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In the Waiting Room: 1116 reviews | Sort by Department, Date
Review ID: 80148
Submitted: 2024-04-13
MarioFop | N/A | Russian

Review:
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Workload:
Bitcoin (BTC) might just be the golden opportunity of our era, poised to skyrocket to $200,000 in the upcoming year or the one following. In the past year alone, BTC has witnessed a staggering 20-fold increase, while other cryptocurrencies have surged by an astounding 800 times! Consider this: a mere few years ago, Bitcoin was valued at just $2. Now is the time to seize this unparalleled chance in life.
Join Binance, the world's largest and most secure digital currency exchange, and unlock free rewards. Don't let this pivotal moment slip through your fingers!
?Click the link below to enjoy a lifetime 10% discount on all your trades.
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professor rating: | course rating: | major: Interdisciplinary


Review ID: 80145
Submitted: 2024-04-08
Maxine | CHNS004 - INTERMEDIATE CHINESE | American Studies

Review:
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Workload:
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professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 80144
Submitted: 2024-03-31
Deborah Menegotto | EC011 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
I love professor Menegotto. She is super nice and explains everything very well. Never any tricks on the exams, you only need to study what she teaches in class and that is the exam. Only 2 exams is scary, but she is a nice grader so there isn't really much to worry about. Shes the best for Micro.

Workload:
Not much homework, maybe a weekly pset.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 80126
Submitted: 2023-05-30
Alva Couch | COMP015 - DATA STRUCTURES | Computer Science

Review:
He's great.

Workload:
Really.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 79644
Submitted: 2022-04-10
Lan shengchen | CHN100 - Elementary Chinese | Chinese

Review:
The best.

Workload:
Good workload


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 77620
Submitted: 2021-05-19
Richard Glickman-Simon | Medical School - Threads | OTHER

Review:
Legitimately the worst professor at Tufts Medical. Actively holds malice towards students. Does not care about student opinion or mental health. Zero organizational skills and inept as a course director.

Workload:
Little actual workload. Terribly spaced out. Illogical assignments


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 66103
Submitted: 2017-02-12
Yusuf Mustopa | Calculus II | Mathematics

Review:
The class is difficult because there is a lot of information covered in a short period of time. The professor often came unprepared to class and would lecture (sometime incorrectly) about some of the topics that will be on the test. His classes consistently score lower than the rest of the Calc 2 sections. Whatever you do, do not take this course with this professor.

Workload:
Difficult class but the homework is not excessive.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 66031
Submitted: 2016-10-17
Shruti Kapila | south asian history | American Studies

Review:
She is an arrogant woman and that comes to the fore during her lectures. She dismisses students like thy were her servants. I would never join a course under her.

Workload:
very high workload as she doesn't do anything herself


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 65912
Submitted: 2016-08-10
Gerard Gasarian | Graduate Class - Poetry (a few years ago) | French

Review:
A real gem! A super intelligent teacher with an incredible sense of humor. What a teacher!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 50112
Submitted: 2016-01-07
Nancy Kimelman | EC0005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
Honestly, Kimelman is occasionally funny and kids like her for that. In terms of actual economics explanations she does explain things well when she gets around to it, but overall the class is so incredibly unstructured which does not work when there are 400 people taking it. Tests are worded horribly, grading unclear. The mandatory myeconlab assignments were not even in line with testing in class meaning we were doing assignments with information that was irrelevant to the test, while missing assignments that were helpful.

Workload:
Not much work at all, myceconlab is a joke. There was one writing assignment which should not have been difficult but the instructions were so incredibly unclear people were left doing so much extra work just to cover all the possible interpretations of the instructions. The tests started out being incredibly difficult to understand but towards the end improved. The online test again had unclear instructions and questions with many possible answers making it really challenging to show one's understanding.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 25355
Submitted: 2013-04-03
Cheryl Tano | Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Professora Tano is the BEST professor I have had at Tufts. She cares about her students an unbelievable amount not only in the classroom, but in all aspects of their lives. She is so understanding, helpful, and is always available if you need assistance or don't understand something. She is very enthusiastic and is able to get everyone to participate and feel comfortable without being afraid of sounding dumb or messing up. I enjoy going to class everyday, and if it were possible I would choose her as my professor for the rest of my Spanish courses. Take her class, she's awesome!

Workload:
Workload isn't too bad- there are a few compositions and online assignments through SAM, but totally manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 24691
Submitted: 2013-01-30
Terry Haas | Chem 01 | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Haas was an extremely nice man, very knowledgeable and great to talk to in office hours about basically anything chemistry related.

That being said, he didn't seem well adapted to teaching an intro class, and spent much time divulging on other topics well over the level of the course, and our grades suffered for it because topics wern't thoroughly explained.

The textbooks great tho at explaining things.

Workload:
Workload was typical for an intensive science course. Though no amount of work could really prepare you for the randomness of the exams as compared to what was taught in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 24694
Submitted: 2013-01-30
Michelle Gaudette | Bio 41 - Genetics | Biology

Review:
The class was extremely interesting - genetics was fascinating and Gaudette was extremely knowledgeable and her enthusiasm was evident.

That being said, she NEVER explain how to apply the things she talked about in lectures to test situations and so the tests were impossible. In retrospect, the material would have been much easier to understand had she spent 10 minutes during a 90 min lecture to focus on this. She seems to not care about our grades, and refused to scale our first exam when the average was a 60, saying we should have worked harder.

Bottom line - take this class with Gaudette if you're extremely interested and don't need to worry about keeping a GPA for med school. If that's important, i'd find another instructor who will help you be prepared for tests.

Workload:
Problem sets were assigned but not graded or collected. Minimal work because they couldn't be figured out since answers were provided but no explanations to the problems, essentially making the psets useless.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 24696
Submitted: 2013-01-30
Edith Balbach | CH01 - Intro to Community Health | Community Health

Review:
Great course, enthusiastic professor made it fun and enjoyable!

I would highly recommend the course.

Only issue was she tended to spend a lot of time divulging about how smoking is bad - im sure we all know that by now and don't need to be reminded 5x a lecture.

Workload:
Lighter than average for a course - if you're a decent writer and put in the effort you'll get an A.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 24697
Submitted: 2013-01-30
Sam Sommers | Psych 01 - Intro to Psychology | Psychology

Review:
This course was co-taught by 3 professors.

It was a great class, lectures were engaging and interesting. It was one of my favorite classes to attend at Tufts.

However, the tests were just cruel and took random pieces of information from the textbook that wern't relevant to showing if you were understanding the material, making it extremely frustrating. I knew everything relevant in the class and didn't do great because I couldn't remember random dates from the textbook. Don't take this class if you care about your GPA.

Workload:
A heavy amount of reading. 2 short papers, 3 exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 24690
Submitted: 2013-01-29
George Norman | EC05 Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
It's a big class. So in that sense, it's not going to be great like other classes but Norman's pretty awesome and handles it relatively well. If you don't understand something, he'll talk you through it well and he knows how to make introductory economics suck as little as possible. Everything is pretty straight forward. There's a couple problem sets and two midterms and a final. The final's actually pretty hard but the two midterms are pretty basic and easy if you do the practice problems he give you.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 23507
Submitted: 2012-12-23
Ronna Johnson | EXP 0032-- American 60s and Legacies | Experimental College

Review:
Professor Johnson has been one of my favorites. She is hilarious, knowledgeable, and treats you like you matter. I loved that she was an expert on this subject because of personal experience in addition to research and historical background. This class was always engaging and relevant, and I felt like I was taken seriously. Johnson is awesome and wants to get to know her students!

Workload:
We read a novel a week and watched a movie a week. It didn't feel like a lot because Johnson picked fascinating companion pieces that I had always wanted to try out anyway.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Anthropology


Review ID: 23510
Submitted: 2012-12-23
Rabab El-Nady | ARB 0021--Advanced Modern Standard Arabic | Arabic

Review:
Rabab is an easy A. You won't learn as much as you would with another professor, but this class is much more relaxed (literally everyone gets in the 90s on tests and she never collects homework). The trick is that you can get by without doing a lot, so it's unlikely that you will become much more proficient with Rabab.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 23464
Submitted: 2012-12-09
Steven Marrone | Witchcraft in Europe and North America | History

Review:
So this class really just touched upon the subject of North America and really mostly focused on Europe. Of course you have to take into account that the class was very much left up to us and I don't mean it in a bad way. Prof. Marrone was one of the few teachers who really encouraged me to take my own learning into my hands. I've been a high school history teacher for the past 8 years and my passion for continuing to improve my history knowledge comes from Prof. Marrone. He is a great guy whose passion for the subject is incredible, and I really stress the part about him being a great guy.

Workload:
Not too hard. No more reading than usual if you're a history major, and it's mostly writing assessments. I don't know about you guys but that's always money for me. Ka-Ching!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 23444
Submitted: 2012-12-05
Daniel Abramson | FAH008 - Introduction to Architecture | History of Art

Review:
Daniel Abramson is an incredible professor. His lectures all have clear themes and are very well organized. He is always willing to talk to students after class or during his office hours. This is one of the best classes I have taken at Tufts.

Workload:
It is a lot of work at the end of the day. There are short papers almost every week, plus exams and a term paper. The assignments were all very straightforward but they just take a lot of time and there's no getting around them. It's very hard to get an A in this class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 23298
Submitted: 2012-11-26
Sameer Sonkusale | EE 23 - Electronics II | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Oh man, I don't know where to start here.

This class was terrible. The worst class I've had at Tufts for a few semesters and possibly one of the bottom three I've ever taken. The material was presented poorly, reviewed poorly, tested poorly, and in the end I learned very little.

Sameer is a good guy who needs to refocus on how he teaches the class. I realize that the material is considered basic, but throwing equations on the board for an hour does not teach the material. I would have been better off skipping class and instead just reading the book. I did most of my learning from Indian university videos online.

This class made me despise analog and I know at least two people who actually switched majors from EE to CompE because of this course. Tufts, please fix this course. At this rate your future EE classes will all be converted to computer engineers by Prof. Chang's and Prof. Panetta's far superior instruction Junior year.

Workload:
The workload was absolutely insane and inconsistent. I spent hours on end doing the homework, and I didn't learn much because when it came down to it, I would be out of time with 5 problems left and at that point it was the solutions or nothing. I never felt like I was on top of the material and I don't think that anyone else in the class did either. The best instruction came from our TA who seemed just as baffled by the bureaucracy of the class as the rest of us.

Expect about 15-20 hours a week for homework and another 3-5 for the labs. Completely ridiculous and totally unrealistic.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 23257
Submitted: 2012-11-19
Yannis Ioannides | EC 0063 - Economics of the European Union | Economics

Review:
In short: this professor knows what he is talking about, but does not talk about it well.

Prof. Ioannides' teaching style leaves much to be desired. First off, he spends the entire class sitting down, so he cannot capture or hold the attention of the class. He also constantly takes notes on the lecture slides by writing on his tablet, which is slow and takes up valuable time. His manner of speech is also problematic: filler words such as "uhhhh" and "ahhhh" take up a significant portion of the lecture (I am not exaggerating), which make it even harder to concentrate on what he is saying. It can be a miserable class to sit through, even though the professor has an interesting and informed perspective on the Euro crisis.

I would not recommend this class simply because the style of teaching is excruciatingly drawn-out and unclear. Over half of the students use their laptops to distract themselves during lecture, and if you take this course, you probably will be doing so soon enough as well.

Workload:
In terms of workload/difficulty, Prof. Ioannides is fairly easy. There is a chapter of reading assigned per class, and other than that there is a presentation, a term paper + presentation, and two exams, so few grades and little work in between.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 22465
Submitted: 2012-09-03
Elizabeth Lemons | PHIL016 - Philosophy of Religion | Philosophy

Review:
Professor Lemons is not the most interesting lecturer I've ever had - far from it. The classes are also very vague (it is philosophy after all) and there isn't much structure, it's mostly discussion about the readings. However, Professor Lemons genuinely cares about her students grades and understanding, and if you approach her during office hours, she will be more than willing to help you with your papers.

Workload:
A lot of reading is assigned, but most students just skimmed it. She assigned mini "thought" reports per week, but those were neutrally graded (meaning you could basically write anything and still get a check). Try to pay attention in class, go to her office hours, and you will have all the material you need to survive the papers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 22466
Submitted: 2012-09-03
Kiyoko Morita | JPN 004 - Intermediate Japanese | Japanese

Review:
Very good class. Morita-sensei is also one of the most caring professors I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. You learn a lot in her class, and also with little fear of meeting deadlines - she is very lax about these. Take her class, you won't regret it.

Workload:
There is a fair amount of work involved, including almost daily quizzes, but these are fairly standard for language classes. Just do a little every day, and you'll be fine. Tests are no big deal either.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 22467
Submitted: 2012-09-03
Sibyl Johnston | ENG 005 - Creative Writing: Fiction | English

Review:
One of the most boring, but easiest classes I've ever taken at Tufts. Classes were incredibly boring, because all we did was look at each others' stories and comment, or READ SHORT STORIES TOGETHER (by passing the book) and talk about it. Insanely, deeply boring. I spent the whole semester on tumblr. HOWEVER, the professor is very helpful with her suggestions, and understanding about circumstances. She is lax regarding deadlines - and so long as you have some skill in writing, and try to show effort in class (basically, by actually writing a good-sized length in your drafts), you will get an easy A.

Workload:
Practically no workload at all. You were technically supposed to read from the textbook that's assigned in the class, but I never read a single page from it (and regret buying it, since I never used it) and I did fine. Just make sure that you write at least 5-6 pages in time for your workshop day - writing up two paragraphs is not going to impress her.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 22468
Submitted: 2012-09-03
Helen Marrow | SOC 001 - Intro to Sociology | Sociology

Review:
I found the class incredibly boring, and the discussions typical of the spoiled and predominantly white population here at Tufts. Professor Marrow reads off of her slides, so there is actually very little point in paying attention. Do go to classes however, since she does take attendance.

Workload:
Not much workload. Have to write some papers (actually have to read a book too, but I hear that some people don't even read the book and get a good grade on the paper) and do an annoying group project, but those are fairly easy. The tests are also very easy to study for - her powerpoints are available for download online. DOWNLOAD all of them and just memorize every single slide. Guaranteed an A.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 22148
Submitted: 2012-07-05
Rana Gupta | ELS103-Entrepreneurial Finance | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
One of the best classes I have taken. Professor Gupta has real industry experience and has run a venture fund and a start-up . He is very professional and willing to share real life business experiences. His insight about venture funding and assessment of the industry is excellent. The class work is relevant and interesting. You will know your away around a financial statement by the end of the semester.

Workload:
The work load is reasonable with numerous projects and homework assignments. He is a tough grader but fair. He expects a lot and doesn't take excuses.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 20592
Submitted: 2012-02-01
Ronna Johnson | ENG 63: American Fiction 1900-1050 | English

Review:
Don't listen to the negative reviews. While her personality can definitely be polarizing, she's a very good teacher and a hugely entertaining lecturer. Hers is the only English class I've taken so far at Tufts so I have nothing to compare it to, but nonetheless I thought it was great.

Ronna's passion for the literature is contagious. She has strong opinions on literally everything, literary and otherwise, but I don't see that as a problem. It certainly kept me engaged with the class. I found that her style encouraged us to develop similarly strong opinions on the texts we read. Yes, she is very liberal and that certainly affects her analysis of the texts. Maybe this is my liberalism talking, but I didn't find it detrimental to the class. She has a sense of humor about it.

And contrary to what some of the other reviewers would have you believe, she loves alternative opinions on the texts, as long as you can back it up. She encourages student involvement and does want to hear students' ideas.

This class really helped me become a more critical reader and a better writer, and gave me a new appreciation for texts that I'd previously found inaccessible.

Workload:
The workload is pretty standard for a survey English class. You read about a book a week, there's one 5-6 page paper, a midterm, and a final. Nothing terrible.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 20585
Submitted: 2012-01-20
Stephanie Levine | English 2 - Differences | English

Review:
She really encourages class discussion, it's almost impossible to say something wrong in class as she finds a lot of what her students say to be interesting. She is obviously interested in the subject and extremely open to all views. Reading wasn't too bad. If you have to finish off your English requirement, I highly recommend taking this class.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 20587
Submitted: 2012-01-20
Sarah Sobieraj | Media and Society | Sociology

Review:
She is an amazing professor, bringing in current examples in many of her lectures. Don't expect it to be a class with no work - there are a decent amount of readings but I enjoyed many of them. I will be taking more classes with her, I thought lectures were very interesting and interactive.

Workload:
Group project, 2 midterms, have to submit reading responses, but not for all of the readings.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 20310
Submitted: 2012-01-12
Susan Carlisle | English 1 - Expository Writing | English

Review:
Professor Carlisle is a very lenient and pretty fun teacher. She is a fair grader on papers, but is very lax when it comes to completing small assignments or homework. She picks interesting topics for a class that can be very dry. She's also a bit loopy at times which makes the class fun to be in.

Workload:
Assignments and the workload are pretty average - not too difficult but definitely significant.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 19703
Submitted: 2012-01-01
Malik Mufti | PS172- US Foreign Policy in the Middle East | Political Science

Review:
Intelligent professor, however, pulls a lot of unnecessary tricks for the exam. the course already covers so much material it was unfair to ask the most esoteric IDs and have that count for the majority of the grade. a lot of smart, hardworking students got completely screwed over. oh, and does not give near enough indication for what might be on exam--eg. final included, essay that could be anything from the whole year. really? thats teh ENTIRE history of the middle east/ conflicts.

Workload:
a lot of reading, not everything is needed obviously. bought a couple of books i never touched.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 19699
Submitted: 2011-12-31
Gary Leisk | ME1, ME42 | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
He is clearly a very smart engineer but has trouble comprehending that not everyone knows as much about engineering as he does. He never stops to explain what he is talking about and assumes everyone understands. His tests are unrealistic in difficulty and length and after having him for 2 semesters, I believe I have learned nothing from him .

Workload:
The assignments were straightforward, however they do not prepare students for the exams at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 19687
Submitted: 2011-12-26
Marie-Claire Beaulieu | GRK007 - Greek Classics | Greek

Review:
This was an awesome class, Professor Beaulieu is very enthusiastic and occasionally funny. Lots of class involvement and encouragement, different interpretations are welcome. Sometimes the text can get boring, but Professor Beaulieu brings in a lot of interesting anecdotes from Greek history. Take this class!

Workload:
There's a lot of homework, but after a few classes it feels like much less. A weekly quiz, a paper, and two tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 19689
Submitted: 2011-12-26
Steven Hirsch | CLS037 - History of Ancient Greece | Classics

Review:
I liked this class, but it sometimes got really boring. The subject matter is interesting, and Professor Hirsch is a great lecturer, but the class requires very little participation, so it's easy to fall asleep. I liked the structure of the class, and the informal attitude of the teacher, I would recommend it to a friend.

Workload:
A pretty standard amount of reading, usually interesting. Three papers, 3-4 quizzes, two tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 19690
Submitted: 2011-12-26
Anne Gardulski | GEO005 - Introduction to Oceanography | Geology

Review:
This is a really interesting class. Professor Gardulski is a great lecturer, but occasionally the amount of information is overwhelming and makes it easy to forget certain things. I think this would be interesting for majors and non-majors alike, and a good way to fulfill half of the natural sciences requirement.

