Historical instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
As people have said, he's old school. If you can't deal with that, his classes may be miserable for you. If that doesn't bother you, he will be one of the most knowledgeable, enthusiastic men you'll ever learn from. His expertise and passion for teach about IR and China are infectious. The essays are handwritten and graded tough but fair.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Friedman is an amazing man. He's probably the most knowledgeable professor I've had the pleasure of being taught by at UW. His lecture style was old-fashioned (no laptops, no powerpoint slides), but it really makes you reminisce about having to actively listen to professors. Friedman is a genius, and had some good stories to tell too!Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Friedman is old school. He doesn't use powerpoint just an a projector that has a paper with keywords on it. He can be funny and very personable but he goes on tangents a lot and his lectures can be hard to follow. He's a forgiving grader if you do worse on the first exam then the others he'll drop it. Prepare to do tons of reading.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Friedman is a highly respected intellectual on Chinese foreign policy and has real world experience in dealing with the CCP. Lectures aren't "fun" but they are incredibly factual. Be prepared to take your own notes however, but do not expect much help from him. If you're interested in foreign policy, take this class.Rate My Professors ↗
Friedman is phenomenal. Well-respected in his field, has experience in the public sector, and a true expert in Chinese Foreign Policy. I would absolutely recommend this class to anybody interested in foreign policy, and I would take it again if I could.Rate My Professors ↗
Friedman is not for everyone. He teaches in a very old school way, without powerpoint and few prepared notes. hes an expert and his lectures are fascinating, but you want to probably invest in a voice recorder or know how to take his lecture word for word.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_cdd97782b636850e4948b072",
"source": "legacy",
"source_instructor_id": null,
"identity_basis": "name_only",
"identity_status": "unresolved",
"name": "EDWARD FRIEDMAN",
"email": null,
"first_observed_at": "2025-04-16 05:20:33.104844+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 62,
"quality": 3.05,
"difficulty": 3.18,
"quality_count": 62,
"difficulty_count": 62,
"profile_id": "rmp:362490",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/362490",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:41:59.990945+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_a0de00440cd1d6cba6902e05": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 1,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_cad402a99b92ef16cfa9ecd2": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.1987038496455105,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": false,
"courses": [],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/EDWARD_FRIEDMAN--instructor_cdd97782b636850e4948b072"
}