At a university like Umich you find yourself in the midst of some very influential people from time to time. Many of our professors and alumni are very powerful players in their field. One of those people is Middle East and South Asia professor Juan Cole, probably most famous for his blog, Informed Comment (a direct competitor with this blog to be sure).

A quick look at his blog should show you that calling Juan Cole liberal is like saying George W. Bush has a mild interest in clearing brush at his Crawford ranch. His comments on the Middle East in particular often go against a lot of the pro-Israeli sentiments you hear frequently around campus.

However, students say that he doesn't bring his politics into the classroom for his lectures, and he is a very good professor. So, if you're into the whole Middle Eastern politics thing, go ahead and take a class with him before you graduate.