Workload:
Readings are a little on the heavy side, occasional homeworks, and two tests. I wish there had been more small quizzes and less emphasis on the tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 19691
Submitted: 2011-12-26
Christina Maranci | FAH001 - Art, History, and Culture | History of Art

Review:
This is a unique course, because it's team taught, so every couple lectures, sometimes every lecture, you get a new lecturer. This is a good and a bad thing, some are much better than others. The information can be really interesting or really boring, the recitation is helpful. I took the first semester of this course, and I kind of wish I'd taken the second semester, all the prehistoric and early history art gets boring.

Workload:
Standard amount of reading, two papers, two tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 19692
Submitted: 2011-12-26
Rosemary Taylor | SOC108-Epidemics | Sociology

Review:
One word of advice, do not take this class. The topic may seem interesting, and in fact it is, but this professor manages to make even the most interesting readings awful. She is a horrible lecturer, it is impossible to understand anything she says and she is incredibly disorganized. She has no grasp of what students can physically do for the course and assigns a ridiculous amount of readings that are then never discussed.

Workload:
There is a midterm, a 'local-epidemics' project, and a take-home final. The midterm was graded inconsistently and even on the multiple choice portions the answers that were said to be right according to her and her TA differed. The local epidemics project requires students to find an immense amount of information on an epidemic that took place in Boston, very difficult to do as there is not much information available, and write a 10 page paper and do a poster-presentation about the epidemic. This means that the entire class had to come and listen to two and a half hours worth of presentations in addition to class lectures, this session was very poorly structured. Lastly, the take home final, which was a 12-15 page essay was the only thing in the class that seemed moderately sane to assign, yet the professor was very unclear about her requirements for the essay even after students asked a number of very specific questions in an attempt to understand what was actually desired of them. The professor, it seems, did not really understand what it was that she was assigning.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 19679
Submitted: 2011-12-18
Genevieve Walsh | MATH 0046 - Linear Algebra | Mathematics

Review:
The class was actually ridiculously easy, in my opinion. I didn't study for the first two tests, and got As on both of them. And that's not because they weren't difficult, it's that linear algebra isn't hard. Prof. Walsh is very sweet, and always willing to help outside of class, but her lectures are very dry. Still, though, as long as you're thinking about the material and following along during class it's not something to dread. The few times I've been unable to focus, though, she doesn't really pull you back.

Workload:
One assignment due per class, but it only took 45 minutes, tops. And that was only due twice a week. If you don't want to go in for office hours, we still spent the first 15 minutes of class going over the difficult questions. You automatically get at least half-credit on your homework for doing it, then the TA randomly grades two (easy) problems. The tests, again, were pretty easy, but I think that's the nature of the material. If you need a math credit or a low-stress class, this one is pretty nice.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 19660
Submitted: 2011-12-03
Anna Hardman | EC091 - Econ of Public Policy | Economics

Review:
The lectures are always interesting, and the time flies by in class. I look forward to attending class each day. This say a lot for me! Very interesting readings, relevant to society today.

Workload:
When work is assigned, easy. She isnot always "on the ball", so people get back work months after it is assigned. but fair grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 19335
Submitted: 2011-11-21
Paula Aymer | Race and Ethnicity | Sociology

Review:
I am humiliated on Tufts' behalf that a Tufts student would attribute Professor Aymer's presence at Tufts to affirmative action. Although I agree that her teaching style can be confusing and her grading difficult to predict, it's unbelievably racist to believe (as the previous reviewer indicated that s/he did, albeit in a veiled way) that she is only teaching at Tufts because of affirmative action--if she were a white male, as the previous reviewer mentioned, her presence at Tufts would never be connected to the "affirmative action"--family connections, etc--that helps white people get jobs every day. Secondly, Tufts hires professors based far more on their research than on their teaching, like most research-based institutions. Professor Aymer's research is brilliant, and to top it off, she is an amazingly compassionate professor who cares deeply about the progress of her students.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 19333
Submitted: 2011-11-15
Mingquan Wang | CH0001 - Elementary Chinese | Chinese

Review:
Excellent teacher. Patient, good-humored, and kind. He is very good at explaining and engaging. Wish I could have him for next semester.

Workload:
Chinese is a lot of exercises, drills, and character sheets, but the busy work is necessary to absorb the material. It wasn't too overwhelming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 19324
Submitted: 2011-11-03
Robert Stolow | Chemistry 53 Organic Chemistry | Chemistry

Review:
AWFUL. AWFUL. AWFUL. Unorganized, unkind, uninterested in teaching.

Workload:
Average to high.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 19323
Submitted: 2011-11-01
Vincent Pollina | ITAL0051 - Dante's Inferno | Italian

Review:
I took his class "Dante's Inferno" and he is easily one of my favorite teachers. A true intellectual, he knows what he's talking about, and there is no mistaking this fact. He insists on a serious learning environment so no eating, drinking, gum chewing, you address him as Professor Pollina ect, but he is very kind and respectful. He tries to make jokes that are a bit nerdy which i found very entertaining and cute.

Workload:
There are four books mandatory for this class. A more artful translation with a few pages worth of a note at the end of each canto (very helpful), another more accurate translation which he recommends but you don't actually have to read (haven't touched it once but still getting A's), the Vita Nuova (another text by Dante we spent a week on) and a very thick ultra scholarly book of commentary that is required. The reading is very fun and easy for the main book used (hour and a half tops) but the scholarly commentary is tough to get through at first because it goes line by line through the inferno and often goes into more detail than you need to know for the class with bits of original latin and italian text exerpts thrown in. Once you learn to skip through the unnecessary parts it isn't so bad and it answers a lot of questions.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Studio Art - Museum School


Review ID: 19135
Submitted: 2011-09-19
Avner Baz | Ethical Theory | Philosophy

Review:
Prof. Baz is an excellent lecturer with a gift for talking just enough to provoke excellent discussion, and then following that up with great discussion leadership. His selected reading materials and assignments guided us very helpfully through Hume's, Kant's, and Mill's ethical theories with an eye toward helping students draw broad and substantive comparisons. His subtle sense of humor keeps class lively even when the material is very challenging. This was my second course with Prof. Baz, and I would take another if I could fit it into my schedule.

Workload:
The reading load was quite reasonable, but the material requires serious attention. The four writing assignments were directly related to the reading material and were very helpful in requiring us to be able to concisely summarize major ethical theories -- surely a worthwhile result of the course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 18620
Submitted: 2011-09-03
Monica McTighe | History of Video installation and Performance | History of Art

Review:
She is inattentive, off-hands, awkward. Don't recommend taking any of her classes.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Studio Art - Museum School


Review ID: 18618
Submitted: 2011-08-23
Paula Aymer | Soc112 - Racial and Ethnic Minorities | Sociology

Review:
The previous reviews of this professor are unfair. The class was interesting, allowing tremendous room for discussion and interpretation. Despite the fact that it was a lower level class, it was conducted more in a seminar style, allowing for a better understanding of the concept of race. That being said, it is difficult to get an "A" in the class. At points, the professor does not clearly indicate what exactly she is looking for with papers and projects. Students must be tremendously thorough to cover all that she wants to in graded assignments.

Workload:
Lower than other classes. A lot of reading but as said class is largely discussion based.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 18615
Submitted: 2011-08-08
Aaron Brown | MATH13 - Multivariable Calculus | Mathematics

Review:
He is by far the best professor I've had at Tufts. He is only a graduate student, but is an excellent teacher. He's kind of a quirky guy, but overall quite funny.

Workload:
The workload is the same for all sections of math 13. Nightly homework that is graded based only on completion.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 17687
Submitted: 2011-06-17
Nancy Levy-Konesky | SPN022 - Composition and Conversation II | Spanish

Review:
She was by far one of the worst professors I've ever had. I felt discouraged to participate in class because my Spanish was not perfect. Often when I would arrange to meet with her, she wouldn't show up or was late. I didn't learn very much, and I definitely would never take another class with her.

Workload:
Average.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 17682
Submitted: 2011-06-08
Leah Abraham | ChBe185 | American Studies

Review:
Yes, Leah Abraham is an excellent writer, making her own reviews sound like a commercial for her classes.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 17673
Submitted: 2011-05-24
Leah Abraham | ChBE185 | American Studies

Review:
In addition to teaching, she enjoys reviews about herself on jumboaccess

Workload:
n/a


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17675
Submitted: 2011-05-24
Leah Abraham | ChBE185 | American Studies

Review:
In addition to teaching, she enjoys writing reviews about herself on jumboaccess

Workload:
n/a


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17666
Submitted: 2011-05-19
Leah Abraham | ChBE185 | Chemical Engineering

Review:
Excellent class! Leah uses tons of examples from industry. Unlike many other classes, there are lots of case examples from real product applications. Leah's integration of real world experience and great teaching style make for an excellent Formulation class.

Workload:
a bit more challenging than many Tufts classes, but not unreasonable for a graduate class


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 17667
Submitted: 2011-05-19
Leah Abraham | ChBE193 | Chemical and Biological Engineering

Review:
I never thought I could like a statistics class, but Dr. Abraham's presentation of Design of Experiments and Statistics was excellent. The Taghuci and process optimization information presented by Dr. Abraham allowed me to re-evaluate data at my job and recommend a process change that saved my company over $100,000 every time we run one process column (about twice a month)!

Dr. Abraham added slides as we came up with questions, and added examples to lecture on topics from our work areas. It was a really inventive way to make tough material interesting to us. Cool Prof.

Workload:
You need some statistics, so be prepared to study.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical Engineering


Review ID: 17670
Submitted: 2011-05-19
Leah Abraham | ChBE193c | Chemical Engineering

Review:
Not from this year, but check out these reviews:

Karen Duca, Associate Professor, KNUST

?I first met Leah Abraham about ten years ago when she was doing her PhD in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Tufts. She had entered the program from a job in industry and brought a very interesting perspective to the biotech group where I worked as an Assistant Professor. Although she did not work directly for me, we had some interaction around seminars and other departmental activities. She was quite friendly and helpful and always could be relied upon to follow-up with a paper or reference after scientific discussions. Her presentations were always professional and I learned much from her. I then crossed paths with her again after she finished her degree and was employed as a lecturer at Tufts. By that time I was working in Africa trying to build scientific infrastructure in Ghana and she graciously allowed me and my students to audit her course in statistics and experimental design for grad students/upper division undergrads. This is where I really got to see her style. She was a superb teacher and I loved how she interacted with the students ? tolerant, respectful, and patient. Although she was teaching the course for the first time, she was very well-prepared with lots of relevant hand-outs and references on the class web site to supplement the lectures. She conducted the class as a ?work-in-progress,? soliciting student input at every stage for improvement. She never tried to hide something when she didn?t know, but was very up-front about it and never failed to come back during the next class period with the answer and references. Both my students and I really profited from the lectures we attended. Moreover, when I was going to back home to Ghana she gave me lots of teaching material on DVD (both for this class and other topics in bioengineering she teaches) to use with my own students. She also consented to be interviewed on videotape about her teaching philosophy, her own scientific journey, and advice for students. I really appreciated her help, as we are so resource-limited. In summary, Leah is a valuable asset to any organization, academic or industrial. If she were interested, I would recruit her in a heartbeat to work in my department and our research institute in Kumasi. I hope she?ll visit us sometime and do a workshop so our students can profit first-hand and not just "virtually".?

August 8, 2009



Rachit Ohri, Senior Scientist, Boston Scientific Corporation (business partner)

?I attended an evening course taught by Leah, and have always been impressed with her skills at communicating technical concepts, and at stimulating discussion based learning. She makes it a point to provide real world examples from her experience in industry. I have always learnt a lot by interacting with her? July 27, 2009


Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 17663
Submitted: 2011-05-18
Dan Richards | EC -0005-01 | Economics

Review:
Overall this years course was not very enlightening as the entirety of your grade depended on 3 take home group midterm/finals and 4-5 online problem sets. Overall the course was quite easy due to the take home nature of the course. But because of the lack of need to keep up with readings and the course you never had to go to class

Workload:
Every two weeks there was a problem set that took 2-3 hours and the midterm and finals are very challenging!! But they are take home... so go figure


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 17659
Submitted: 2011-05-17
David Art | Comp Pol | Political Science

Review:
David Art, or fondly referred to as "Dart" is a great prof. He really engages with the material and the class- really attempting for class participation (he knows names!! he reads some papers!!) Although you really don't need to attend lectures to do well in the course (its more about the outside reading), I always went to class because he not only went over the reading material, but made the class interesting and informative.

Workload:
The workload was very manageable. Yes, there is a TON of reading, and I suggest that you do it all (you will learn to hate that huuuge course booklet). However, the course is designed to reward those who do the work, and that means the average in the course is very high (B+). Two quizzes that are just 5% of the final grade are great to make sure you are comfortable with the questions asked, plus it keeps you on track with the reading. A midterm and final, all questions are essays and you have a topic choice and they are very broad. A really annoying paper that is a critique of a piece of work, but graded fairly easily.

Grading is done by TA, and they are REALLY GOOD. Oh yea, GO TO RECITATION!!! They go over all the readings and do a fantastic job. Especially if you have Irina. She's the best.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 17660
Submitted: 2011-05-17
Elizabeth Leavell | English 2 Other Worlds | English

Review:
SHE IS THE GREATEST. From the very beginning, she is totally enthused about the course and brings that excitement every day to class. She has blackboard discussion board questions that she uses to lead the class, and she does a great job pointing out important sections and letting us argue against each other (and even her!) I can't emphasize enough her personal commitment to every student. You can see it in the thoroughness of her essay grading- not only does she write comments all over the paper, but she gives you a whole response to your work that instills confidence (she loooves to praise) but also gives important feedback. For example, I had mentioned I wanted to work on transitions and she kept note of that and made sure to keep a special focus on that for future papers. I could honestly go on forever about what an amazing, amazing lady she is.

Workload:
There is a significant amount of reading, plus questions to answer for every class. However, it is nothing unreasonable at all. There are 4 papers, and you have the chance to do a re-write on one. She seems like she would be an easy grader, so you might be surprised on the first essay back. But I can't imagine her giving lower than a B-, and I think its typical that the grades improve. Honestly, she wants to give you a good grade, and as long as you talk to her and put in the work, she's going to help to give you what you want. Oh yea, she met with us multiple times for the 3rd (research) paper and the 4th one. Like on her own time, giving extensive feedback and helping with ideas and everything. DID I MENTION SHES AWESOME?


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 17661
Submitted: 2011-05-17
Ana Sajina | Concepts of the Cosmos | Astronomy

Review:
Terrible class. I mean, better than bio for a science credit, but its such a cool topic and they just ruined it. First of all, class is totally useless. Powerpoints are just their notes from the textbook, they are put up online, and they just read off of them in class with hard to understand accents. So class is useless, and then they put random questions on the exams! Like what?

Sajina is also really bad about responding to emails in a timely fashion.

Workload:
Do more than 6 observations!! Study the midterm questions for the final, they are tweaked a little, but some are word-for-word.

Doing the mastering astro might help you for the test, but cheating off a friend will get you a better grade. So that sucks.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 17662
Submitted: 2011-05-17
Juliana Berte | Spanish 21 | Spanish

Review:
Berte is so so so nice. I know about 5 people in the class I just had that signed up to be in a course with her next year too. She's straight from Argentina, so her accent is legit- plus when she speaks English, I LOVE the accent. Bottom line, she cares about her students and is very available for help after class. In class, she often checks in with struggling students and never gets frustrated. She's a stickler for grammar on tests and essays, but will never call you out on it in the middle of class, which makes it easier to volunteer to speak. Can't recommend her enough.

Workload:
The quizzes are harder than the tests, but that's probably because I never bothered to open the grammar book (waste of money!!)

Study the vocab, it gives a huge bump on the tests. Pay attention in class to what is going on in the stories, or know someone who can explain it to you in English later.

If I were to retake the class, I would try to put aside a hour to do the Mosen Millan reading. But this isn't necessary- she gives the essay topic out beforehand, and you can ask help from friends. However, when I went through important passages with friends in preparation for the essay, and tried to read it out loud in English and looked up words I didn't know, it was a huge difference in the experience and I wish I knew what I knew for the essay for the in-class discussions. Spoiler alert: Mosen SUCKS. But Berte doesn't. She does a great job teaching the book and the class :)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 17657
Submitted: 2011-05-16
Susan Ernst | BIO12- Human Reproduction and Development | Biology

Review:
Incredibly disorganized and confusing lectures. I began the class with some understanding of basic biology, but her lectures actually made me more confused and I often understood less after the class than before it.

Workload:
Light workload.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 17655
Submitted: 2011-05-07
Peter Winn | HIST002 - Globalization | History

Review:
Professor Winn is pretty entertaining and obviously really knowledgeable about this topic. His lectures are interesting and sometimes organized. You have to take good notes which can get exhausting because he packs so much into each one. SO MUCH reading, way more than humanly possible. The papers were not horrendously hard, but not easy either.

Workload:
The amount of reading assigned is literally INSANE. You get by not doing it all, but it makes writing the papers kind of difficult. There were three 2-page reading responses, a midterm which consisted of a 4-page essay and an 8-page essay, and a final which consisted of two 2-page essays and one 8-page essay.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 17651
Submitted: 2011-05-03
Polly Broman Wright | Calligraphy 1 | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
Don't take this course if you do not have artistic talent. While the teacher claims the grade is based on effort, she will tell you at the end of the semester that your work is not A work if you cannot write like a professional calligrapher. Additionally, the class is six hours a week and she rarely lets you out early. While there is no homework, it is not worth taking an easy class if it is difficult to get an A.

Workload:
In class assignments mostly, unless you don't finish them in class and need to work on them at home.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 17652
Submitted: 2011-05-03
Francie Chew | Biology 14 | Biology

Review:
The other two professors in this course are great but Francie Chew is consistently rude and does not want students to do well. She purposely puts questions on her tests that 80% of the class will miss and when you go for extra help, she makes you feel horrible about yourself. If you can take this class elsewhere, do so. Additionally, the lab portion is very frustrating. The lab TA's are terrible and were never willing to help. They grade everything extremely harshly without making their expectations clear beforehand.

Workload:
A lot of work, but manageable. However, even when you spend all of your time studying there will still be questions on Francie Chew's tests that are misleading and nearly impossible to answer.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 17647
Submitted: 2011-05-01
John Julian | FR0002A | French

Review:
Directions not clear. Never know when to hand things in. Plays favorites way too much. I didn't learn anything with Julian. I would not recommend this professor if you are at all serious about learning french. Always talks about stuff that doesn't apply to the class.

Workload:
There was no real homework.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 17648
Submitted: 2011-05-01
David Henry Feldman | CD 0051 | Child Development

Review:
Feldman appears to be a nice man. But this is about the only positive thing I can say about this course.

I would encourage people to avoid taking this class if at all possible. I took this course as a senior to fulfill a related fields requirement for my major and I absolutely regret it.

Feldman acknowledged the first class that he has a tendency to ramble and go off on tangents. He recognizes this but does not feel it necessary to attempt to change. Lectures consist more of his reflections, idolizing Piaget, and rambling about his feelings than any actual substance.

Time taking going to lecture would be better spent staying home and (perhaps) reading the material instead.

Workload:
This class requires an unnecessary amount of work that contributes nothing to your understanding of the course material.

You are expected to buy 4 books and a course packet (and one more book is recommended) and readings will come from all of them. Daily readings come from any of them and are poorly organized.

You will have to choose a "Metahobby" the first week of class (too early) and you will have to "learn something new". He said he expects about three hours of work per week for the Metahobby and this joke continues for eight weeks. You will later have to write a 10-15 page paper about it. The entire process serves no purpose.

