
Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "058c5f37865c1285b55765de699c8c4fd1c15be0079c1a7d6d74da112c47c5cb",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}