When I applied to college, I was curious what types of classes universities offered and the quality of lectures. In writing this, I hope prospective students see the value of a Princeton education and give it a chance:
This semester, I took POL 396: International Organizations, taught by Professor James Raymond Vreeland of the Politics Department and School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).
Among students and faculty, this class is famous for many things — including but not limited to its incorporation of music (shoutout to Bob Marley and Adele!), prizes, and movie references. When students ask one another what classes they should take next semester, this class is high on the list. Often, over 400 students clamor in the early hours of course selection, hoping to get in.
In the course’s reviews, this class has been dubbed “truly phenomenal” and a “rarity,” with several students emphasizing “TAKE IT!!!!!” (yes — with several exclamation marks).
In truth, there is nothing I can say that would add to these reviews, but I still feel an obligation to do so because this course was genuinely one of a kind. It’s the type of class where you walk in with absolutely zero expectations, then walk out asking yourself, “what just happened?”
Substantively, I learned details about international organizations in ways that I never would have conceptualized alone. Somehow, Professor Vreeland has managed to relate Adele to the “trilemma,” the Smurfs and Gargael to economic policy, and of course, Taylor Swift to the Bretton Woods institutions.
More practically, I learned lots of useful skills as well — such as reading data tables and writing the perfect abstract for a research paper. And of course, with every class, Prof. Vreeland’s random selector taught us how to embrace public speaking with confidence.
This class was unique because it emphasized the value of Princeton’s community. With every lesson, I was reminded time and time again that this was the type of class I wanted to take when I applied to college. As you learn about the difficulty of credible commitments and giving up sovereignty, you also learn how to work locally — with your neighbors, friends, and classmates — to make a tangible difference.
It is a reminder that education can be fun and collaborative. Prof. Vreeland’s emphasis on engagement, introspective reflection, student well-being, and the capacity to make a difference reiterated the value of an undergraduate education. This is the type of class where the unspoken lessons are just as important as the spoken ones.