There are two quizzes instead of a midterm (pick two of three essay questions to answer) and a final (one hour long essay and two 30 min long ones).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 17639
Submitted: 2011-04-28
Matt Gregory | PJS 0001 Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies | Peace & Justice Studies

Review:
Each class felt like the previous class. I learned nothing except a few definitions and how much Matt Gregory loves to talk about himself. I took the class my freshman year with a lot of enthusiasm for the material initially and am coming out of it with complete and total disrespect for the field of Peace and Justice Studies as illegitimate and pointless, although I'm sure there's more to it than intro. This class (scratch that, this professor) has removed any desire I ever had of being a Peace and Justice Studies major.

To all PJS majors or those considering it, avoid Gregory at all costs. He might be a cool guy, but not a good teacher.

The TA is much more helpful.

Workload:
Random reading assignments. Readings are not discussed in class but might be relevant to the papers(?)< this is still unclear.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 17641
Submitted: 2011-04-28
David Denby | PHIL0024- Introduction to Ethics | Philosophy

Review:
Professor Denby takes great care in explaining the material in a clear and concise way. While it is true you do not have to do the readings to do well in the class, do the readings! They aren't overwhelming and they contribute a lot to the class. Denby has a great sense of humor and is very patient with his students. Even though it was a large-ish lecture class participation was encouraged and easy. I hope to take every class Denby offers. He's truly one of Tufts best.

Workload:
A few readings per week through Blackboard or one of the three text books for class.

The grades were mainly focused on 5 papers, the last one is optional


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 17332
Submitted: 2011-04-13
Aida Belansky | SPN 0003 - INTERMED SPANISH I | Spanish

Review:
Great teacher! Very nice, helpful, does a great job explaining the material,and so funny! 100% recommend!

Workload:
Not very bad at all. She usually gives a couple exercises from the book for homework to do for the next class (doesn't grade it, just to go over in class) , as well as the workbook due before tests. There are 3 tests plus a final. The tests are all fair and she goes over everything you need to know in class. She also gives quizzes every once in a while, which equal to 1 test, but she lets you throw out your 2 or 3 worst ones. Also a oral test, which she grades pretty generously.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17327
Submitted: 2011-04-12
Felice Shapiro | ELS101 - Entrepreneurship and Business Planning | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
Felice seems to have no understanding of the typical college student. She does not define terms, and relies on guest lecturers to get away with no discernible lesson plan. The only redeeming factor of this class was the pressure, which seems equal to that of a real business.

Workload:
The first half of the semester is fairly casual, with about one case-study per week. Once the students are split into groups, there is an inordinate amount of work to be completed before the final presentation. All groups seemed to be scrambling to get things done as the deadline ticked closer.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 17303
Submitted: 2011-03-26
Sarah Sobieraj | SOC040 - Media and Society | American Studies

Review:
Sobieraj is concerned with all of her students' performances. Back when it was 40-50/class she tried to learn everyone's name which is really great. She's totally enthusiastic about the material she teaches, and conveys her ideas articulately and coherently. If you ever have a question, she always stays after class and gives you a full answer.

Workload:
There's a decent amount of reading to be done but the way she grades it is very convenient. She assigned about 17 but only averaged your best 9 into your grade. Very fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17296
Submitted: 2011-03-16
Gail Kaufmann | MATH011 and MATH012 | Mathematics

Review:
The greatest. I had her two semesters in a row. She makes the transition to college level math easy. She goes over homework and explains examples thoroughly. She never skips steps on the board.

Workload:
An hour or so of problems. Not a waste of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 17297
Submitted: 2011-03-16
Juan Alonso | A Literature of Chaos | World Literature

Review:
Really Difficult person (personality).

The first review with five starts was probably written by him. Every semester, more than half of the students drop the class after first class- the instructor cuts people off while they are speaking and almost never finishes his sentences. Books that we read are amazing but class is not

Workload:
Reading is all we do. Grades are participation, midterm and Final. You don't really learn how to write at all. Its just reading and understanding literature in "his" way, what he thinks is right. If your idea contradicts his in your essay you will receive low grades


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 17294
Submitted: 2011-03-15
David Proctor | CLS085 - Byzantines and Their World | History

Review:
Who loves his or her students and job more than Proctor? No one. Proctor's one of us (in fact, a triple Jumbo!) and a fantastic professor whose priority is (gasp) teaching. The courses he teaches - like this one - tend to be large survey courses, so obviously, there's lots of material to learn and some falling behind at times. That said, Proctor is ridiculously prepared, knows the course inside and out, and adjusts the pace as he needs to. He makes the material interesting and accessible - hey, you might decide history and classics are awesome after being his student. He handles recitations himself and holds multiple review sessions and super-extended office hours in the lead-up to exams. Snowstorms and vacations won't stop this man from being in his office, ready to help you out.

Paper/exam turnaround is slow, but that's because the class is sizable and Proctor checks papers multiple times to ensure fair grading. Besides, he's great with deadline extensions; so if you like those, consider it a trade-off. He also gets bonus points for dressing well, bringing food to share with the class, leaving candy outside his amazing office, and just being a nice, nice, NICE guy.

Workload:
3 Papers (varying lengths, but not more than 7-8 pages), midterm and final. The reading was heavy at times, but not bad for a history course and definitely manageable if you do the readings as assigned. Tons of review sessions and no surprises on exams - Proctor tells you what to study. The exams can be exhausting, but you'll be prepared.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 17207
Submitted: 2011-03-02
Susan Ostrander | SOC 0130 - Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
I personally loves Susan. She's one of my favorite professors at Tufts. She is obviously passionate about what she does and puts her theories into action through her community work. I have taken 3 classes with her and loved all of them. I will admit, however, that she is very adamant about her opinions. You either agree with her or you don't. If you don't, then you will not like her. Just try to approach all the material with your opinions in mind while still being open to others.

Workload:
The workload was not unbearable. There was reading for every class but it was enjoyable and engaging. I have used her readings for future classes and the theories will stay with you for some time afterwards.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17209
Submitted: 2011-03-02
Susan Ostrander | SOC 0102 - Qualitative Research Methods | Sociology

Review:
Professor Ostrander is a great teacher, but for this class it really doesn't matter because the work is all on you. The point of the class is to do your own research. That being said, Susan is great about giving feedback and help if you ask for it. She is not going to seek you out so you have to go to her. She was very helpful to me.

Workload:
SOOO MUCH WORK!!! It's required for the major so you just have to bite the bullet and do it. At the end, you are very pleased with your work and have a solid body of material to point to and say: "Yeah! That's mine!" You will be committing at least 10 hours a week to this class so don't overload your schedule with other classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17210
Submitted: 2011-03-02
Susan Ostrander | SOC 0130 - Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality | Sociology

Review:
Susan is great in this section. Although I didn't really learn much that I didn't already know, she helped me conceptualize it and put it on paper. That being said, this is not her best class and she could probably do without it in her course load. Overall, she's very knowledgeable and communicates that knowledge well. She's just a great teacher.

Workload:
The class was just alright. I would go with another one in hindsight. I didn't learn very much but that is probably because this was my 5th or 6th class in the department.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17211
Submitted: 2011-03-02
James Ennis | SOC 0010 - American Society | Sociology

Review:
By far the worst professor at Tufts. I got an A in the class, so I'm not bitter. He is just simply bad. He knows his stuff but is completely unable to communicate that knowledge. If I didn't have to take Quant. from him, I would never take an Ennis class ever again.

Workload:
Coincidentally, also one of the worst classes at Tufts. I learned less than nothing. I think my sociological knowledge actually decreased because of this class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17212
Submitted: 2011-03-02
James Ennis | SOC 0103 - Survey of Social Theory | Sociology

Review:
Professor Ennis is among the worst teachers at this school. I've gotten A's in all his classes that I've taken so it's not that. He spends most of the class time going over what we thought about the readings rather than actually teaching. Going to class was actually painful. He made an otherwise interesting topic absolutely the driest thing on the planet. To conceptualize James Ennis, think of the driest, most dull thing on the planet. Now make it drier and duller. Done.

Workload:
All I can say is thank God for Facebook. This class was the bane of my existence for a very long semester. If it wasn't required for the major, I would have dropped it very quickly. I got a good grade so it's not the anger talking here. That being said, if you are not a Sociology major, avoid this one like the plague. If you are a major, tough cookies.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 17206
Submitted: 2011-02-25
Robert Stolow | Chem 0051 Organic Chemistry I | Chemistry

Review:
This is the worst professor I have had at Tufts. DO NOT, under any circumstances, take any class that he offers.

He is decrepit and does not have any enthusiasm for the course. His enthusiasm is such that going to his lectures is like watching paint dry. Honestly, he is way too old to make any course exciting, even if he had some excitement within him in his earlier years (I highly doubt it). His lectures are terrible, he'll just put up projector images of charts from the textbook half of the time. I did not learn anything from going to the lectures, and had to teach the material to myself. You will have to teach all the material to yourself--don't expect to learn anything in lecture!

If you want a professor who is concerned for your progress, you don't want Stolow. I attempted to get help from him during office hours, and he did not even attempt to explain the subject in a way that I could understand it. Additionally he was not concerned by the fact that I was doing subpar on the exams and worried about my grade in the class. At one point, he even insulted me, which I thought was extremely inappropriate.

Workload:
Insane amounts of textbook problems...expect to do all of them. However, his exams are harder, so you won't be well prepared.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 17199
Submitted: 2011-02-22
Vincent Pollina | FR191 - Medieval and Renaissance Love Poetry | French

Review:
Prof. Pollina was horrible. I had him as a professor and as an advisor and every second with him made me miserable. He seemed nice at first and my interaction with him was the only reason I signed up for his course. When the semester began, however, he was cruel. By the time I realized this, it was too late to drop the course and, as the acting advisor for graduate students at the time, I had no choice but to work with him. I am not a native French speaker, and I suspect he would have treated me better if I were. I was nothing but nice to him and tried working with him to improve but he did nothing but belittle me. His class was not helpful at all either - he asks for people to do presentations and then, if you don't do exactly what he's looking for (which is not at all clear), he will humiliate you in front of the whole class. The good news is that most people experience this so the class shares this experience and it becomes less humiliating over time, but I think it's fair to say he is harder on some than on others. He has broken down several students to tears, both in class and in his office. To be honest, apart from his terrible relationships with students (which can be a small part in the decision made to hire a professor) I wonder how he has the position he does - granted he seems knowledgeable about medieval and Renaissance French poetry, but he has essentially no publications that I can find, which seems strange for a tenured professor ... (for the sake of comparison, google Prof. Naginski or Prof. Hakim and see how many hits you get!) In any case, I am so disappointed that Prof. Pollina is acting as a representative of French at Tufts. I'd hope that Tufts would want professors who encourage the study of French and my experience with Prof. Pollina made me want to quit altogether (after having studied for 10+ years)! I strongly discourage anyone from taking a class with him. I've never had a teacher make me feel so bad about myself as a student and as a person and I would hate to see anyone else suffer because of this man.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 17098
Submitted: 2011-01-29
Daniel Richards | Econ 05 | American Studies

Review:
Had him for 1 week. He posted a textbook and the week when school started he changed the textbook . Totally wasted money. Also His syllabus does not make sense, and I realized he went by the first posted textbook chapter. The new textbook that everyone had to Re-Buy was in slightly different order and of course whoever studied with that one didn't get what the class was about. Many times we don't understand what he is talking. Absolutely NEVER replies to student emails!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 17099
Submitted: 2011-01-29
Juan Alonso | A Literature of Chaos | World Literature

Review:
HORRIBLE> I read one of the review that was 5 star. Probably he wrote it himself or his assistant wrote it. Okay, so first of all, he mumbles. He speaks, stops and says something else without finishing is first sentence. During discussion he points at a student who begins talking and then while the student is still speaking he points at another person and cuts the first student off. Absolutely waste of time to take his class. Whatever he says makes very little sense. I can't believe he is a literature instructor. Well, I figured Tufts is a school full of pretense and they hire a lot of bad instructors. One of the Japanese teachers has a Piano BA from Japan and doesn't even speak English.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 17087
Submitted: 2011-01-25
Jeanne Penvenne | HIST110 - Race, Class, Power in Southern Africa | History

Review:
I really enjoyed this class. Professor Penvenne is very knowledgeable and seems to be at the forefront of African Studies research. She is concerned with her students' progress and I never felt intimidated asking for examples or clarification in class. She is fair and encourages students to take advantage of office hours, which can be useful if you would like to discuss an assignment or even just to get to know her better. I learned a lot in this class, and if my concentration was in African Studies I would definitely take another class with this professor.

Workload:
A considerable amount of reading, but manageable. Four discussion antes (short write-ups reflecting on selected readings), three exams.
Professor Penvenne wants to see her students succeed. She provides students the format of the exams beforehand and goes out of her way to try to help students do well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 16869
Submitted: 2011-01-19
Jeff Mcconnell | Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
This class was interesting and I feel that I learned a great deal. Professor Mcconnell, however, came off as a very short-sighted person in terms of what he accepts as right or wrong in philosophy. Many times in class we were discussing abstract his ideas and he would shoot them down because they didn't fit into his "conventional" ideas about philosophy. Overall, I enjoyed the class but just wish he could have been more open-minded and more accepting of alternate viewpoints.

Workload:
Almost non-existent. Four 5 page papers, almost no reading.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 16867
Submitted: 2011-01-18
Linda Garant | Math Fundamentals | Mathematics

Review:
If you think that Prof. Garant is fantastic in class, well then you should go to her office hours and prepare to have your mind blown. She would not only help me in my math problems, but also listen to my babble about life. And get this, actually seemed interested. She really cares about all the kids in the class, not just me.

She is beyond a good math teacher, she is a great human being.

Workload:
Consistent, challenging but not very doable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16868
Submitted: 2011-01-18
Matthew Gregory | PJS001 - Intro to Peace & Justice Studies | Peace & Justice Studies

Review:
I thought I'd branch out and try a class not in my major - worst mistake ever. Matthew Gregory was a complete asshole, an awful grader, very unorganized, unintelligent, and offensive. Lectures were for the most part spent "brainstorming" definitions of vague concepts, or watching videos. Assigned 10 page papers on random topics, for the most part unrelated to class. Gregory is a horrible teacher that I expect will be unemployed in the near future.

Workload:
Lots of reading, 30+ pages of essays. Vague assignments that set you up for failure.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 16859
Submitted: 2011-01-12
Anne Christine Rice | FR0021- Composition/Conversation I | French

Review:
Prof. Rice is a great professor! I highly recommend taking a class of hers! She came to class everyday incredibly enthusiastic and organized. She was always willing to answer questions and help students both in and out of class. She wrote one of the textbooks we use, and her knowledge and passion for french films was clearly visible in how she led class discussions; it was almost contagious.
Take a class with Professor Rice if you have the chance!

Workload:
Although she graded a bit on the tougher side, assignments and were always straightforward, and usually didn't take too long to complete each night. She was a stickler for grammer in the compositions, and generally had high expectations, but she was also always willing to help.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 16744
Submitted: 2011-01-03
Barbara Orton | English 001 | English

Review:
Ms. Orton does a great job of correcting your essays. She points out anything and everything that you could fix and improve upon. However, she is TERRIBLE about returning papers on time. She at first had a rule of not making us hand in papers before getting back the previous paper, and would continue to push back deadlines. When she did return papers before the due date of the following assignment, it was often only a few hours before the next assignment was due, leaving little to no time to look at corrections and apply them to the next assignment.
This seems to be the case with all English 001 courses, but getting an A or A- from Ms. Orton is essentially impossible.

Workload:
Manageable; four 4-6 pg papers and one 5-7 research paper spaced out evenly over the semester.
Some tedious exercises from a workbook


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16745
Submitted: 2011-01-03
Justin Patch | Ethnomusicology | Music

Review:
This was an interesting class, yet often seemed at times quite esoteric and superficial. Class discussions were at times quite fascinating, yet sometimes quite boring and not seeming to have any relation to the outside world.
Professor Patch was very knowledgeable about all of the topics we discussed.

Workload:
About 20-30 pages of reading per class, but the kind of reading that takes about 5 minutes to read one page. However, we only really used the main points of the readings as discussion topics.
One 4 page paper and one 16 page ethnographic study that felt like the most pointless essay I have ever written in my entire life.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16746
Submitted: 2011-01-03
Kiyomi Kagawa | Japanese 021 | Japanese

Review:
Kagawa is an excellent teacher. She thoroughly corrects everything you submit and lets you resubmit all homework assignments for a better grade. She is quite a perfectionist yet helpful for those who want to really learn the Japanese language.

Workload:
Two page worksheet per class, three short essays, and a bit of studying for tests (often very little required)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16747
Submitted: 2011-01-03
Malik Mufti | Introduction to International Relations | International Relations

Review:
This course was extremely interesting and I learned a great deal of information. Professor Mufti really covered a wide range of material, tying in history and theory, over the course of the semester. The first half of the semester was much more straightforward- he would put terms on the board and go over them during the class. The second half of the semester he stopped writing on the board, however, he encouraged more class participation.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading in this course. Probably close to 150+ pages a week. Mufti does a good job going over a majority of the readings. We went over the readings more in recitation.
The midterm was 4 or 5 words (IDs) that was either a word that he wrote on the board or an author that we read. There wasnt much guidance for what exactly we were supposed to write for the IDs.
The final was the same set up with an additional essay. The essay was pretty broad so you could include as much information as you wanted from the class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16743
Submitted: 2011-01-02
Juan Alonso | WL Literature of Chaos | World Literature

Review:
This course and Prof Alonso were so amazing that I find myself still thinking of the books read in this seminar and the comments and insights made by Prof Alonso almost 20 years later! (I took this course in 1991 and have since done an MA in Literature-in great part inspired by this course). Professor Alonso was, by far, the most thought provoking professor I had whilst at Tufts.

Workload:
The books are fabulous and all great reads (and most of them short). The assignments were straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 16742
Submitted: 2011-01-01
Jonathan Kenny | CHEM0031-Physical Chemistry I-Thermodynamics | Chemistry

Review:
Dr. Kenny was an interesting professor. I found his teaching style very enjoyable and right for me. He explains the theory and derives all relevant equations. The fact that he put up all his lecture notes helped TREMENDOUSLY. Problem sets were reasonable usually. On one occasion, questions were difficult and not covered in class, but the best part about Kenny was the fact that he listened to students. He constantly sets up tower meetings to chat with students and he invites you in to talk to him (about life, not chemistry) if he sees you and has time. He also had us fill out evaluations several times throughout the semester and adjusted accordingly (he never assigned homework that was not covered after one evaluation where people commented on that.

Dr. Kenny is surprisingly inviting and available and I would take another class with him.

Workload:
Ok workload. There is assigned reading for each class and it's meant to be done before class (though the concepts are all explained, he does fly over some basic stuff that's well explained in the reading quickly).
Weekly (or so) problem sets that were difficult but very helpful for test preparation. Recommend working in a group on the questions.
3 tests, non cumalitive, and you get a cheatsheet for each, so that's not too bad. There's an inherent 5% or so curve and no further curve was ever necessary. Attending class is necessary to do well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 16736
Submitted: 2010-12-30
Anne Christine Rice | FR-22 Composition et Conversation | French

Review:
Professor Rice is an excellent professor- one of the few French speakers I have met who can actually explain grammar. She creates a comfortable atmosphere for discussion and conversation in class. Her quizzes and tests are difficult but there are never any surprises. I also enjoyed the French film component of the class, which she taught very well.

