Amy Gais

The class for me was rather easy. The test is toned down for people who know nothing about philosophy. I got 100% for two of my exams. I do not know why others complain about her grading. But her lecture is indeed quite boring. Passing the microphone to hapless students is a futile exercise. Some students spoke with wisdom hollower than a vacuum.

12/29/2025

Her reading assignments are all over the place and it is hard to grasp the essence of the text especially when the texts are hard to read themselves. Lacking organization. Grading seems arbitrary no matter how hard you try. Self-absorbed, and I was interrupted for several times when I was talking because she has to correct me based on her thoughts

9/19/2025

Don't understand Gais' higher rating. Demotivating and self-absorbed lecturer. Dont *learn* anything in class + the homework is just reading/annotations which is deceptively easy. Tests have quote IDs and she has illogical grading. Interesting material that she ruins with her narcissistic lecture style. Steer clear for lecture classes.

6/5/2025

I did well in her class, but Dr. Gais is not cut out for teaching large lectures like 106. She treated it like a discussion section—lectures just consisting of passing a microphone around and hearing hypotheticals + Q&A (essentially pointless). Every class she'd use cuss words to try and seem cool, but it was cringey. I didn't learn anything useful

5/12/2025

As a political THEORY class she actually covered only LITTLE theory and ideologies; all the readings are leftists, so what about the second half on the political spectrum? What about Burke? What about Hobbes, Locke and F.A. Hayek? Those who give her a high rating has exact the same terrible taste as hers. Shame for you guys

5/4/2025

WTF is the meaning of reading ANTIGONE?? LOOK IN MY EYES AND TELL ME, is that political theory? Same for Lorde and King, those are great social activists but they should not appear in the INTRO to THEORY class. UNPROFESSIONAL CLASS!

5/4/2025

Gais isn't the usual prof for poli theory, but she did amazing. Readings were enjoyable and manageable and while lectures aren't mandatory, they're super helpful. People who gave low ratings likely don't know how to take proper notes and expect to just copy and paste from slides. Exams were a breeze as long as you attended lectures or just read

5/2/2025

I know Gais will not be teaching Intro to Political Theory next year, so I can't account for how she is in smaller classes, but this was not very good. The lectures were not very informative, and the second exam was oddly different than the first and third.

4/30/2025

A large lecture with exams is not the best for political theory but she did a fantastic job! She exposed us to a many authors across time, race, etc. and expanded my view of what political theory looks like. She makes lectures seminar-like, with lots of question time and analysis. Just read the texts, listen well, and you will do well.

4/29/2025

I feel she is not qualified to teach large lecture classes. She ran our 200-student lecture class as if it were a 10-person discussion section. Also, get ready for the most ambiguous test questions. The whole class failed the second midterm (70 average) and refused to take any blame for the poorly written questions and instead blamed us entirely.

4/26/2025

NONSENSE that she get such a high rating score. (1) TERRIBLE teaching style: letting students read quotes during the lecture & waste time (2) BAD reading list choice, don't expect to learn what you want (3) use AWKWARD multiple choices that you cant understand why this is the answer. (4) A MEAN score of 74 for EXAM 2 DONT COME, RUN !

4/17/2025

Take this class; don't be afraid to share your thoughts on the readings.

2/24/2025

Show up to class; do the readings. Really good class overall.

12/6/2024

Dr. Gais is, without question, the best professor I have had over the course of my college career (I am a senior). When you engage in the class, you will learn so much, be exposed to new and different ideas, and be challenged. You have to put in the work and be on top of things, and if you are, you will succeed without a doubt.

8/26/2024

6-8 hrs/week

Amazing professor. Dr. Gais is very adamant about participation as it is one of the biggest grades in the class. You need to think analytically about everything in her class (that’s what she’s looking for). Overall I am glad I took this class, I did well but it did take listening to feedback and putting effort into the class.

6/13/2024

TAKE THIS CLASS! Learned so much and felt like a much better student coming out of it. You have to go to class and participate consistently to get a good participation grade, but you'll feel smarter after doing it. Prof is super great and so intelligent. You get what you put into this class for sure. The students control the experience. No screens.

5/8/2024

Show up to class. You have to participate frequently its discussion based. Gais is awesome. No screens.

5/6/2024

Absolutely no criteria for grading, very subjective. She grades things based on her own opinion of them and doesn't tell students how she is going to grade projects until after students turn it in. Be prepared to participate, participation is heavily weighted, though she does prefer to call on male students. Nice professor, but doesn't grade well.

5/4/2024

Extremely interesting material and class discussions. King and willing to work with students. Very manageable workload. However, she strongly favors people and voices that agree with her own as well as non-outspoken individuals, and this is reflected in the grade you get.

12/22/2023

Class is exceptionally easy, but the only grade with actual stakes is participation, and there is no actual indication of your participation until you get the final grade back. Stay on her good side or else you'll be in trouble with no discernible warning.

12/17/2023

Fantastic teacher, with really in-depth knowledge on a lot of issues and very interaction/discussion-focused classroom environment.

12/4/2023

Really chill professor, sometimes maybe a little too chill. Facilitates really insightful class discussions, however, depending on who your classmates are and how interested you are in the subject matter, you might find her classes to be a waste of time or one of the best classes you have ever taken.

9/28/2023

All around amazing. All her classes are super low stress and enjoyable if you love political theory. Would highly recommend.

9/28/2023

I didn't feel like I learned anything and it was boring

8/29/2023

Very kind and understanding professor. Her class is a treat compared to my other more lecture-based classes. Reading and homeworks are all very manageable.

8/8/2023

Dr. Gais teaches the most chill Poli Sci class at WashU. No tests/quizzes, just weekly annotations and brief written reflections. The class itself also entails lots of intellectual discussions about exigent issues in politics today. Would highly recommend taking her class if you are a Political Science major.

5/17/2023

This is one of the easiest courses I have taken thus far. There are readings, discussions, and weekly reflections. No exams.

5/14/2023

Professor Gais is definitely my favorite professor. The class is discussion-based and super engaging. She is not a harsh grader, and she doesn't give a lot of pressure on the students. Will recommend it to everyone.

1/19/2023

Amy is a fantastic professor. She makes sure her students get the most out of her class but never makes us feel stressed. Her Text and Tradition classes are mostly discussion based, which is great if you're more of a collaborative learner. She really makes you think before you speak, and she makes you think better, if that makes sense. 10/10.

11/15/2022

Dr. Gais is an amazing professor. You'll be excited to show up to class. Would 100% recommend taking a class with her at some point. You won't regret it

10/15/2022

Super awesome, highly recommend.

7/13/2021