Historical instructor

DANIEL KAPUST

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.72/5 from 53 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

POLISCI 160
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Loved him last semester and will be taking another one of his classes next year. Kapust makes political theory super accessible and clearly takes great joy in impersonating each philosopher; he also makes participation much less intimidating for students and takes breaks to answer questions. Take good notes and laugh at his jokes- he is funny!
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POLISCI 160
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Kapust makes lecture engaging and ties together reading material really well. My TA, Ikhyun, made discussions very helpful and was a greater grader. Class is based on three in-class exams (I scored 98-100% on all), a cumulative final, and discussion participation (including 2 roleplay debates). Class was great and I would recommend!
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ILS/POLISCI 463
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Daniel is one of the best professors at UW! There is a lot of reading for this course, but he goes over it all in lecture and is so good at explaining tough concepts. Attendance isn't mandatory, but necessary for success in this course. He is so funny and loves Weird Al.
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POLISCI 461
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Kapust is great! His lectures are very engaging and he is hilarious. You will be very well prepared for all exams as his lectures do a great job at explaining the readings and concepts. If you have the chance, take his class!
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POLISCI 160
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Professor Kapust is very passionate, well-spoken, and involved with his students. His lectures are engaging, and he is very easy to connect with outside of class. I learned a lot from him and appreciated his focus on essays, not tests. But--and this is more on my TA than him--most of my essays weren't graded by the time my final grade was due!
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POLISCI 160
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
The number one thing to know about Kapust is that he's REALLY funny. His lectures are super engaging. However, the course material is incredibly difficult to read. The class is literally just writing, so if you don't like writing, don't take him. Overall, as somebody who vastly prefers papers to exams, PS160 was incredibly enjoyable to me.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with DANIEL KAPUST

POLISCI 160

Introduction to Political Theory

3–4 credits

Introduction to Political Theory explores core problems of political life, including obligation, justice, equality, and liberty, through ancient and modern sources.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Daniel Kapust

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026POLISCI 160Introduction to Political Theory
Spring 2026POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2025ILS/POLISCI 463Deception and Politics
Fall 2025POLISCI 699Directed Study
Fall 2025POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2025POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2024POLISCI 160Introduction to Political Theory
Fall 2024POLISCI 932Seminar in Early Modern Political Theory
Fall 2024POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2024ILS 200Critical Thinking and Expression
Spring 2024ILS 400Capstone Integration Seminar
Spring 2024ILS/POLISCI 463Deception and Politics
Spring 2024POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2024POLISCI 999Independent Work
Fall 2023ILS 200Critical Thinking and Expression
Fall 2023POLISCI 400Topics in Political Science
Fall 2023POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2023POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Spring 2023POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2023POLISCI 999Independent Work
Fall 2022POLISCI 160Introduction to Political Theory
Fall 2022POLISCI 932Seminar in Early Modern Political Theory
Fall 2022POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Fall 2022POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2022POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2021ILS/POLISCI 463Deception and Politics
Fall 2021POLISCI 160Introduction to Political Theory
Fall 2021POLISCI 461Interdisciplinary Seminar in Political Economy, Philosophy, & Politics
Fall 2021POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2020CLASSICS/POLISCI 834Roman Political Thought
Fall 2020ILS 372Interdisciplinary Studies in the Social Sciences
Fall 2020POLISCI 401Selected Topics in Political Science
Fall 2020POLISCI 461Interdisciplinary Seminar in Political Economy, Philosophy, & Politics
Fall 2020POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Fall 2020POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2020POLISCI 999Independent Work
Fall 2019POLISCI 160Introduction to Political Theory
Fall 2019POLISCI 461Interdisciplinary Seminar in Political Economy, Philosophy, & Politics
Spring 2019ILS 206Western Culture: Political, Economic, and Social Thought II
Spring 2019ILS/POLISCI 463Deception and Politics
Spring 2019POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2018POLISCI 160Introduction to Political Theory
Fall 2018POLISCI 931Seminar-political Theory
Fall 2018POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018POLISCI 999Independent Work
Fall 2017POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2017ILS 206Western Culture: Political, Economic, and Social Thought II
Spring 2017POLISCI 601Proseminar: Topics in Political Science
Spring 2017POLISCI 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2017POLISCI 999Independent Work
Fall 2016POLISCI 999Independent Work
Spring 2016POLISCI 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2016POLISCI 931Seminar-political Theory
Fall 2015POLISCI 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2015POLISCI 999Independent Work
Spring 2015POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Fall 2014POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Fall 2014POLISCI 999Independent Work
Spring 2014POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Fall 2013POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Spring 2013POLISCI 931Seminar-political Theory
Spring 2013POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Fall 2012POLISCI 986Political Theory Workshop
Spring 2012POLISCI 999Independent Work
Fall 2011POLISCI 931Seminar-political Theory

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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