Workload:
Like a language class- some busy work, but she tells you what's being collected in advance, so you can do as much or as little as you like. Quizzes and tests are difficult but understandably so. My French improved so much!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 16730
Submitted: 2010-12-29
Brian Brenner | EN 39 - Bridge design | Civil Engineering

Review:
This is very exciting class to go and learn the basics about bridge aesthetics and civil engineering in general. The Class meets only once a week and the professor is hilarious. You do learn a lot from the class and it persuaded me to stick with civil engineering. There are no office hours but you can reach by email. This is great class to take for your EN elective or architectural requirements.

Workload:
Work load is not much not more than half an hour per week on the typical homework assignment. however they are 3 project assignment which are fun and easy the first two are the hardest of them all which is to build a truss bridge out of manila folders this will take at least two hours and patience but great activity. The second making individual tension and compression and tension pieces about an hours work. the last project I did not take part of because just assign it to a group member its about 10 min to 6 hours of works depends on how many iteration you are willing to make. One two page essay to read throughout the course and everything is on the power point except truss analysis .(find a junior CEE student to explain it to you the class TA was helpfull.)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 16732
Submitted: 2010-12-29
Alex Frumosu | Math 50 - Applied approach to Calculus 2 | Mathematics

Review:
Well everyone else loved him except for me. Found him hard to understand not because of his cool accent but because of the way he teaches math. Class was dictated by the Kids who knew it or hot the concepts easy. I constantly had to get tutors and I did okay but not well in the class.

Workload:
Homework id assigned and never checked, make sure you do them or you will fail. 3 test total and test problem since this is a unique class are drawn from homework. good luck nice class was not for me.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 16710
Submitted: 2010-12-24
Mark Karlins | ENG0001 | English

Review:
Professor Karlins is a great who is truly interested in the well-being of his students. He encourages class discussion and is very tolerant of all view points. If what you have to say is out of the ordinary at all, he'll love it. Granted, some of the readings are really strange, which you should keep up on because he's prone to single people out. Easy enough to b.s. if it comes down to it.

Workload:
Compared to some other courses, the work load is light. Four 3-5 page papers and a 5-7 page research paper. No final. Some in class assignments that aren't graded.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16711
Submitted: 2010-12-24
Larysa Smirnova | FR0001- French 1 | French

Review:
Smirnova is a great professor. Not only is she incredibly nice, she's very clear in her instruction. There was never any confusion, and she was always willing to work with students when they were struggling.

Workload:
A set of questions with each chapter. There are also daily workbook exercises. A few small written assignments and regular quizzes.Work load is fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16700
Submitted: 2010-12-21
Xueping Zhong | CHNS 81 | Chinese

Review:
This class is HARD,especially for people who never watch movies except adaptations like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or Narnia Chronicles ... The films for sure are difficult to watch as they are "New Wave" films, but I did get good art exposure watching them: how they differ from Hollywood productions etc. certainly develop a "Taste" for films. I didn't know how to write essays in the beginning but Prof. Zhong makes it clear that we are welcome to talk to her during office hours. I go almost every week and read a lot of great work by other students. This definitely helped. This is a discussion-based class, so don't expect the professor to teach you everything or give you notes. It's the others' perspectives that make this class worth going. I got some fabulous classmates who are not amateur film watches. So that helps me learn how to appreciate cinematic techniques. All in all, prof. Zhong is very very helpful - if you want to try something new but quite unsure if you can handle it, talk to her and see what she thinks.

Workload:
Not really a lot of readings - but because screening and discussion is just one day apart, a little reading can become intense when you have other work to do. Plus you have to write a journal entry after each screening, though it's 1 - 2 pages long. 2 5-6 page paper and 1 final 9 page paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 16702
Submitted: 2010-12-21
Larysa Smirnova | FR 002 - Elementary French 2 | French

Review:
What can you expect in a language class? This class is about making your OWN effort - since you do most learning on your own (watching videos, doing work), how much time you're willing to spend after class will determine your grade in class. Professor Smirnova is great, approachable though sometimes a little unclear when explaining grammar points. You need to prompt more questions to get her answer what you want to know. But students tend to pose ambiguous questions, anyway. We are responsible too. Her French is great. Again, talk to her if anything bad happens.

Workload:
As mentioned just now, work hard if you want to get a good grade. You can choose to watch the videos once before class, but that's not going to make you fluent in French.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 16523
Submitted: 2010-12-12
Benjamin Carp | HIST 24 - Revolutionary America | History

Review:
I curse the day I signed up for this class. Professor Carp was simply dreadful, and the TA Aly Mulrow was even worse. Instead of engaging and interesting discussions about the causes of the revolution, we spent much of class time listening to the professor drone on about his book.

Every time someone dared to ask a question, the TA would furiously scribble down the person's name. I suppose that was our only class participation grade, as Carp only knew the names of his advisees in the class (everyone else was referred to as "you" or "yeah"). Our questions often went unanswered, as Carp would instead ramble on for ten minutes about an unrelated topic, and somehow always manage to return to the most important subject at hand--his book about the Tea Party.

The TA's logic to grading our papers was, quite simply, illogical; Carp didn't grade our papers because he was much too busy. She graded with a purple pen, often misspelling simple words and writing questions on a paper only to write "Oh, I see" after reading the next sentence.

Unless you absolutely need to take this class for a history requirement, I would avoid this class and professor like the plague. And if one of your history classes has Aly as a TA, drop it before it is too late. You have been warned.

Workload:
There was approximately 100-150 pages of reading per week, which in theory wasn't too difficult to manage, but in reality was incredibly boring. Kierner was a great book, but I wasn't a fan of Griffin or Onuf.

Assignments were vague--for the papers we had to come up with our own prompts. But once we actually wrote the papers, our TA always found multiple issues with them. People who have never gotten below an A minus on a history paper got B minuses or C pluses. For our final exam, Carp decided it would be brilliant to choose the questions by flipping a coin. All in all, don't take your chances on this class. It's not worth the heartbreak.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 16516
Submitted: 2010-12-07
Edith Balbach | CH 0001 | Community Health

Review:
If you are into learning about concepts, guiding principles, and looking at problem-solving techniques, this is the class for you. If you are into learning hard core, scientific, tangible facts about the health of communities, this is not the class for you, and it therefore wasn't the class for me. Pr. Balbach is great at explaining things, she's passionate about the subject, and she lets out class twenty-five minutes early every day, but I just didn't get enough out of the class.

Workload:
You'll read two books, do two research papers, and put off your readings until the end of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 16517
Submitted: 2010-12-07
Daniel Dennett | PHIL 0003 | Philosophy

Review:
No one will deny that Daniel Dennett is one of if not the most esteemed and accomplished professor here at Tufts. Here's out guest celebrity so to speak, so at first, taking a class with him is exciting. They year begins with him blowing you away with his insightfulness and grandeur. But then they year wades on and his lectures become more rambling and the readings esoteric. The class takes an exponential dip during the tale end of the year. It's a good class especially if you've never taken a psychology, computer science, or philosophy class before. I recommend all Cognitive and Brain Science majors take it.

Workload:
Very very little. A final, two problem sets, an eight page paper, weekly readings, and a midterm that only counts if you do well on it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 16518
Submitted: 2010-12-07
Dora Older | Spanish 3 | Spanish

Review:
Dora Older was the sweetest, most helpful, and overall kindest teacher I have ever had. She passed out candy during class multiple times a week. She told really funny and amazing stories about her life and home country, Cuba. I really struggle in Spanish, but I never felt uncomfortable in her class. She was incredibly helpful and kind, I wish I could have taken all 6 semesters with her.

Workload:
All Spanish classes are basically the same, she doesn't give out extra work like some teachers do.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 16507
Submitted: 2010-12-01
Paola Servino | IT0030 Intermediate Italian | Italian

Review:
Paola Servino is fantastic. One of the best Italian professors I've had here! She's so enthusiastic and fun and the class is never boring. Definitely take a class with her if you can!

Workload:
You go through a lot of material in the class, but it's still a lower level language class so the workload is minimal but consistent. Compositions and mini presentations are common.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 16461
Submitted: 2010-11-19
Drusilla Brown | EC060- International Economics | Economics

Review:
I'm shocked to find such negative reviews for Drusilla Brown. Maybe she is different in Intermediate Quant Micro, but for International Economics she is very nice. When she teaches, she a a very warm, almost maternal demeanor. She is calm and clearly knows the material, everything is organized and she hands out the powerpoints in class. She cares deeply about students understanding and makes sure everyone understands the material completely before moving on. She is also very understanding, if you have a scheduling conflict she will accommodate you.

The only gripe I have found with the course was that it was sometimes difficult to get a great idea on what specifically was going to be covered on the quizzes. However, as long as you went to the classes, or understood the powerpoints, a majority of the material covered on the quizzes was easy.

I liked her so much I asked her to be my major advisor.

Workload:
There is some reading, but most of it is too technical to be included on the quizzes, so all you have to do is skim for historical contexts and overall description of theories. The technical material is simplified in class and looks exactly the same in class as it does on the quizzes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 16384
Submitted: 2010-11-17
Benjamin Carp | Hist 24 | History

Review:
I cannot stress enough at how horrible this professor is. I would never take another class with him, nor wish that anyone have to suffer through this class. It is by far the worst class I have ever taken at Tufts. He is completely unreasonable and has very little concern for students' progress. The class is pretty basic- he lectures and then expects you to ask him questions, so he can just tout his opinions.

Workload:
The workload is a lot for a below 100 level class: 2- 6 page papers, 1- 10-12 page research paper, an in-class midterm, and a final PLUS 150-200 pages of reading a week. If you like getting completely vague assignment, then take this class. He tells you to write papers with no standards of what is expected. The midterm is about "important topics" of the course. No direction as to what that might mean. And he grade deflates. I don't know of anyone who has received an A/A- on an assignment in this class. His expectations are completely unreasonable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 16359
Submitted: 2010-11-15
Daniel Bosch | Expository Writing eng0001 | English

Review:
Do not take his class. The papers are very tedious and boring and he is very opinionated. He is a tough grader and is very specific about how is students write.

Workload:
Five papers, including a research paper and a lot of analyzing photographs.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 16382
Submitted: 2010-11-15
Daniel Bosch | ENG0001 | English

Review:
Never take this class, or any class with this professor. He is a very difficult grader and also is very opinionated. His projects are very boring and none of them are interesting in any way. I dreaded class every single day and would watch people as they fell asleep.

Workload:
Five papers all dealing with why photographs were taken, including one research paper


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 16383
Submitted: 2010-11-15
Michael Ullman | MUS41- history of the blues | Music

Review:
amaaaaazing course! He's hilarious and has the best, craziest stories to share. The music is incredible and the class feels like a break from the rest of school- I never wanted to leave! I would highly recommend the course.

Workload:
Workload is not bad at all. If you don't treat it like a breezy course and actually take notes in class and study for the exams, then you will do really well. There are 2 exams for which you need to know 70 songs each (a lot of songs, but the music is awesome so it's not bad), and 2 relatively short and straightforward papers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 16326
Submitted: 2010-11-14
Elizabeth Remick | PS135 - Comparative Revolutions | Political Science

Review:
Remick is great, a very clear and engaging lecturer, but just be warned, this class is EXTREMELY HARD. By far the hardest class I've taken at Tufts so far. The papers are extremely complex, require tons of preparation, and are almost impossible to write successfully. Don't take this course unless you have a lot of time to devote to it. If you do, then great. You will certainly learn a lot of information about about a lot of revolutions, and about theories of revolution in general. In my opinion, it was too much to be crammed into one semester.

Workload:
A LOT of reading, which you need to do to find evidence for your papers. 3 papers: a 5-page paper, a 6-page paper, and a 12-page research paper. Again, these papers make you want to die.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 16313
Submitted: 2010-11-10
Joseph Debold | Psy25-Physiological Psychology | Psychology

Review:
I love Professor Debold. He's really clear, very reasonable in what he expects of students, and incredibly knowledgeable about the field of biopsychology. One of my favorite professors at Tufts. I highly recommend taking this course. Very interesting material too.

Workload:
Very easy. 3 tests with an optional final. The tests are all multiple choice and draw mostly from his lectures. He assigns reading from the textbook to go along with each lecture. The text helps clarify and expand upon things said in class, but you will probably be fine if you only study from your lecture notes. You must go to class though. He says things that aren't in the book. Easy A though if you study!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 16315
Submitted: 2010-11-10
Joanne Phillips | Cls146-Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine | Classics

Review:
I love this course. Very interesting and the professor really knows what she's talking about. Would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in medicine.

Workload:
The homework consists of a very manageable amount of reading. The reading must be done because her tests require that you cite outside sources. There is a midterm split up into 2 classes so it counts as 2 separate grades. There is also a final and a really cool paper where you get assigned a patient and have to treat them as if you were a doctor in ancient Greek. This paper is worth 50% of your final and it's an easy A as long as you do the work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 16211
Submitted: 2010-10-29
Elizabeth Leavell | ENG002- Other Worlds | English

Review:
Professor Leavell is extremely enthusiastic about the course and really cares about her students. She makes individual conferences with them to make sure they're progressing as they should, goes over their papers, and helps them think of ways to better their writing. I got the sense that she really cared about me as a student as well as the rest of our class. She's really warm and outgoing, and teaches the class really well. She creates an extremely warm learning environment.

Workload:
The workload was pretty moderate. Readings for every class, but not an insane amount. 4 essays throughout the semester. Everything is crystal clear.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 16047
Submitted: 2010-10-14
Pearl Robinson | PS129 - African Politics | Political Science

Review:
She loves Africa and is very knowledgeable, but lectures are hard to follow since she simply reads her notes. Prior knowledge on the issues is very necessary

Workload:
Hundreds of pages of reading each week which are difficult to connect to in class lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 15672
Submitted: 2010-09-19
Milan Kohout | Guerilla Performance Art and Politics | Experimental College

Review:
Milan is here to help all the rich little twats like you and me get a clue. If you hate him, there is a good chance you are scum. He is everything that a Tufts educator shouldn't be, which makes him everything that we need.

Workload:
He doesn't care about papers, even if he assignes them, you could literally spit on computer paper and he'd accept it. In fact he'd love it. The work load is internal?are you ready to surrender yourself? To say things you've never said to anyone, to rethink your world, to piss people off with your body?


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 15585
Submitted: 2010-09-09
Jeffrey Zabel | EC015 - Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Professor Zabel is great. He knows the material very well and expresses an enthusiasm for it that rubs off onto his students. He is readily available to provide extra help and definitely cares about his students. I will sign up for whatever class he is teaching next semester.

Workload:
There was a considerable amount of work, but it all ensures that everyone understands the material prior to tests. The STATA problems can be frustrating and tedious though. There are 3 tests, many problem sets and a large paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 14984
Submitted: 2010-08-09
Janet Schmalfeldt | MUS102- Principles of Tonal Theory II | Music

Review:
As said in the review above, Schmalfeldt is a dream professor. She is charming in her dedication and sincere concern for her student's understanding and success. She is very prompt and detailed with emails and help; at times, she is almost painfully clear. Be warned though, that this is not an easy class. She has high expectations and grades pretty hard. However, she is sensitive to students asking for help, putting in a lot of effort, etc. so if you're feeling desperate on an assignment, go to her and she will help you out. Overall, you learn a lot, get a decent grade, and get to experience the wonder of Schmalfeldt weekly.

Workload:
It is really not worth buying the textbooks- although she assigned readings at times, she would often just give us clearer, better handouts. The assignments are 1-2 a week, and they take a substantial amount of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Music


Review ID: 14985
Submitted: 2010-08-09
Daniel Mulholland | HIST060- Early and Imperial Russia | History

Review:
Professor Mulholland is so fantastically old-school that every lecture was a pleasure. He makes the occasional dry joke and creates a good ambiance in class. Even my notes were eloquent. On the flip side, this old-school quality makes him fairly detached as a professor. He slaps a decent grade on the papers and doesn't welcome much class participation. I did get the impression that he was a nice guy outside of class though.

Workload:
4 or 5 5-page papers- that's it! A hefty amount of reading, which only really helped to clarify lectures if I was confused. However, he really does just pick out the best bits and tie them together.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 14634
Submitted: 2010-08-06
Eudene Ward-Murray | Intro. Nursing Research | OTHER

Review:
Unreasonable with grading without good feed-back. Grades like a 600 level class. This one is a GPA buster with the most work you will ever do.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 14635
Submitted: 2010-08-06
Dale Peterson | English 1 | English

Review:
Peterson is on point!!!!! As a matter of fact, I love Peterson!!!!! He's madd cool and down to earth; to the point that I was overjoyed to go to his class. Peterson is a writer; so he encouraged his students to be authentic and true to themselves when writing(I call this the "keep it real factor"). He wants each student's work to reflect that student. Peterson's essay topics are catered to the students. When an essay topic was given it would relate so much to what I was going through that more than likely I would write about my week or profound events within my life. Peterson really cares about his students progress and is understanding of the college workload. The class mostly entailed of a group reading their essays and the students "peer revising" the essays. His class feel is very laid back and comfortable. He also encourages office hours and will always try to fit you into his schedule. I would recommend every freshman to try to enroll in his English 1 course. Peterson is simply amazing!!!!!!

Workload:
There were no test or quizzes. An essay(around 3 to 4 pages doubled spaced) usually every week or week and a half. One final paper(around 10 pages - basically an extension of an existing paper).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 14630
Submitted: 2010-08-03
Joseph Debold | PSY055Human Sexual Behavior | Psychology

Review:
This professor is a great guy. He knew exactly what he was talking about and always seemed to be happy to be teaching. He is very approachable.

Workload:
The workload was definitely manageable. You could drop one test. Easy to do well. Some of the material seems like a repeat of things you have once learned but the material does go deeper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 14092
Submitted: 2010-07-14
Michael Ullman | Irish Literature and Creative Non-Fiction | English

Review:
Best Professor and mentor I have had at Tufts. You are lucky if you take a class with him. Brilliant man and fantastic sense of humor.

In terms of what you learn, you seriously get out of class as much as you put into it. So do the readings so that you can participate. It's worth it.

You must seek him out. He won't make the effort unless you make the effort. Take him to coffee. Talk about the big things in life.

He knows his English, Music, and has a good perspective of the Big Picture for students. Talk to him about it! What more could you want?

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 14087
Submitted: 2010-07-08
Elizabeth Foster | Hist 54- Europe 1815-Present | History

Review:
Prof. Foster delivers her lectures in a very organized and interesting manner, often with a hint of sarcasm. She knows pretty much everything about European history and assigns really compelling readings. She helps students see a seemingly well known subject in a completely different light and employs a sense of humor while doing it (many Stalin and Khrushchev jokes). She willingly helps students after/ outside of class.

Workload:
Her expectations are very clear. Midterm and Final are mostly in class essays, not too challenging, but they do require you to study the readings. There are two papers (5-7 pages each), and seeking help outside of class is especially helpful.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 14089
Submitted: 2010-07-08
Wanda MacDonald | English 1 | English

Review:
Don't take this class!!! Prof. MacDonald is very kind, but she is absolutely incomprehensible. Her expectations are extremely unclear for seemingly easy assignments. Unless you follow the model essays she hands out in class EXACTLY, you won't get about a B-. She does allow rewrites, but doesn't mention that until the very last week of the semester.

