This was a wonderful class. The information presented has greatly increased my knowledge of the world, and it was presented in a way that was extremely engaging. I had a great time. The class was so good that although I could not register because I didn't have the prerequisites, it was still worth my while to regularly attend. This is how all school should be, but unfortunately, rarely is.
The lectures of the course were very interesting and thought provoking. Dr. Cleaver has a vast wealth of knowledge and opinions that he is more than willing to share with his colleagues and students. The course opened my eyes to the world around me and how it does and doesn't work at the same time. The only disappointment I have with the course is the amount of time taken to return grades on assignments. It did and still has taken a long time to know my grades in the class. I base my grade solely on my exam grade at this point, only hoping that my assignment grades will pick it up, but I don't know yet.
As a graduating senior I have, at times, been disappointed w/ the low expectations of students - rather than intellectual stimulation I find an overwhelming majority of courses serve as hoops to jump through. This course has been a marvelous exception. I feel like a college student - exposure to new ideas, new philosophies, and a level of critical thinking that breaks through the diploma mill.
There was way too much reading and sometimes the summaries were really bad. Test questions should only be based on class discussions and important readings only.
A class that only gets better as you increase your participation in it. Make sure to visit Cleaver outside of class - not only will you find him interested in you and your questions, but the extra time you receive having him elaborate on the ideas he presents is invaluable. The class is too short for him to fully explain himself, you will always be left with questions and you need to do yourself the favor and ask him those questions.
Harry is a very good teacher, the course was very interesting . However, the reading was too much and caused problems to me.
Although I did not in most cases agree w/Cleaver's Marxist insights into many of the Economic and Political issues discussed in the course, he did offer a cogent and valuable analysis. The only suggestions I have is to make the course expectations (in terms of grading and the relative weights of assignments in the class) clear at the beginning of the course. It wasn't until the middle of the semester that I figured out how grades were determined. Also, I would suggest that the class could be more interactive w more Q&A. A discussion could be returned more promptly. Overall, I enjoyed the course, and I felt it was a great value to me. It helped me understand the crisis of the Keynesian system in a whole new way. Thanks Dr. Cleaver
Very informative class to take. I enjoyed the varied topics covered that would normally never had been discussed in a history course.
You might consider, if you haven't already, having all your semesters do article summaries. I learned more from these assignments than from anything else.
Cleaver is a different type of thinker, looks deeper into life and doesn't ignore or ponder situations. It is very interesting listening to his view on the end of the world which is coming soon.
There was way too much reading, professor is nuts.
More material needs to be posted on the web
Instead of having all tests, it might help students to understand better if there's paper assignments.
Taking a course with Cleaver will in many ways make you feel cheated by some of your other professors. He is an example of how classes should be taught at a University of this caliber.
Give Cleaver the BIG T, a job for life! We need more critical thinkers who care about what they teach!!
I understand the reason we had to look for and summarize the articles ourselves, but I didn't like having to wait for or depend on someone else to summarize the article.
Cleaver, this class was very interesting. However there is an overwhelming amount of material covered. Cleaver is an incredibly intelligent professor, with almost too much knowledge that he wishes to share. Good class. I really enjoyed it. I don't think he is as beneficial to lower-division students. (Translation---> Cleaver, teach upper division ONLY!!)
I loved this course. This is the first exposure I have had to most of the crisis discussed. It would have been a shame if I had left U.T. without taking this course. I wish however that the class wasn't based so heavily on material summarized by others. I understand the problems of cost with the packets. I wish some other way of dealing with this could be used.
Good Professor
Though many courses provide useful information, few supply the tools required to deepen one's analytical capabilities. Dr. Cleaver's presentation of the many facets of global interdependence in terms of political economy offers a rich potential for understanding, quite simply, why things occur. The class is invaluable and will be central to my thinking for years to come.
I believe that he is a good professor and that he makes class interesting, but I believe there has to be like a 10 minute block where students can freely discuss the topic. Very few times do people speak in class. Also too much material is given and it is impossible to keep up.
I liked the course, but I think it would be more beneficial if it were more focused. So much information is given to us in readings and lecture and it is hard to sort through all of it.
Very beneficial course in terms of global economy and politics. I am sorry more students didn't have questions/comments, but the material is rather overwhelming and I get the impression that most of the students don't feel knowledgeable enough to pose a good question. The sheer amount of reading material on the web page is too excessive, and there is no way a student could feasibly read them all. That said, this course has given much legitimacy to liberal arguments that previously seemed paranoid or silly.
