PUBPOL-307S
DEMOCRACY: CRISIS/OPPORTUNITY
Not in Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
DepartmentPPS
Terms offeredFall, Spring
Typical enrollment8–9
Semesters of data2
4.2
Hrs / week
15
Responses
17
Enrollment
88%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.3
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.7
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.5
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.0
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysismedium
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 52 comments across 2 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
I learned how to research, canvas, and engage with democracy and voting rights
Spring 2024 · Peck, Gunther
I loved this course and became a better researcher and historian regarding the state of American democracy through this course. This class pushed me to think deeper about how we govern and how to strengthen democracy and I greatly enjoyed it.
Spring 2024 · Peck, Gunther
I learned about the state of democracy in America, how to have impactful conversations with people, and do research.
Spring 2024 · Peck, Gunther
Research: learned how to conduct a hands on research project from the ground up. Critical analysis: by investigating the results of new NC voter ID laws, I learned how to critically analyze policy and evaluate its implementation Argument building: pulling from multiple sources of inquiry, I strengthened my rhetorical skills.
Spring 2024 · Peck, Gunther
I learned a lot of about the policy landscape and history around student voting rights and voting rights in general
Spring 2024 · Peck, Gunther
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Peck, Gunther 3.9Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.9Difficulty2.8Would retake71%Based on 30 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.0 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 9 |
| Spring 2024 | Peck, Gunther 3.9Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.9Difficulty2.8Would retake71%Based on 30 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.6 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 8 |
Instructor
Peck, GuntherHISTORY
Also teaches
HISTORY-295S THE HISTORY OF GARDENING4.6HISTORY-352 IMMIGRANT DREAMS/US REALITIES4.4PUBPOL-302D POL CHOICE/VAL CONFLICT4.4PUBPOL-411S HISTORICIZING WHITENESS5.0