Workload:
About an essay a week; no room for creativity; unusually harsh grader; grades only for structure, not for content or critical thinking. English 2 was a breeze compared to this class, and much more interesting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 13931
Submitted: 2010-06-22
Michael Goldman | PS112 - Media, Politics, & Law | Political Science

Review:
Professor Goldman teaches this one course a week for 3 hours, so he wants to engage the handful (~10 students) of students in the class. It may not be the most structured class, but it is certainly informative. Don't take the course title too seriously as the subjects discussed don't really have much to do with how the three interplay. Instead, the class provides a framework under which to discuss American culture. Goldman covers subjects like evolution vs. intelligent design, culture of fear, feminist revolution, civil rights, and the Supreme Court.
The readings are compelling and very light on technical analysis. You won't find many political science terms addressed here. But you will find yourself wondering exactly how this country has changed, and how to change it. The best part of this course is undoubtedly the section on the Supreme Court, the one branch of government that no other pol. sci. class at Tufts even approaches. Goldman assigns the book "The Nine", a quintessential read on the modern Supreme Court, and by far the best book assigned in a class.

Workload:
Readings are long, but easy reads. Don't fret about finishing them. Only really the first half of each book is necessary for class discussion and tests. But the books are fun to read.

Exams seem difficult. Just follow Goldman's advice: "If you study what I tell you to, you will do fine." He gives a list of subjects to study. And if you study them, you will ace the tests with ease. And if you miss a couple questions, don't worry. He gives a lot of credit for answers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 13675
Submitted: 2010-06-03
Sooda Bhatt | EXP030F | American Studies

Review:
Very bad teacher. I feel like he shouldn't even be teaching. He hardly knows anything. It was a total waste of time.

Workload:
Same here. Not satisfied at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 13677
Submitted: 2010-06-03
Sooda Bhatt | EXP030F | OTHER

Review:
Very bad teacher. I feel like he shouldn't even be teaching. He hardly knows anything. It was a total waste of time.

Workload:
Same here. Not satisfied at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 13668
Submitted: 2010-05-26
Mark Woodin | CH054 - Fundamentals of Epidemiology | Community Health

Review:
Great class. Woodin is engaging and knows the material cold. He may depart on tangents from time to time, but these tangents are either interesting, funny, or at least loosely related to the material. He makes interesting material even more interesting. Class periods flew by and I was genuinely disappointed that the class had to end. Take this class, regardless of whether or not you are a major in one of its 3 cross listings.

Workload:
Weekly Readings, although they weren't really necessary to understand the material. Prof even bashed the book a few times.

3 Problem Sets, 2 Exams that take two 1 hour-and-fifteen minute blocks each, although one exam ended up being take home for us. And a study critique paper at the end. All straightforward if you put in the time to know the concepts.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 13664
Submitted: 2010-05-25
Ming Chow | COMP10 - Introduction to Game Development | OTHER

Review:
Ming is an absolute joy. He's the funniest guy. The class is about how to create a successful video game. Lectures could get confusing, but since it's comp. sci. it was totally acceptable to play online flash games during class (in fact, it's often recommended). This was my favorite class at Tufts--Ming is a great guy!

Workload:
Fairly simple. Assignments were sometimes difficult for Comp 10. folks, but Ming was always willing to help--he responds to e-mails within ten minutes of them being sent. There were six graded assignments over the course of the semester, three quizzes, a group project, and a final project.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 13665
Submitted: 2010-05-25
Ning Ma | CHNS92 - Martial Arts in Chinese Literature & Film | Chinese

Review:
Ning Ma is a great professor, and the material in this course was very interesting. However, she does tend to encourage needless discussion in the class. She is pretty much the easiest grader ever, and who wouldn't want to take a class in which your homework includes watching Mulan and Kung Fu Panda? She is genuinely interested in the material and students' progress. Just make sure you speak up in class!

Workload:
The workload is very consistent--you have a goofy homework assignment (short answer based on the readings) and a comment you have to write on blackboard (a short paragraph). There are two 3-4 page papers, as well as a final quiz that is matching with a word bank. You also have to do a final skit. The work is definitely substantial, but she is seriously the easiest grader ever. Do the work, and you get an A.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chinese


Review ID: 13666
Submitted: 2010-05-25
Joseph Hurka | ENG005 - Creative Writing: Fiction | English

Review:
Joe is the best professor ever. He is such a thoughtful, wonderful, guy who is very interested in each students' individual progress. The course is based mostly on workshopping, in which you read out your work and have it critiqued by the kids in the class. Joe grades based on effort, and said that everyone was doing well in the class consistently. TAKE THIS CLASS--trust me.

Workload:
Very simple. You have a few short reading assignments and writing responses in the beginning of the semester. For your final, you submit one longer story and two instances of


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 13667
Submitted: 2010-05-25
Lisa Troy | NUT 101 - Human Nutrition | Nutrition

Review:
This is a large, lecture-style class that was at 8:05 in the morning. We used iClickers. Professor Troy was an OK lecturer, but there were constantly guest lecturers who weren't very good. No one really seemed to care about students' progress. THE TAS WERE THE WORST--especially Jessica Hoschstadt. She was consistently hostile when there was no reason to be. The material was interesting, but that was about it--I'd try and take it with a different professor, or at LEAST different TAs.

Workload:
Three tests, one awful diet analysis, and a final. Each worth 20%. I got an A, but I worked my ass off for it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 13662
Submitted: 2010-05-24
Richard Fey | EC162 - International Finance | Economics

Review:
Professor Fey is easily the worst professor I've had at Tufts. His teaching style primarily involves utilizing the power point slides from the textbook, but he rarely discusses more than 10 of the 50-80 per chapter, and many of them are shuffled through so quickly that students have no time to process or write down the information. The vast majority of class consisted of Professor Fey telling the class about his own predictions and ideas in economics, sometimes boasting. Told us that in the past he made students write a paper on one of his theories that turned out to be wrong. On several occasions, he explained a concept incorrectly and had to be corrected by students, after which he quickly changed the subject and brushed off his mistakes. Professor Fey certainly has done a lot of research in the fields of macroeconomics and international finance, but he couldn't care less about his students, and the course was lacking as a result of his apathy.

Workload:
No real workload whatsoever. 9 chapters to read, two quizzes (originally supposed to be five), a midterm worth 35% and a final worth 50%. As only a small minority of each chapter was discussed in class, the majority of exams and quizzes were on material that had to be self-taught No incentive whatsoever to come to class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 13541
Submitted: 2010-05-20
Justin Patch | MUS003 - Intro to World Music | Music

Review:
This class was definitely interesting, but is not an easy arts credit. Professor is great and is always willing to meet up with you to talk about class or even other stuff - he's a pretty cool guy!

Workload:
Somewhat straightforward assignments, talking to the professor helps. Relatively simple quizzes, but the papers were not easily graded. He expects profound thinking. If you take the time to do the work and show that you've put in effort (going to office hours, etc), you should get a grade in the A-range. If you're mediocre, expect a B.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 13543
Submitted: 2010-05-20
Aida Belansky | SPN004 - Intermediate Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Belansky is not an easy grader, but is very eager to help her students. She's kind and is always open for questions. Office hours are helpful. However, she does not teach well. If you don't have a strong Spanish background, do not take her. If you don't really need a great teacher and just like the time slot she's teaching in, take her.

Workload:
Lot of homework but it's rarely checked unless she warns you ahead of time. Tests are medium, not hard not easy. Just study and you'll be fine. Lots of assignments though! Hard grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 13178
Submitted: 2010-05-14
George Ellmore | BIO0118 - Plant Physiology | Biology

Review:
Professor Ellmore is absolutely hilarious and incredibly interesting. I originally took this course because I needed it for the major, but it was my favorite class all semester and one of the best classes I've taken in biology. Lectures are always interesting and Ellmore is always well-prepared for class. He really knows his material and gets you excited about plants, which says a LOT about how good the professor is.

Workload:
We only had 2 exams and a final. All exams were a very fair test of our mastery of the material, and I did well on all of them. He also scales grades if necessary. Definitely take this class!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 12833
Submitted: 2010-05-05
Stephan Pennington | MUS44 - History of Rock 'N' Roll | Music

Review:
I have never written a review of any professor in my two years at Tufts. However, after taking History of Rock 'N' Roll with Professor Pennington, I felt it necessary to comment. History of Rock 'N' Roll was, by far, the best class I have ever taken and the best professor I have ever had. Professor Pennington is extremely enthusiastic and really seems to love what he is teaching. The class is large, around 70 students, but he makes it seem as if he is talking directly to you and is constantly asking for class involvement. He is very welcoming and extremely approachable.

And, maybe it was just because the topic was so interesting, but I learned much more than I normally do in courses. If this class is taught by Prof. Pennington, it would be a shame to miss out on it.

Workload:
The work for every class was to read a selected chapter in a text book and listen to 6 songs about a certain genre. The class is graded on 2 short writing assignments, a mid-term paper, a mid-term exam, a final paper and a final exam. And all of the assignments are very interesting and not an annoyance to write. And the exams are directly based on lectures in class, so it is necessary to actually attend class. Although class was not mandatory to go to, I did not miss one (and I am a student who is prone to skipping multiple classes during a semester) because I enjoyed the class so much.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 12831
Submitted: 2010-05-04
Sheila Emerson | ENG135- Empire and Counterculture | English

Review:
One of the best English classes I've taken at Tufts. She's terribly eloquent and offers up provocative and challenging ideas (but isn't pedantic about it... open to disagreement). Made fascinating cross-disciplinary connections (science, art) with the texts and really changed the way I thought about British literature. Has a clear passion for the material and a deep concern for her students.

Workload:
Lots of reading but manageable if you keep up and don't try to do it all the night before. Weekly journal entries to be turned in at the end of the course in addition to a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 12827
Submitted: 2010-04-28
Justin Patch | MUS 3 - Music As Culture | Music

Review:
TAKE THIS CLASS!!! Prof. Patch is an engaging and passionate lecturer, and flat out one of the coolest professors I've had at Tufts. He is extremely down to earth and goes out of his way to update his material?one class he discussed the Grammies, Lady Gaga and Beyonce before getting into Traditional Indian Music.

He is also extremely approachable and eager to learn about his students. Go to his office hours to spend some time with an intelligent professor who can also be just a cool dude.

Workload:
About 30 pages of reading per night?some more dense/theoretical but most straightforward.
Three 2-4 page concert reports due at the end of the semester plus a longer final paper.
Prof. Patch will offer extra credit for attending faculty lectures and writing up a paper summarizing salient points and expanding upon them?take advantage of it!!!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 12826
Submitted: 2010-04-26
Dale Peterson | ENG001-Expository Writing | English

Review:
Dale is an extremely laid back professor. His motto for giving you an A on your essays is, "As long as you entertain me, you get an A". He loves creativity and clarity. He's available to his students. Class discussion does get awkward at times, since it's generally a small class and he doesn't encourage participation as much as he could. Great Professor!

Workload:
About 5 essays and one final research paper


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 12692
Submitted: 2010-04-22
Marie Gilette | French 3 | French

Review:
She was a great professor. She made my French 3 experience awesome. She is French herself, so that adds a valuable touch to learning the language - she's able to tell you what exactly the french say now or don't say any longer. Also, she is full of interesting anecdotes about France. She explained the concepts well and she makes you feel very comfortable. I would totally take French 4 with her was it being offered.

Workload:
Regular amount of work for a language for this level.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 12693
Submitted: 2010-04-22
Kris Manjapra | His 48: South Asia & the World | History

Review:
He's a great prof. and he is very helpful. although, he sometimes assumes a background in south asia on the part of the students - that can throw off some american students. i would take a class again with him. he has a really good dressing sense.

Workload:
50 pages of reading/week.
1 midterm, 1 quiz, 1 final and 1 book review


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 12695
Submitted: 2010-04-22
Indrani Bhattacharjee | Phil 001 - Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
She is a great prof, really funny, humorous and thoroughly well-versed in the subject matter. Although, she is not that good at conveying the concepts of the material that well, esp if you dont have a background in phil. will i take phil with her again? Probably not.

Workload:
3 papers, 2 short responses and about 50 pages/week reading.
not that bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 12696
Submitted: 2010-04-22
Priscilla Sneff | Eng 001 - Expository Writing | English

Review:
she was a good prof - used to come to class in a huff alot of the times. kind of a weird lady, but she knew her stuff about writing. critiqued my papers well. she was helpful and pretty flexible about deadlines if you had decent reasons.

Workload:
TOO MUCH WORK!
3 scenes, 1 research paper, 10 summaries/responses


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 12722
Submitted: 2010-04-22
Winifred Rothenberg | Economics of the British INdustrial Revolution | Economics

Review:
She knows a lot about the topic but presents all of the material in rambling, disconnected lectures so you have no idea really what is going on. She loves her students but the class is so incredibly tedious and poorly structured that her 'love' does not make up for it.

Workload:
10 page papers every couple weeks


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 12633
Submitted: 2010-04-20
Christopher McHugh | Monetary Economics | Economics

Review:
McHugh was the worst professor I have ever had at Tufts. It disappoints me that Tufts would extend a teacher job to such an unqualified individual. His lectures often had nothing to do with the assigned course work and he exhibited zero effort in explaining the material. Just an awful class.

Workload:
Pages in the textbook were assigned and problem sets were due every two weeks. His exams are 6 questions long, with 5 of the 6 questions referring to material that has nothing to do with the class. Only take this class if you are forced to. Beware.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 12519
Submitted: 2010-04-17
Dore Gardner | Foundations of Photography | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
Dore is good at teaching you how to use your camera/equipment, etc, and is very encouraging to beginners. She is a little eccentric, but overall I liked the class. She is helpful and knows her stuff, and I liked that she introduced us to a lot of photographers. She is very outspoken and blunt though, and often can be a little harsh during critiques. She gets very uptight when you miss class when there are student presentations going on, and doesn't like it when you miss class in general. The TA was a big help, and I think the class would have been impossible without an extra person there to help.

Workload:
This class is a lot of work. You have two three hour blocks per week, and depending on your efficiency, you may often need to go into the darkroom to work outside of class. There is one roll of film due per week and she is not very understanding about how busy student's schedules can be with other classwork, which was aggravating. We had Tuesdays were usually work days and Thursdays were critique days and when we received our new assignment. You are required to do a presentation on any photographer you choose, which isn't bad, its mostly just to introduce work of a photographer. The last month or so of the class is dedicated to your final project, which is 10ish prints of any subject you choose. We didnt have nearly enough time to finish this, however, and I had to come in a lot outside of class. I learned quite a bit, and I like photography a lot, so I enjoyed the process but I wouldn't take this class unless you are willing to put in the effort.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 12521
Submitted: 2010-04-17
Heather Urry | Psy 0032 | Psychology

Review:
Professor Urry is very fair and concerned with student's understanding and progress. She threw out 8 questions on our first exam because they were worded poorly, and offers quite a few opportunities for extra credit. However, no one would take this class if it weren't required for the major. The material is the most boring information in the world, and it is a lot of work. I would like to take a different class with her because I think it would be really good.

Workload:
About a chapter of reading per week, though I never read the material and buying the book was a waste of money (it is on reserve in the library if you really want to read it). One 2.5 hour lab section per week was annoying and a lot of work. We had two long, and very aggravating APA format papers that were written on the two studies we ran ourselves. The papers were graded harshly, but you get a chance for rewrites. The second study we had to design ourselves and had to run 60 participants ourselves outside of class, which was terrible. You have to make a poster that you present to the class at the end of the semester. There were two exams, but no final. I really hated this class


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 12491
Submitted: 2010-04-16
Laurel Hankins | ENG02 -- Conformity and Rebellion | English

Review:
Laurel clearly cares about the class and students. On the first day of class, she discussed the main object of the class: to make all of us great writers. While I had not written many papers before this class and was a little hesitant because of that, Laurel made the class and writing fun. We would read interesting articles on race, sexism, and we read Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon." We would write short papers on different material covered in class.

Class was definitely the best part of the class. We would face each other in a circle with one student assigned to lead class discussion on the homework readings. The discussions/debates always held my attention and I enjoyed participating in them. I learned a lot from them.

Laurel always comes to class organized and prepared. There are never any surprise assignments. GO to office hours and talk to her if you any questions about the class or how to improve your writing. She helped me improve my writing greatly and she gave interesting prompts that made the writing fun.

Workload:
The readings only take about 20 minutes. SOmetimes, we would post a Blackboard post that ony needed to be a couple of paragraphs. So, usually, only 2 hours of homework a week I would say for a class that meets only two days a week. We did have 4 papers (based off of homework readings/book) and 1 research paper (analyzing any media story we wanted). Papers were spread out well throughout the semester so we never felt overwhelmed. Laurel is a big fan of drafting so she would break up the writing process and have us bring a few rough drafts to class before we could submit our final draft. All in all, not bad in terms of workload at all. Most of the class is based upon paper grades, so unless you've already mastered the writing process, do not expect anything higher than a B+ on papers. But the grade is not the point, my writing and paper grades improved over the semester. Take this class if you can. Great teacher and great course material give this class an A in my book.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 12483
Submitted: 2010-04-15
Carl Beckman | ENG001- Expository Writing | English

Review:
I highly recommend taking a class with Beckman. He is VERY enthusiastic (animated even) and concerned with students' progress. He will spend over an hour with you talking about a particular paper (both before and after) if you need help and he grades very fairly.

Workload:
One or two short reading assignments (or films) with journal entries per week. Five papers per semester. Very manageable. Interactive writing workshops in class sometimes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 12429
Submitted: 2010-04-14
Richard Chechile | PSY0028 - Cognitive Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Chechile teaches very little real content regarding the subject instead he cites studies all class period, every class period and most of the studies are his own.

Chechile seems like a nice guy but his lecture style is disorganized, difficult to follow and he presents no visual aids (aside from writing Chechile et al (1989), etc on the board, apart from the occasional color pencil drawing on paper, or a rare transparency)

Workload:
There was no homework, but a fair amount of reading from a dry book. The readings ultimately have almost nothing to do with the class (although they will teach you more on the subject than he will) and the tests will barely ask questions based on them (if at all).

Grades consist of two 30 question exams asking about his own studies in detail and which were worth 80% of your grade together. 15% of your grade is a paper that does not feel worth it and 5% is based on a presentation you probably will not be given much time to prepare for.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 12373
Submitted: 2010-04-13
David Denby | Phil 024- Ethics | Philosophy

Review:
Denby is a great professor, funny engaging, but the popularity of the class is ultimately its downfall. In such a big class, discussion was nearly impossible with literally the same two students chiming in once in a while. Without discussion the class is straight lecture, which is fine, but not great for figuring your own ideas and views on the subjects.

Workload:
Not bad. Four short papers. Graded by the TA, who tend to be pretty accessible.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 12381
Submitted: 2010-04-13
Mauricio Gutierrez | MATH0038 - Differential Equations | Mathematics

Review:
TAKE THIS CLASS WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

In case that wasn't detailed enough, let me just say I literally learned nothing from the man. Not only were his lectures useless and notes confusing, he got nearly every example problem wrong. He used to berate students for asking simple questions, then make their questions harder because "anyone could do what you just asked." The class isn't horrible, but you end up teaching yourself everything. Oh and the book kindof sucks too.

Workload:
Typical for a math course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical Engineering


Review ID: 12383
Submitted: 2010-04-13
Marcie Hershman | Creative Writing | English

Review:
Marcie was awesome. This was by far my most enjoyable class at Tufts so far. It was a lot of fun. The class was actually one of the small ones that they lie to you about on tours. The professor promoted everyone in class knowing and befriending each other and was always available to talk about writing. She was a little bit of a hard ass but in a good way. I would definitely take another class with her. This was the only course I've taken in two years where the professor takes an interest in knowing the students. She gave great feedback on papers.