Overall a good class. Cleaver is genuinely interested in students' understanding the material he works hard to prepare the class material and is an interesting lecturer. He only presents one side of issues, however, and a more "balanced" delivery of the material would server to deepen understanding of it through allowing Cleaver to explain traditional analysis of many of these crises' and demonstrate his own critiques of those analysis. He is very thought provoking and - whether you agree w/ him or not - refreshingly different. I have taken 2 of his classes and thoroughly enjoyed both. By far this has been the most rewarding course that I have taken at the University. By rewarding I mean that, in contrast to other courses where the instructors just spit out mounds of information, useful or not, this professor made me take what I learned outside of class. You don't know how many interesting conversations I have had outside of school from subjects brought up in the lectures. Honestly this is one of the few instructors who have really changed my outlook on society. I only wish the University had, or at least made us aware of, more professors like Cleaver.
I have loved your class! I like understanding economics only when related it to the rest of the world. The current emphasis on theory drives me crazy and I have enjoyed thinking about the issues raised. Now (naturally) theory makes more sense and I feel that I can be a more active participant in the world. I like the class structure and the ways the topics interact. I also enjoyed the intelligent praise and criticism of Marx, which is lacking in American discourse. I wish I had more time on the test - that kind of synthesis is certainly difficult.
For the second semester now, Prof. Cleaver has continued to inspire me to reconceptualize the policies of economics. His critical view of mainstream institutions makes this class educationally valuable.
This class probably was the most interesting economics class I took. It is a lot of reading but it provides an overall understanding of the world and a good unique view of the current economic system.
My only complaint about this course is the article summary process. I realize it was the only ready option to combat increasing royalties. Perhaps if you allowed groups/individuals to present information from the articles students would be able to get much more from them. I enjoyed the class a great deal. Thank you
The class was very interesting, almost like a history course. Cleaver had a lot of knowledge about each topic, explaining them in detail. There was a lot of reading, some hard, some easy, but it was necessary in learning outside information about the topics talked about in class. Cleaver is a very fair teacher and willing to help if you try.
I found this class to be a real "eye-opene.r" Professor Cleaver's obvious depth of knowledge, experience, and interest made the class a worthwhile experience.
The best class @UT. As an exchange student I found this class helpful to understand not only the public policy & economic policy of the US but also around the world.l If you want to have a better experience you have to red more and use the TA. He's as well as the professor haves: they are always available. The best thing that Dr. Cleaver
I enjoyed this course. Professor Cleaver has very different views than my own, but I enjoy hearing both sides of a story. Cleaver knows an unbelievable amount of pertinent information concerning the issues discussed in this course.
Lectures were very informative and well done. Lectures were entertaining and were helpful. More test prep would be appreciated. The format was a good idea. More grades would be nice. I am still unsure as to what my grade is in the course, online grades and class averages would be nice. I liked the added effort of putting songs in the studies.
Cleaver in my opinion is one of the best and definitely one of the most interesting professors at UT. His views are unorthodox, but he qualifies them well and makes you think about how interconnected things are and puts ideas in very real terms, something often lacking in economics. I highly recommend this course.
One of the best courses I've ever had. Even though there is a lot of material, it is extremely interesting. It will open your eyes!
Professor Cleaver is very knowledgeable about the topics he covers in class. Students were welcome to freely ask questions or state opinions in response to what was presented. I enjoyed this class because the emphasis was on real events, and not on theories, equations, and math problems. Most of the material covered was interesting, and Cleaver gave us hundreds of sources of information to help us learn.
This course was very interesting and very good. Dr. Cleaver was very knowledgeable on the subjects discussed. The readings for the class were heavy, but the overall class was excellent.
I think Mr. Cleaver is a great teacher - one of a kind. He makes you think of various issues that I never thought of before. I love the fact that he does not have the same mainstream views, even though I'm not a hippie. He made me realize what I really want to lean on in choosing my opp elective course. Thanks Mr. Cleaver, you're great. Only drawback: way too much reading to do!
Good teacher, good lecturer. Needs more than two tests so that students have the chance to get a good grade even though they might have messed up on one of them.
The course material was extremely interesting. However, the assignments, though easy, were not graded or returned in time. Up to date only one assignment grade has been published.
This has been the most invaluable course I have taken in my entire college career. Cleaver is amazing! Listen to this man very carefully, you will leave his class thankful for the opportunity to have been introduced to what college really is about-learning!