Workload:
Assignments could be difficult in that you had to let ideas come to you. A couple of longer stories (5 pages and 7 pages) were done at the end while several short 500 word stories were written in the beginning. Very few constraints on writing, you could be as creative as you wanted.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 12334
Submitted: 2010-04-12
Philip Starks | Bio 130 Animal Behavior | Biology

Review:
Professor Starks is one of the best professor I've ever had, although his class at 8:30am, I have yet to fall asleep during lecture, however is difficult to focus on the material at such an early time.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 12143
Submitted: 2010-04-07
Sergiy Kryatov | Chem0001 - Chem Fundamentals W/Lab | Chemistry

Review:
In terms of Chemistry Professors, Kryatov was pretty great. His lectures were clear and organized, and he printed lecture notes for his students. His tests were very clearly on the information covered in class, and while they were incredibly hard, he gives you a lot of study material prior. I enjoyed the class greatly, and he is entertaining and relatively funny, and intersperses simple chemical demonstrations in his classes. He does have a Ukrainian accent witch takes a little getting used to.

Workload:
This class has a lot of work, weekly paper and online problem sets along with weekly labs. All of the work is difficult but manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 12094
Submitted: 2010-04-04
Anne de Laire Mulgrew | SPN022 - Spanish Composition | Spanish

Review:
Anne has changed. Yes, she could have been bad in the past, but she is easily the best professor I've ever had. She is patient, friendly, concerned with students' opinions, and takes recommendations as to how to improve the class. She still grades tough, but let's be real: you are in spanish 22, you obliviously want to learn spanish, and she makes you learn.

Workload:
Short readings for every class. Movies, compositions, quizzes, etc. from time to time., Yes, it can be a hassle, but it really isn't that bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 12022
Submitted: 2010-04-01
George Norman | Principles of economics (ec0005) | Economics

Review:
If i could, i would take this class again. Norman made the class an absolute pleasure. He is completely honest about the material--he acknowledges the difficulty of the more complex concepts and is more than happy to spend the necessary time explaining them. He makes a class with an enrollment of 300+ students feel like a 20 person class. Not to mention, he is hilarious. I dont know anybody who took the class with him and had a bad experience. TAKE EC5 WITH GEORGE NORMAN, anybody else would not do it justice.

Workload:
The problem sets (about 5 total) are challenging but very reasonable. If you have a question ask a TA-thats what theyre there for. The exams are more challenging than the problem sets but completely fair. Also, Norman is happy to answer any questions you may have about an exam that was difficult for you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 11801
Submitted: 2010-03-23
John Hodgman | ELS 101 | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
Great class! Very knowledgeable professor and the three hour class is broken up by group presentations and speakers so it never gets too boring. Great overview of businesses.

Workload:
Not too bad. Reading and memo due almost every week but plenty of time to do it. Two quizzes that are open note and not bad at all. One final business plan presentation with a group that is a lot of work but not bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 11781
Submitted: 2010-03-21
Anne Gardulski | GEO 5 - Intro to Oceanography | Geology

Review:
Awesome professor. Very passionate about the Earth and its oceans, and has traveled the world in pursuit of this passion. It's a lot like a bio class in that you have to memorize a bunch of information, but the flip-side to that is the minimal amount of math.

Workload:
Pretty easy (5 or 6 homework assignments that took between 20 minutes to an hour) and a 6-page research paper that she guided us through. However, you had to study pretty hard for the midterm and final. Overall, I got a B+ without doing a terrible amount of work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 11764
Submitted: 2010-03-20
Jeffrey Zabel | EC 15 Econometrics | Economics

Review:
I think I made the best decision taking Econometrics with Professor Zabel. He is very passionate about Econometrics and thus is very concerned about his students' progress. His notes are very clear: he posts them online before class, so you can follow him while he goes over them in lecture. He will always ask if he needs to go over concepts, so if you don't understand something, he'll slow down.

We had to write a research paper in the end, but Professor Zabel had deadlines well before the paper was due, so you basically write the paper as you go along in the course. He is also very available in office hours, and will actually make you sign up for a time slot to go over the progress of your paper.
He can sound kind of dismissive at times, but that's because he can smell from miles away people bullshitting and going to his office hours just to get the answers and not actually understand the material. I can understand why for Statistics he may not be the best professor because he can be kind of intimidating, especially for freshmen.

He is your best option for Econometrics though, guaranteed.

Workload:
The work load is insane, but that's because it's econometrics. We were stuck every Thursday night in the computer lab doing problem sets on STATA. They take forever to finish, but again, that's the only way to understand econometrics.

Bottom line, I would recommend Professor Zabel.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 11679
Submitted: 2010-03-18
Kevin Irwin | CH002- Health Care in America | Community Health

Review:
Professor Irwin may not be the most thrilling lecturer, but that's largely due to the complicated subject of the US health care system. He's an incredibly nice guy and super approachable. He knows a lot about CH because he's had significant experience in the field. I wouldn't necessarily take this class if you're not a CH major (I think CH 1 is better for the general student), but it's a good class.

Workload:
The workload was doable. A small paper, a midterm, a debate, a policy memo, and a final. All of the assignments were short but required a good amount of thought and time. The midterm and final were very straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 11738
Submitted: 2010-03-18
Peter Winn | HIST002 Globalization | History

Review:
Wonderful professor, led gripping lectures and was keen to tie course material to current events. Course was well organized and overall enlightening, given how much material is covered in only one semester.

However, on a side note, he's a horrible advisor. Don't be seduced by his eloquence and knowledge, he's got a lot of shit to do. Look for somebody less brilliant but more available and sensitive to student's needs.

Workload:
Two short essays, a midterm and final paper each about 15 pages. Average IR workload. Tons of reading, but you can be selective with it and most of it was extremely interesting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 11656
Submitted: 2010-03-16
Dale Petterson | ENG001-Creative Writing | English

Review:
Dala Petterson is the most laid back professor you will have! His criteria on grading are, "As long as you entertain me, you get an A". He is very willing to help upon request, and also gives you specifics on what he wants you to include in your essay, making it even easier to get a great grade. His classes however are extremely boring, though he has a very (very) dry sense of humor. I would encourage everyone to try and take English 1 with Professor Petterson.

Workload:
About an essay due every week and a half. There's a total of 6 essays. The final one is a research paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 11584
Submitted: 2010-03-13
Daniel Richards | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Richards is a pretty bad professor. I would not say he's the worst, but his lectures are impossible to stay awake for and often go so far off topic that they are impossible to follow. His powerpoints are really complicated, and so are the problem sets. The test seems easy but is then graded really harshly. I would not recommend taking this class at all. Get EC5 done first semester.

Workload:
We did not have much work, but the book was really boring and the problem sets were really complicated.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 10624
Submitted: 2010-03-02
Gary Leupp | HIST 42 | History

Review:
Just remember when you take a course with Leupp, you're in for an interesting ride. He's very passionate about his classes, but it doesn't always shine through during class.

Utilize his office hours; it helps immensely when writing your research paper.

Workload:
Assignments were very straightforward. One midterm, one final and one research paper (10-12 pages). Not a harsh grader and very fair


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 10390
Submitted: 2010-02-25
Joseph Debold | PSY0055 | Psychology

Review:
Professor Debold definitely clearly explained all the material for the class. He made his powerpoints informative and interesting, but you definitely had to go to class to get a lot of the important information that was only addressed in the actual lecture. His tests were very fair and representative of the material, and he held helpful review sessions before each one. The issues with this class is that the people really determine the environment much more than he does, and if no one wants to ask questions and are generally quiet, then the class can be a little dull.

Workload:
There are 3 tests throughout the semester and a final during the finals week, but your lowest test score is dropped. You can opt not to take the final if you are happy with your grade as is. It was about 20 - 30 pages of text book reading a night, but there were a lot of pictures and it was really interesting so it goes pretty fast. Reading the text isn't essential because so much of it is covered in lecture, but giving it a once over before exams as a review was definitely helpful.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 10392
Submitted: 2010-02-25
Alex Frumosu | MATH013 | Mathematics

Review:
Prof Frumosu is the best teacher I have had at Tufts. Aside from being clear and very intelligent, he cares if the students actually understand what is going on. He made an otherwise difficult class relatively easy. He keeps the lectures interesting and has a dry sense of humor that can cause a whole class to laugh ridiculously. Sadly, I could not get him for dif eq. Alas.

Workload:
Standard math assignments, two midterms, one final. Make sure you do the homework.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 10033
Submitted: 2010-02-15
Brigitte Lane | FR 75- Classics of French Cinema | French

Review:
Prof. Lane is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the subject matter, but don't let that fool you, the class is horribly boring. Unless you are seriously passionate about french film i would stay far far away. The class is held in the depths of Olin where the sun doesn't shine and I had a horrible time trying to stay awake. The class is fairly large and everyone has to do one presentation a semester which takes up large chunks of the class, and as you might expect, these presentations aren't exactly thrilling.

Workload:
There wasn't too much work. We had a mid-term and final paper, a short presentation and some random reading responses. There's a movie shown each week but honestly you only need to see the ones you write a paper on.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 9940
Submitted: 2010-02-01
Susan Ostrander | Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Terrible professor. Obnoxious and not accepting of alternative views. Lectures are often painful to sit through.

Workload:
Manageable, but does not make up for how bad and obnoxious the professor is.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9938
Submitted: 2010-01-31
Robert Stolow | CHEM051 ORGO | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Stolow is perhaps the most caring and conscientious educator I have encountered in my 9 years aa GRADUATE STUDENT AT tUFTS. hIS SUPERB TUTELAGE ENABLED ME TO COME CLOSE TO PASSING MY ORALS 4 TIMES AND TO COME REASONABLY CLOSE TWO OTHER TIMES. i RESPECT AND ADMIRE THE CONSISTENCY WITH WHICH HE HAS OFFERED ADIVCE AND TUTORING THAT HAS ENABLED ME TO COME SO CLOSE. i HAVE RELIED ENTIRELY ON HIS EXPERTISE AND UNIQUE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE COMPLEX concepts WITH ALMOST CLEAR EXPLANATION AND SOMETIMES ADEQUATE INFORMAION FOR ME TO EXCEL , MORE OR LESS. i THOUGHT THE SESSIONS IN WHICH mR. mACgREGOR PLAYTED A LEADING ROLE WERE ESPECIALLY ENGAGING AND ENLIGHTENING. PROFESSOR STOLOW IS ESPECIALL ADEPT AT DRAWING COLORFUL DIAGRAMS OF COMPLEX COMPOUNDS AND CONVEYING THEM IN THEIR CULTURAL CONTEXT. i pERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE WILL BE IMPORTANT TO OUR NATION'S FUTURE AND THEREFORE i INTEND TO TAKE HIS CLASS AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL i COME CLOSE TO MASTERING THE MATERIAL.

Workload:
i ENJOYED pROFESSOR STOLOW' PROBLET SETS SO MUCH THAT i WOULD HAVE CHOCEN TO DO THEM MULTIPLE TIMES EVEN IF I HAD NOT BE REQUIRED TO DO SO, BECAUSE i FAILED SO MISERABLY. i ESPECIALLY LIKED THE DOT TO DOT AND THE WORD SEARCH. THE READING LOAD WAS REASONABLE THOUGH I THINK REQUIRING MORE THAN ONE DOCTOR SEUSS PER WEEK IS A BIT MUCH.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 9911
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Silvia Monteleone-Wasson | 21B Comp & Conv I | Italian

Review:
She is really nice, but not very proactive as a teacher. She tends not to call on particular people but look around and expect students to offer answers, receiving awkward silence when they don't and not quite knowing how to engage them. But I generally liked her and would like to have her again. She is accommodating to students who arrive late to class and it helps that she is a native Italian.

Workload:
Assignments were not overwhelming and very straightforward. We went over the material that we had been assigned in class; if anything the class was taught too much from the book.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9912
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Jeff McConnell | Phil 01-004 Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
Professor McConnell can be a monotonous lecturer, and it wasn't out of the ordinary for many people to fall asleep during class. However, if you do stay awake during class he gives you necessary information to understand the material you have to read. The movies for the film section as a whole are awesome to watch. He provides a great range of movies in terms of time span, ranging all the way from Psycho, to Memento. He's definitely willing to help if you are willing to go into office hours and ask questions. But, if your looking for an upbeat, wildly interesting professor, he's not for you.

Workload:
There's one or two readings assigned a week, very very do-able amount of work. 4 essays over the semester, each 5-7 pages. A pretty average amount of work I would say.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9913
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Marilyn Levin | Painting: Foundation | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
I got a bad vibe from her in the beginning of the semester, but it is obvious that she knows a lot about art and she can be helpful in giving tips on improving a painting. Her grading, however, doesn't seem to have any basis, and it is hard to tell how you are getting along in class, as least from her standpoint.

Workload:
There weren't really outside of class assignments, except one presentation we each had to do on a particular artist. In class we started out with some basic assignments - painting bottles and an apple - and then dove right into figure painting for most of the semester. I've never painted with oils before, but I felt like the class really helped me develop some skill.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9914
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Susan Crockin | The Law, Reproductive Rights, and New Technologies | Experimental College

Review:
The course material is very interesting and up to date, but if your not interested in reproductive technologies this class is not for you. The professor's tend to be pretty helpful, although essay grades aren't super easy to understand. She definitely involves the students in class, there are many debates throughout the semester. The professor wasn't incredibly available because she doesn't actually work at tufts.

Workload:
The workload is absolutely absurd for an experimental college. 70-100 pages of legal reading a week. Very hard to complete in the time span allotted just because of how dry it can be. 3 essays over the course of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9915
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Joseph Noonan | EN003501 History of Radio Technology | Engineering - Introductory

Review:
I am not an engineering student, and I did not realize what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this class, but Professor Noonan encouraged me to come and see him for help and always made himself available. He is very knowledgeable, and was very excited about the material and concerned about the progress of his students. I definitely would not have gotten through this course with a less enthusiatic teacher.

Workload:
We were assigned several chapters to read over a period of a few weeks, which wasn't too bad, but the book didn't correlate very well to what we discussed in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9916
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Dora Older | Spanish 3 | Spanish

Review:
Dora Older is the best professor I have had at Tufts. She cares so much about her students and is a great professor. If you go into office hours she is incredibly helpful, and is very insistent on helping her students learn. She is incredibly fair in her grading, and is very flexible about late assignments and personal conflicts. She brought candy for the class almost every day. The class is very conversation driven, so speaking skills are definitely improved. I would take spanish with her for the rest of my spanish career... unfortunately she stops at Spanish 3.

Workload:
The workload is incredibly do-able. Keep up on the workbook and you should be completely fine. Tests are fair, and accurate to the material you should be learning from the books and the lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9917
Submitted: 2010-01-22
George Norman | EC0005 Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Norman was a great lecturer - he knows a lot about Economics and always made his powerpoints interesting and engaging. I would definitely recommend taking this course with him!

Workload:
There were four problem sets throughout the course. The book is pretty straightforward if you follow along in it, but he also posts all of the slides on blackboard, and owards the end of the course he actually cautions against following the book in lieu of what he teaches in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9918
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Paul Joseph | PJS 000101 - Intro Peace/Justice Studies | Peace & Justice Studies

Review:
I liked Professor Joseph a lot. He was very nice and always prepared for class; he often showed interesting videos or discussed something current relevant to what we were learning. I felt like I got a lot out of the class, and would definitely want to take another class with him if I was to take something in the Peace and Justice Studies department again.

Workload:
We had a few 8 page essays throughout the course that made up our grade, which he graded very fairly, along with the final, for which he offered the option of writing two 6 page papers. There is a lot of outside reading as well, which some students deem unnecessary and don't do, but personally I think if you take this class you should get all you can out of it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9919
Submitted: 2010-01-22
Jeff McConnell | PHL000104 - Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
McConnell seems to know a lot about the material, but is not entirely tolerant of alternate views, much less than I expected a philosophy professor to be. His class can be very engaging - it's almost entirely discussion based.

Workload:
We had about three papers to write. McConnell was lenient about assigning them, but very slow to grade them and get them back to us.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9908
Submitted: 2010-01-19
Carla Mastraccio | Freshmen Writing Seminar 1 | English

Review:
Professor Mastraccio is a great teacher and is very enthusiastic about her work. She is very inviting to new ideas and class discussion. However, I worked very hard on papers and submitted many drafts of essays to ensure that I was successful in the class and I found it hard to achieve the grade that I wanted. Her grading isn't that bad but I warn pre-med who are looking for the "A" that it might be difficult to obtain.

Workload:
Workload isn't bad at all. 5 papers in total. 1 research paper and blackboard assignments on class readings and discussions. Grades mostly based off of essays.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 9910
Submitted: 2010-01-19
Peter Probst | Contemporary Arts of Africa | History of Art

Review:
Professor Probst is wonderful, truly wonderful. His class was so interesting and I didn't even know I would find it interesting! I went to every class without question simply because going was such a delight. He is sweet, interested in his student's progress, takes their comments and points of view to heart and is always available to discuss anything. He is a warm, kind man and wonderful professor. Take this class!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 9907
Submitted: 2010-01-18
Jeanne Penvenne | HIST91 - Foundation Seminar: Seeking Gendered Perspectives, Africa | History

Review:
Professor Penvenne knows how to teach.

Workload:
Moderate load of weekly readings for class discussions plus individual projects.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 9905
Submitted: 2010-01-17
Hugh Gallagher | Physics 12 | Physics

Review:
Professor Gallagher was one of the best teachers I have ever had at Tufts! His clear Powerpoint presentations coupled with occasional iClicker multiple choice questions he addressed to the class really made electricity and magnetism interesting and clarified many of the difficult concepts. He changed the format of the course, especially with respect to labs and recitations. We no longer had to write lab reports; all the data analysis was done in the lab section itself (a huge plus!), and rather than reviewing homework problems, the recitation consisted of additional practice problems (it was also mandatory!). Personally, I found that the additional problems helped, but attending the section was, for the most part, a waste of time. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the course itself, no doubt due to Gallagher's enthusiasm and teaching style.

Workload:
There were 12 weekly problem sets, each of which consisted of 10 online problems and 2 written problems. You could always count on one of the written problems to require some difficult calculus, but he would usually go over it in class anyway. There are 2 midterms, each consisting of 10 multiple choice questions and 2 long problems, and a final containing 20 multiple choice questions and 5 problems. At first glance, 5 points per multiple choice question (all or nothing) seemed a little unfair, but if you pay attention in class (study his powerpoint lectures) and know how to approach the practice multiple choice questions, you will do fine. I found the midterms to be a little on the easy side (especially considering the material and the difficulty of the homework); the final was a little harder, only because some of the questions tested multiple concepts (for example, one of the questions involved displaying simple harmonic motion for a system exposed to an electric field), but it was not that difficult. There was never a question that went above and beyond what we had seen before. As long as you do all the work, it should not be that difficult to do well in the class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 9906
Submitted: 2010-01-17
Robert Dewald | Chemistry 11 | Chemistry

Review:
Most of the reviews and talk you will hear from people will tell you to steer well away from Professor Dewald's class, and I can see why. First off, he is the definition of "old-school"; since he does not bother with computers, his lectures are all written on the chalkboard. Sometimes, he has the annoying habit of filling all the boards with notes before class, forcing you to copy like crazy while he skitters through the material. And skitters he does; Dewald is definitely not a clear lecturer and does not do the best job explaining basic concepts, and while you do not have to take AP chemistry beforehand, it really helps to have some background just to keep on track with him. That being said, his notes are comprehensive and well-written, so it's not a total loss if you do not understand him during lecture. Much of your learning however will come from the problem sets. The key to doing well in Dewald's class is to know how to approach the problems on your problem sets and the previous years' problem sets (which he has on Blackboard) as well as old exams. Many times, they are tedious and somewhat difficult, but the end result will pay off once you do well on the exams. The TA is an excellent resource for help on any of the problem sets; I frequently emailed him for help, and he responded, sometimes within minutes. Definitely take advantage of that. Also, while I myself never did it, I heard that Dewald is very approachable and helpful outside of lecture. Ultimately, how well you do in the class depends on the effort you put in, which is exactly what Dewald's "old-school" philosophy is.
Outside of the course, Dewald is actually a really friendly person and has a wonderful tendency of jumping off track to talk about his years in the military, ending with a tirade about the corruption of West Point cadets and the government. His anecdotes are always humorous and really sometimes make the 8:05 AM class that much more bearable. The lab portion of the course is easy; labs usually took 1- 1 ? hours, and the write-ups were straightforward, if not tedious, and were graded easily. I wish the easy grading would have translated over to the problem sets, but homework is not worth that much. Finally, once a week, we have a guest lecturer from the Chemistry department come to talk about his/her research; some are genuinely interesting and inspiring, while others come across as boring due to the fact that much of the material goes over our heads. Still, it does give you an idea of what a Chemistry career might entail.
Overall, the course is challenging, mainly due to the difficulty of the problems and Dewald's inability to explain the concepts clearly. However, these issues can be remedied by seeking help with the TA and Dewald outside of class and working on old problem sets and exams. While Dewald was not the ideal lecturer, he still made some of the lectures fun and gave me a quote that will define my standard of excellence: "Close enough for Tufts" He is also really lax about due dates for problem sets as well as grading; you can usually get some points back for a problem if you go to Dewald and demonstrate that you know how to approach the problem. I guess he's been teaching so many years that he does not really care that much anymore...

Ultimately, if you enjoy Chemistry enough to devote a lot of time outside of class, I would say go for it. The problems definitely are challenging enough to teach you valuable problem-solving skills, and the seminars can give you possible undergraduate research opportunities. As long as you know what to expect from the class beforehand, you should not have too much of a problem with it.

Workload:
-11 Problem Sets, most of which were due every week. They start out simple (1-2 hours) but gradually get more and more difficult and lengthy (I spent 5-6 hours on the last problem set!). Try to start in advance so you don?t kill yourself the night before.
-10 labs and 8 lab write-ups, which can take anywhere from an hour to three hours. Overall, the reports serve just as an exercise in tedium.
-3 exams, which have the pleasure of starting at 7:00 AM? These consist of six multi-part problems and one long conceptual part (consisting of questions from his lecture). Generally, the exams are not very difficult as long as you have looked at all the problem sets and old exams and know how to approach each problem.
-1 final. He changed the format to 40 multiple choice questions and 5 multi-part problems. Some of the multiple choice questions were really specific and tested nitpicky points in the notes. Read and re-read the notes if you want to ace this section. If you get an A in the final, you get an A in the class, regardless.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 9904
Submitted: 2010-01-14
Ken Urban | DR-0147 - Playwriting 1 | Drama

Review:
Pr. Urban seems to know everything about everything in the playwriting world. He's smart, funny, and isn't afraid to critique you. His critiques are never mean spirited or excessive-rather, they're always focused on making the play better. This was a great class.

Workload:
There's very little work. Over the whole semester, one writes four two-page essays (assigned two at a time), two one-minute plays, a two-minute play, and a ten-minute play. For reading, he assigns a handful of ten-minute plays to read over the course of the year. None of the work takes very much time at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9894
Submitted: 2010-01-12
Edith Balbach | CH001- Intro to Community Health | Community Health

Review:
This was a wonderful intro level class. Coming into the class I really knew nothing about community health, and now, after taking this class I am seriously considering majoring in it. Professor Balbach teaches in an incredibly clear manner, making sure everyone in the 200 person class understands what she is saying before moving on to the next slide or topic. She manages to be really funny and engaging despite the size of the class. She is always willing to chat after class or during her office hours. While the material is not terribly hard, many of the assignment are graded toughly.

Workload:
The material is pretty straightforward. There was never that much reading-- some nights it was only half an hour of reading, and others up to an hour, but rarely more than that. Pay close attention to the readings though, she takes a lot of her nit-picky exam questions from them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9895
Submitted: 2010-01-12
Edith Balbach | CH001- Intro to Community Health | Community Health

Review:
This was a wonderful intro level class. Coming into the class I really knew nothing about community health, and now, after taking this class I am seriously considering majoring in it. Professor Balbach teaches in an incredibly clear manner, making sure everyone in the 200 person class understands what she is saying before moving on to the next slide or topic. She manages to be really funny and engaging despite the size of the class. She is always willing to chat after class or during her office hours. While the material is not terribly hard, many of the assignment are graded toughly.

Workload:
The material is pretty straightforward. There was never that much reading-- some nights it was only half an hour of reading, and others up to an hour, but rarely more than that. Pay close attention to the readings though, she takes a lot of her nit-picky exam questions from them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9896
Submitted: 2010-01-12
George Norman | EC005- Principles in Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Norman is hilarious! He is a great teacher. He takes the time to make sure everyone in the huge 300 person class understands each slide. He keeps tabs on everyone's understanding of the material by using the Clickers to have the class answer multiple choice questions during lecture. He is very clear in lecture and helpful when you ask questions. He promptly responds to any questions via e-mail if you are confused about the material.

Workload:
There was not too much work. You really don't have to do the textbook reading-- just know the slides and problems sets and you will be fine. There were four problem sets and three exams, all non-cumulative.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9897
Submitted: 2010-01-12
Ina Baghdiantz McCabe | HIST005- History of Consumption | History

Review:
This class started off a bit slowly with rather dry readings about China and the Ottoman Empire, but by the end of the semester the material became really interesting and relevant. Professor McCabe is a very sweet, helpful woman, though her lectures can be rather scattered. The class met twice a week, one day we would watch movies (when the projector functioned, which was pretty rarely) and the other day would half be spent listening to Professor McCabe lecture and the other half listening to students present summaries of the readings.

Workload:
There was about 200 pages of reading a week, but most of it can be skimmed. There are two generously graded take-home exams and one in-class presentation.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9898
Submitted: 2010-01-12
Viola Thomas | FR0022XA- COMP/CONV II POLITIQUES ECON & SOC | French

Review:
Viola Thomas is a very sweet, helpful woman. I did not learn much of anything new in her class, but it was a good chance to practice my French and read a few good books. Professor Thomas is always willing to meet with students outside of class. There is not much structure to the class so she is generally willing to let students discuss random topics freely during class.

Workload:
There are daily assignments, but never anything too tough. There are about five written papers, but she grants students a re-write of each of them. There are three non-cumulative exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9887
Submitted: 2010-01-11
Davifd Art | Intro to Comparative Politics | Political Science

Review:
This course is difficult, but after it's over you really feel like you've learned a lot. Professor Art is definitely passionate about what he teaches. He packs a lot of information into his lectures, but they're extremely organized and easy to follow. Every once in a while, he pulls up an interesting website to ease the dryness of lecture material. In general, he's a very interesting guy to listen to.

He really encourages class participation and there were a few heated debates over the course of the semester. He does have office hours, but I didn't get the feeling that he was particularly available for help. His TA Irina (who is amazing and extremely helpful) was more of the go-to person. He gives you everything you need to do well in the course, but didn't seem overly concerned about whether people were doing well or not.

That said, if you do all the reading, go to lecture and recitation (not mandatory, but do it), and study hard, you can definitely do well.

Workload:
There is a TON of (very dense) reading and almost all of it is necessary to do well in the course. Quizzes and exams are all essays based on the reading. There are 3 quizzes, a midterm, and a final. After the first quiz, they really just keep rolling. You have to put in serious studying to get a good grade. There's also one ten page paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9888
Submitted: 2010-01-11
Jeanne Penvenne | HIST 14 | History

Review:
Professor Penvenne is very passionate about her subject, and expects everyone else to be passionate about it too. She's very straightforward; you know right from the beginning everything that's expected of you. Her lectures are are kind of difficult to follow. There is so much information to absorb and she keeps switching from transparency to transparency, which makes it easy to get lost. Lectures are extremely important, though. Basically 50% of each test is lecture-based.

Overall, she's not too harsh of a grader. She clearly wants everyone to do well and she's very available for help. You can always email her if you have a question before a test and she does review sessions before each exam.

Workload:
There are 5 "antes," short essays about the books you read and 3 exams that are all the same format and worth the same amount (no huge final). The antes aren't too hard once you know what she's looking for, but it takes one or two tries to figure that out. Even then,they take some thought. There is a TON of reading; it's practically impossible to do all of it. But you can get away with not reading it all. The tests aren't hard if you prepare for them, but they take an enormous amount of preparation and you need to have taken good notes all semester long. Each exam has is half identifications, where you explain who or what, give dates, and explain the significance of a term or name. There are 12 terms on the exam (out of about 200 possibilities)and you answer 5. The other half is an essay, which you can prepare beforehand (a big help, but still not totally easy). I'd say the workload is a bit above average but not too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9889
Submitted: 2010-01-11
Adele Oppenheim | SPN 1 - Elementary Spanish 1 | Spanish

Review:
Professor Oppenheim is a friendly, helpful, and effective Spanish teacher. She's very straightforward and follows the syllabus to the letter, so you always know what you're in for. She's very clear and tries to make sure everyone understands. She also does some funny activities to help liven class up once in a while. She's a pretty lenient grader. As long as you do the homework and put in a little bit of effort studying for the exams, you'll do well.

Workload:
Not bad at all. There were 4 short compositions, 5 exams, an oral exam, and a skit. None of them were too difficult. She gives you a review sheet for each exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9891
Submitted: 2010-01-11
George Norman | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Norman is amazing--definitely the best professor I've had at Tufts so far. He is so, so nice. He a great teacher; the material could have been confusing but he taught it so clearly and thoroughly that it wasn't hard to understand at all. His lectures are clear and he will go over things again if someone doesn't understand. He also makes jokes throughout class to keep everyone entertained. You don't need to read the textbook, just know what he teaches in class.

Workload:
Fairly light. There are 4 problem sets, which aren't too long, 2 midterms and a final. The problem sets and exams are straightforward and the TAs are really helpful.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9892
Submitted: 2010-01-11
Neil Miller | Eng 10-Nonfiction Writing | English

Review:
Great professor and great class. Your writing will improve a lot. Many of the assigned writing pieces are fun and interesting.

Workload:
Typical workload for Tufts. 5-page paper due every other week and revisions to those papers due after. Weekly short readings.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 9883
Submitted: 2010-01-05
Anne de Laire Mulgrew | SPN021 - Composition and Conversation I | Spanish

Review:
I agree with the other reviewer. She grades extremely hard and subjectively on writing assignments. And she speaks a surprising amount of English in a course geared for learning SPANISH. My conversational skills did NOT improve at all. I felt that she was unenthusiastic about the course material and about the students. I guess my grammar improved a bit, but not much. She is usually not available after class and a few times she brought her children to class. She tried to ask the class what she could do to improve, but I don't think that she changed anything in her teaching/grading style.
I love Spanish, but her class made learning un-enjoyable.

Workload:
Lots of reading---she followed the syllabus, or at least tried to. There usually wasn't enough time to finish anything in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 9882
Submitted: 2010-01-03
Annie Geoghegan | French 21 and 22 | French

Review:
She's fine- kind of high strung, but you get used to how fast she speaks really quickly and it helps with your listening skills anyways. I think she's loosened up a bit since the other reviews were posted. I learned a lot of grammar really well, and I think my speaking improved, too.

Workload:
a lot of work, but it's really interesting stuff that you'll be able to talk to people about if you want to seem impressive.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 9878
Submitted: 2009-12-30
Ron Lasser | ES003 - Introduction to Electrical Systems | Engineering Science

Review:
This is the first real electrical engineering class. You get a lot of good practice with circuits and various types (RC/RL, high/low pass filters, etc). Over the course of the semester, not a whole lot of material is covered. Really the same principles just get applied to different types of circuits. Here you start to see the application of differential equations, but you never have to rely on it. The labs usually last at least an hour, and the TAs are okay at helping. For engineers that have to take ES 3, DEFINITELY take it with Lasser. He is by far the best for this class.

Workload:
ES 3 usually has problems due once every week, but Lasser breaks it up into just a couple problems every class (which is much better). Sometimes the homework takes 2 minutes, other times an hour. If he doesn't go over the homework material in class, you are not responsible for the homework, but it's unclear when this actually happens. MATLAB assignments due about every other week or so. He does a good introduction at the beginning of the semester on this, but it's never really taught in depth (they should teach this in ES 2 instead of MathCAD). Labs due every other week which definitely take a while. Speaker project due at the end of the semester accompanied with a writeup certainly requires advance planning. It's not difficult, just takes a lot of work. Lasser gives 3 term exams, none of which are technically cumulative but you utilize previous material. The exams are really easy if you keep up with all the work as it is assigned. Overall, this class has quite a bit of work, but it is completely manageable if you break it up.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 9880
Submitted: 2009-12-30
Lewis Edgers | ES005 - Intro to Mechanics: Statics & Dynamics | Engineering Science

Review:
Classes were extremely helpful and Edgers is a pretty good professor. Usually he would answer any questions about the homework, even going over most of the problem before it was turned in. Next was a PowerPoint presentation that he usually breezed through in order to get to practice problems. The PPTs are good for general principles but it's great to go over in problems during class that can help with the homework. Going over things in the book is also helpful, especially the practice problems in there (they tend to be the same that he uses in class). If you have the choice of getting Mastering Engineering, do NOT get it. It was nice to have the eBook and do the homework online, but that's all there was. It's definitely not worth the extra money.

Workload:
A couple problems due every class. Sometimes they take just half an hour, sometimes they take 2 hours. Some of it depends on the material being covered. Labs and quizzes about every week or so, very straightforward and can really help your grade. 2 term exams and 1 final. The term exams were pretty easy, but the final was a real challenge.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 9874
Submitted: 2009-12-28
Justin Patch | Mus 5- Music as Culture | Music

Review:
Do NOT take this class if you are looking for an easy arts credit. The professor is good but the course material is absolute bullshit. For an introductory class there is way too much work: midterm, final, 3 response papers, 2 other "soundscape" papers, a concert report, and a final research paper. Lots of reading also. Biggest regret of my academic career.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 9868
Submitted: 2009-12-23
Bruce Boghosian | MATH022 - Discrete Mathematics | Mathematics

Review:
Class met twice a week for 75 minutes each. This made it very difficult to get through lectures on VERY dense material, which was often. Some classes consisted of just learning how to prove various theorems. Professor Boghosian does his best to make it interesting and applicable. Very accessible through office hours, which would help with the homework. This class is actually beneficial for COMP 15 (Data Structures) so consider taking it close to that.

Workload:
Homework due about once a week. Very important that you start ahead of time to ask questions in class. Some assignments were particularly lengthy and extremely challenging. Only certain problems from each homework are graded for points, and there's not way of telling which ones. Exams are a piece of cake compared to homeworks. 1 midterm and 1 final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 9867
Submitted: 2009-12-22
Beatrice Manz | HIST0197-Religion and Law in Islamic History | History

Review:
This seminar was very discussion-based with lots of reading. Material was very interested and Professor Manz encouraged a very comprehensive and lively class discussion. I learned about Western legal tradition as well as the development of Islamic law and the different stages of Islamic history.

Workload:
Reading response papers were assigned every week, but they only had to be 1-2 pages per question. There is a 25-30 page research paper which is challenging, but Professor Manz asks for drafts before the final due date which helps to smooth out the paper writing process and give each student some feedback on the direction of their paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9862
Submitted: 2009-12-21
Mark Gosztyla | ENG006 - Creative Writing: Poetry | English

Review:
Mark was incredibly friendly and helpful during poetry workshops, though of course that varies depending on your outlook on poetry. The class meets once a week and the assignments basically consisted of reading ~10 poems, reading a short essay/article, writing comments on your classmates' poems, and writing your own poem each week. Overall I really enjoyed the course and it's a pretty easy arts credit if that's what you're looking for.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 9864
Submitted: 2009-12-21
Erik Dopman | BIO143 - Evolutionary Ecology | Biology

Review:
The lectures were just Powerpoints with information taken right out of the book, graphs and everything. The material was not well presented. I found that the "class discussions" were too hypothetical given that it's a science course, and didn't add much to my knowledge of the subject. There were two problem sets, one midterm, an oral presentation, a literature report, and a take home final (which averaged over ten pages of solid writing). Everyone did pretty badly on the midterm.

The course was taught by Colin Orians and Erik Dopman, both of whom were nice and very easy to reach. The course is fairly new and they seemed genuinely interested in improving it.

Workload:
One chapter covered each lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 9853
Submitted: 2009-12-19
Edith Balbach | CH001 - Introduction to Community Health | Community Health

Review:
A really great class! Very Interesting material that you wouldn't necessarily learn about in other areas. The Professor is extremely enthusiastic - especially when she delves into her field of study, anti-tobacco research - and is always amenable to talk to students. The class started with theories on public health and later dealt with tobacco laws/smoking's societal effects, the growing rates of obesity, and then the uncertainty of environmental health. Definitely take this class with Professor Balbach while at Tufts.

Workload:
Not a whole lot of reading. There was no textbook but readings were posted on Blackboard weekly. We had to read three books: The Tipping Point, Mountains beyond Mountains, and excepts of When Smoke Ran Like Water. Manageable amount of work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9854
Submitted: 2009-12-19
Mudhumita Roy | ENG45 - Nonwestern Women Writers | English

Review:
A passionate teacher and interesting readings. Professor Roy is quite a character; she would often tell the class random anecdotes or come in a few minutes late to grab a cup of coffee. Overall, she was always concerned with student progress and made sure that every student had the opportunity to speak his/her mind on the novel or topic of discussion. We ended up reading 12 books ranging from a graphic novel to obscure Middle Eastern literature. I loved the material and Professor Roy always gave us some historical background on the novels to add context.

Workload:
Completely manageable. We read 1 book/week that would range from 150-350 pages. Two 5-page papers and one midterm. No Final!!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9855
Submitted: 2009-12-19
Deborah Schildkraut | PS11 - Introduction to American Politics | Political Science

Review:
Interesting material! We covered topics ranging from Interest Groups to Civil Rights to Campaign Finance. The presentations were always very informative and, for me, contained everything I wanted to know/didn't understand in American Politics. Also, the readings were always worthwhile and enjoyable. The "Lanahan" reader was especially interesting - I will be keeping it after the class!

The Professor is excellent. She is very open/welcome to have students talk to her in office hours or after class. She does a great job responding to students and often send out current news articles relating to the material in class.

Workload:
Manageable. There was midterm and a final, a 10-page research paper, and a 5 page paper, and class participation. There was a lot of reading from week to week, but a lot of the reading is extraneous.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9512
Submitted: 2009-12-18
Dore Gardner | FAM064 - Photo: Foundation | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
Dore is amazing! I'm so glad I took photo with her. She's very caring and definitely becomes involved with her students as individuals. Her apparent absent-mindedness provides amusement, but when it comes down to it she provides really valid feedback.

Workload:
6 hours a week of class time, and you'll definitely need to spend time in the darkroom outside of class. A few small assignments at the beginning, one presentation on a photographer, and a final portfolio/project that you'll work on during the second half of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 9510
Submitted: 2009-12-17
Robert Stolow | Chem 51 - Organic Chemistry | Chemistry

Review:
Stolow is the worst professor I have ever had. An unnecessarily harsh grader, an awful lecturer, and I always left class feeling like I un-learned what I had read the night before. I could not recommend more strongly that no one take this class with Stolow.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 9511
Submitted: 2009-12-17
Boris Hasselblatt | MATH038 - Differential Equations | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Hasselblatt is a great professor. He has a vast and clear knowledge of differential equations. At times, he can speak somewhat softly so it might be hard to hear, but I was always able to hear him in a class of 40+.

Course material is not too bad, certainly much easier than Calculus II. The 3 midterm exams break up the material well so that it is easy to focus only on specific material.

Workload:
Homework due every class from the book, standard for any math class. Some assignments can be particularly long, but nothing that isn't manageable. Plus the homework earns you an extra 4 points on your grade at the end of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 9502
Submitted: 2009-12-12
Vincent Pollina | FR 191-A | French

Review:
Pollina is very concerned with student's progress and does not lack enthusiasm for the course, but his intolerance of alternative views and lack of individual student encouragement made this course extremely difficult. If you do not have a background or point of reference for this material, it is inevitable that Pollina will make it difficult for you in class as you are banned from using secondary and tertiary resources. I would not enroll in another class with this professor.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Modern Languages


Review ID: 9485
Submitted: 2009-12-09
Rosemary Taylor | SOC/CH 108- Epidemics: Plagues and Peoples | Community Health

Review:
Rosemary Taylor is perhaps the worst professor at Tufts. She has no concern for her student's progress and often suggests you drop her class if you are slightly confused. She seems enthusiastic about the course material but not the course itself. She seems disinterested when she is lecturing (for 75 minutes straight) and rarely asks questions of the class. She is disengaging throughout the entire class period. She often cancels her office hours and I would never take another class with her.

Workload:
I didn't receive a single grade for her class because they only thing that we had was the midterm exam. It took the entire semester to get the midterms back to us. It was after the final by the time she returned our midterms/1 grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9473
Submitted: 2009-12-06
David Sloane | RUS065-Dostoevsky | Russian

Review:
I freaking love this Prof.. His classes are small; he loves what he teaches; he's very approachable as a human being; he cares about his students; he actually reads your papers, types up insightful comments on them and will even sit down and have an in depth discussion with you one on one. I've taken classes with robots and zombies before, and this guy is 100% H. s. sapien. Even if you hate reading 12 million page novels, you should give this class and any other that he teaches a whirl - it's worth the human experience alone. I enjoyed just popping in now and again for a chat with the dude - and I'm a complete loon - and I don't mean that I'm a bird either. Sometimes he can be a bit dry in the class room setting - although you have to admit it must be difficult to stand and lecture for two hours at a whack on material you've been teaching since Pushkin was sent into exile in southern Russia. So what, he more than makes up for it during office hours and unscheduled visits that turn into coffee or lunch, and eventually you figure out that this guy is probably one of the best damned professors at Tufts. I give him an A plus - great guy.

Workload:
Heavy reading - but the books are masterpieces - buck it up and realize that you're there to learn, and hopefully enjoy the reading too. Normally three papers a semester; 6-10 pages in length.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Interdisciplinary


Review ID: 9472
Submitted: 2009-12-05
Gerard Gasarian | Baudelaire and his readers, FR32-readings of french nature | French

Review:
He is the most amazing Professor in the French department. Great sense of humor, wonderful interactions with students and extremely helpful when it comes to development of his students. Makes himself available outside of class and is overall a wonderful human being. I will take the opportunity to take any class I can with him.

Workload:
The workload is reasonable. Assigments are understandable, the reading is great and if you don't understand it he will go out of his way to make sure that you do.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 9467
Submitted: 2009-12-02
Dora older | SPN 003 | Spanish

Review:
I took this class and put up with having Spanish early on Fridays because I read rave reviews about Professor Older. Unfortunately, I would not recommend taking spanish with her. She is not concerned with her students progress and gets very frustrated when you don't understand something. She comes off as rude and inconsiderate when answering simple questions. If you are going to take Spanish 3 I would recommend taking it with another teacher who is more understanding towards their students.

Workload:
three tests, multiple quizzes, 3 compositions, diarios, final skit and workbook exercises. Workload isn't terrible but definitely more quizzes than in other spanish classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 9456
Submitted: 2009-11-22
Ming Wangquan | Intensive Chinese 1/2 and 3/4 | Chinese

Review:
Pretty great teacher all around, although I've never really heard of a "bad" teacher in the Chinese department--personally I think it's pretty straightforward, the grammar sections in the book typically cover what's on the tests. Definitely encourages participation and is good at explaining things, and definitely is enthusiastic about the class. Also has a unique sense of humor. This, combined with the hilarious dialogue videos keeps the class interesting. I would definitely take another class with him, but I don't think he teaches in the upper levels.

Workload:
There is A LOT of work for this class. It's a two credit class that meets every day, and meets for a double block on Tuesdays. Mostly busy work and memorization, but it can take hours, especially if you have had no prior experience with Chinese. By the time second semester started (it's a full year intensive program), the majority of the non-Asian students had dropped out of the program. Definitely don't take this class if you have other classes with lots of work i.e. Chem 1, Bio 13, etc. I would say there's an average of 3 hours of work every day, and it can take a lot of time to prepare for the tests. However, as time goes on you get better at pinpointing what you actually need to study. You learn a lot of new vocab words every week but it's too time-consuming to memorize them all--it's a better idea to memorize the examples in the grammar section--those sentences are most likely to be on the tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 9457
Submitted: 2009-11-22
Jeffrey Taliaferro | PS 61--Introduction to International Relations | Political Science

Review:
Taliaferro may be a little arrogant and condescending, but he is a great lecturer in my opinion. Very clear at explaining things and is generally a pretty interesting lecturer.I don't think he really cares about the students' progress, but then again its a 200-person class so it's hard to really gauge. I never went to office hours, and you probably never will, as the TA's are pretty helpful and can answer most of your questions. That being said, I've heard he gets annoyed with freshmen going to office hours and such, so if you do decide to go, be prepared and don't ask stupid questions. He's definitely a realist, but isn't that biased towards it, and gives a pretty neutral explanation of the other two theories. However, if you try to debate him in class he will most definitely shut you down. A lot of people don't like him because he's pompous and arrogant, but I think it's understandable considering he IS on the Council of Foreign Relations.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading assigned for the class, and it's pretty dense, but over the course of time you start to realize that you don't actually need to do the reading. All of his powerpoints are posted on Blackboard, and they're all you need to do the exams, both of which are take-home. That being said, the exams can be pretty painstaking, and you do have to put a lot of thought into what you want to write. He assigned the exams on Fridays and generally it took the whole weekend to finish them. There is also a research paper, and it tends to be pretty painstaking as well, I think my paper turned out to be 20 pages or so. But generally speaking, although there is more work for this class than other polisci classes, it's not as hard as everybody says it is. As long as you put in the time and effort, you can get a B or B+, although A's are pretty rare. But, this is college and people, especially freshmen, need to accept the fact that they're not going to get A's in all of their class anymore like they did in high school.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 9458
Submitted: 2009-11-22
Mary Glaser | Math 12--Calculus II | Mathematics

Review:
Pretty great professor all around, energetic and enthusiastic about the class. Pretty concerned with progress of the students, and encourages them to go to office hours although most people never really need to. I definitely felt like I learned a lot in her class, and would probably take another class with her if I were a math or engineering major. The only downside is that she talks kind of fast and writes on the board kind of fast as well so it's easy to get lost/stop paying attention since you're furiously writing down notes. However, if you take the time to look back at your notes you can generally get the gist of what's going on.

Workload:
Pretty standard amount of work for a math class, an assignment due every class that usually varies from half an hour to 2 or so hours to finish. Homework is optional, but if you do them all you get two points on your semester average. You pretty much have to do them to keep up in the class, although if you miss one or two it's not that big of a deal. Assignments can be pretty hard though, and I found that I couldn't finish a lot of them without looking at the solutions manual. Luckily, the library has like 5 of them in their reserves so if you don't want to buy them from the bookstore, you don't have to.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 9459
Submitted: 2009-11-22
Xiaoya Ye | Chinese 21--Reading and Conversation | Chinese

Review:
Generally a pretty good all-around teacher, although in my opinion Chinese grammar isn't that structured and not that hard to explain. I've never really heard of a bad teacher in the Chinese department, and even then the book does a good job of explaining the grammar. She's a new teacher, pretty young (I'd say about 24 or 25), and seems to be enthusiastic about teaching. My class was only 7 people so class participation is unavoidable, but I tended to zone out a lot because I just find Chinese grammar boring and something that I can teach myself from the book. That being said, she didn't yell at me or anything for not paying attention, which is better than the other teacher (Li Laoshi), although the other one is more experienced. That being said, Professor Ye sits in on the other classes and generally models her class after Li Laoshi's, so I definitely feel like I get the same out of the class as I would from Li Laoshi's. Only downside to this course is that she speaks in Mandarin for basically the whole class, unless you specifically ask her a question in English(which isn't frowned upon like in Li Laoshi's class). However, all the Chinese 21/22 teachers speak in all Mandarin at this level, but I think being in Ye Laoshi's class is a little more relaxing.

Workload:
Workload isn't too bad, but I took the Intensive Chinese course last year(2 credit class) so it's no surprise that the workload felt lighter. Generally it takes a week (3 class sessions) to go through each chapter, and there's 4 tests throughout the whole semester (the last test substitutes for the final). There is one homework assignment for each chapter, which takes up about one page in the workbook and then you have to write some small paragraphs for the composition. There is also a dictation quiz for each chapter, and this can take a while to prepare for (I'd say 2 hours or so are sufficient). The tests, however, can be pretty hard, but you just have to pinpoint where you need to study because it's difficult to memorize all of the vocab words one by one. It's better to just memorize the example sentences in the grammar section, since that'll help you with the translating English to Chinese section. there are also 3 oral presentations throughout the course, which aren't really that hard (although I have had previous experience with Chinese at home). I suggest doing the presentations with a partner (dialogue-style) so that you can play off each other's words. You should also do the homework with a partner too, since it'll make it easier and you're supposed to go over the dialogue for half an hour each chapter with a partner anyways. Overall though, Chinese 21 isn't that difficult, just a lot of busy-work and memorization, although if you really want to improve your speaking you'll have to do more preparation and volunteer to participate more in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 9460
Submitted: 2009-11-22
Deborah Menegotto | Ec 11-- Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
The professor is a pretty straight to the point professor, it's hard to get a sense of her personality since she rarely ventures off topic. Her enthusiasm is so-so, but it's a relatively large class (25 or so students) so it's hard to gauge. I don't think she's as great at explaining things as everybody makes her out to be, but that's because she has kind of an accent and I get kind of bored and zone out anyways. Generally speaking though, I found the material somewhat dry, and other people have said the same thing with other teachers as well, but I prefer macro to micro anyways.

Workload:
She didn't really assign readings, if you want to do them on your own it's up to you, but the problem sets and tests are generally straight from the lecture notes. It's kind of unfortunate that she only gives 6 problem sets and 2 exams (each of which only comprise 3 short-answer questions), because it's easy to fall behind and difficult to pinpoint what you need to study since the tests only focus on a few sections. I wish I took Luallen instead, I hear he's not that great at explaining things but he teaches more from the book and gives assigned homework every week (including both qualitative, short-answer questions and problem sets) so that you really get to learn the material. With Menegotto she only really focuses on the math and sometimes I forget what I'm actually looking at qualitatively. A big problem is that the tests are only 3 short-answer questions, so that if you make small mistakes they can often count for 10+ point deductions, so it's kind of risky compared to Luallen's tests where he gives you easy multiple choice questions that count as a buffer of like 60 points or so and then two short-answers that only count for 20 points each. Basically, it's easier to get lower grades in Menegotto's class, so you really have to keep up in the class on your own time. If you want a more structured class where you can teach yourself stuff from the book, take Luallen's class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 9461
Submitted: 2009-11-22
Elizabeth Remick | PS 126--Chinese Politics | Political Science

Review:
Pretty good teacher all around, enthusiastic about the course and for students' progress. Also encourages class participation which is rare for lecture-type classes. She's pretty available, although one of her office hours was at ten in the morning so that can be a little inconvenient. However she can be a little soft-spoken at times and hard to hear, or maybe it just seemed like that since the class was in a large room and I sat in the back of the class. Anyways, solid teacher all around and I would definitely take another class with her if I were a polisci or IR major, but I'm not.

Workload:
Decent amount of reading assigned. It's mostly dense policy analysis readings that can be a little dry, but she also assigns anecdotal stories which offer a first-person perspective of the history, which is pretty interesting. However, you don't really have to do the reading since they're basically a more in-depth coverage of her lecture notes. She does a pretty good job at pinpointing the important stuff. There are also a couple of movies that she assigns you to watch, some are interesting, others are not so interesting. You can find most of them online just by googling the titles, and I preferred doing that than going to the library to watch them since I tended to doze off. There's one midterm and one final, both of which are take-home and not too difficult (the midterm is limited to a maximum of 6 pages). She also gives you like a week to do them so that makes things a lot easier. There's a post-Mao era research paper to do, which is kind of a pain since you have to position it as a research puzzle like in Intro to IR and you have to go to the Harvard libraries to do research since Tisch/Ginn doesn't offer that much in terms of post-Mao resources. It's a step by step process though so it's not too overwhelming. Also, she's not too difficult of a grader, so as long as you do your research and back up your arguments, you should be set.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 9448
Submitted: 2009-11-16
Eva Hoffman | FAH0001- Art, Ritual and Culture | History of Art

Review:
Although she runs the course, a lot of different teachers come in and lecture about a specific topic. The clarity of the lecture depends on the teacher giving it. Overall, it's an interesting class to take if you're interested in art history. It gives a good overview. The TAs are helpful in recitation to tell you what you need to take out of the lectures.

Workload:
There is a fair amount of reading but it is definitely manageable. You don't need to do the reading if you pay attention in class. two 4-pagers that describe a work of art each. 2 trips to the MFA to see these works of art. one midterm and one final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Environmental Studies


Review ID: 9450
Submitted: 2009-11-16
Anne Desmarais | ES0025 - Environment and Technology | Engineering Science

Review:
Although the material is interesting, she presents it in a boring manner. It is hard to stay focused in class. However, if you manage to pay attention, the homework and exam questions are pretty straightforward.

Workload:
There are homework questions every week and aren't generally very difficult. There are 2 midterms and a final. There is also a final project that is 8-10 pages long at the end of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Environmental Studies


Review ID: 9230
Submitted: 2009-11-11
Downing Cless | DR155 - Directing | Drama

Review:
Downing's lectures are a bit rambly, and he has a nasty habit of giving enigmatic homework assignments without explaining what he's looking for. That being said, he is an incredibly nice guy who truly wants all of his students to succeed.

If you want to direct at Tufts, you really have no choice but to take Directing. While Downing's class isn't going to make you fall in love with directing or have some grand realization about art, it gets the job done.

Workload:
The class is very front-loaded. The first half of the semester you will work your ass off with large papers due almost every class as you perform a deep analysis of your chosen play. After the halfway mark things lessen up as you get into the nitty-gritty of blocking scenes instead of doing research and textual analysis.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 9231
Submitted: 2009-11-11
Ayesha Jalal | HIST 0048-South Asia 1000-2000 | History

Review:
Ayesha Jalal is a good professor, she definitely knows what she's talking about. I agree with the part about her being convoluted, but doing the readings really helps, especially from the main book-and that's all you need to get through the midterm as well. If you're interested in the topic, it's definitely a good course to take

Workload:
She assigns a lot of reading, but like I said, read the main book (don't worry too much about the blackboard links etc.!) - there's a literary review and a take home final-compared to tufts courses the workload is normal


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9229
Submitted: 2009-11-10
Gary Leupp | HIST0042- History Of Japan Prehistory to 1868 | History

Review:
Leupp is an amazing professor who definitely knows his history of Japan; unfortunately he can be a bit scatterbrained. Lectures tend to be very interesting, although slightly unorganized (but its not a problem if you type your notes; you can put them in the correct order after the fact).

Leupp also is there for you during your research paper. Obviously researching a topic on Japanese history that may have happened 800 years ago is a daunting task (especially since most sources remain untranslated). If you stop by during office hours he'll guide you the best places to research.

Workload:
- 1 In-Class Midterm (mostly multiple choice and an essay)

- 1 Take home final

- 1 10-15 page research paper on a topic of your choice


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 9226
Submitted: 2009-11-09
margaret mcmillan | EC 136 topics in development | Economics

Review:
smartest most caring prof ive had at tufts

Workload:
pretty demanding but fun


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 9227
Submitted: 2009-11-09
Anne Gardulski | GEO5 - Intro to Oceanography | Geology

Review:
Anne Gardulski was not only my Intro to Oceanography teacher, but she was also my freshman adviser. She is an extremely nice, caring, intelligent woman. Prof Gardulski left five minutes each class to inform her students about Tufts and transitioning to college. Once, a student mentioned going on a whale watch. She ended up organizing the whole field trip and, a month later, we all were on a boat together as a class. She is enthusiastic, a phenomenal lecturer, a great teacher, and she is there for you every step of the way. I would definitely take another class with Professor Anne Gardulski.

Workload:
The reading for Intro to Oceanography is not too bad. Professor Gardulski is a better teacher than the book, so sometimes you don't even need to read it. There are a few worksheets to bolster your great that, though not easy, aren't too bad. Moreover, she helps you every step of the way.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9228
Submitted: 2009-11-09
Richard Eichenburg | PS0061 - Intro to IR | Political Science

Review:
Honestly a ridiculous teacher. His ego flies high during lectures. He is an intelligent man, but doesn't seem to think anyone in lecture could ever prove his opinions wrong. Arrogant, he doesn't actually take students' opinions seriously (or so it seems). Lectures are important but half of his ramblings are irrelevant and don't follow a coherent structure. He is liked because he tries to learn people's names and cracks a few jokes. That is all. If this really is the right semester for you to take PS0061 and he's teaching it, do it. But if you can, avoid him.

Workload:
A lot of reading, but you really dont have to read everything to get by. Midterm and Final are based on regurgitating buzzwords. No true intellectual challenge in this class, only a set of skills which (i've been promised) will be useful in the coming years.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 9222
Submitted: 2009-11-07
Ichiro Takayoshi | ENG 92 - Intro to American Modernism | English

Review:
I cannot recommend this class enough! I took Intro to American Modernism during the spring '09 semester. Prof. Takayoshi made each class a pleasure to attend. I would rank this course in my top four classes that I have taken at Tufts in terms of enjoyability and amount learned. Prof. Takayoshi brought a multi-dimensional style to each class which included: music, video, and some of the most enjoyable and informative lectures I have attended in my years here (I am graduating May 2010). Prof. Takayoshi was always available outside of class and provided in-depth instruction, both written and oral, on what he expected from students. His grading was extremely fair. I would take this course again if I could without hesitation. I would rate the course an A+ and Prof. Takayoshi an A+. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Workload:
Workload was typical. Assignments were straightforward and EXPLAINED IN-DEPTH.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 9223
Submitted: 2009-11-07
Ichiro Takayoshi | ENG 92 - Intro to American Modernism | English

Review:
I cannot recommend this class enough! I took Intro to American Modernism during the spring '09 semester. Prof. Takayoshi made each class a pleasure to attend. I would rank this course in my top four classes that I have taken at Tufts in terms of enjoyability and amount learned. Prof. Takayoshi brought a multi-dimensional style to each class which included: music, video, and some of the most enjoyable and informative lectures I have attended in my years here (I am graduating May 2010). Prof. Takayoshi was always available outside of class and provided in-depth instruction, both written and oral, on what he expected from students. His grading was extremely fair. I would take this course again if I could without hesitation. I would rate the course an A+ and Prof. Takayoshi an A+. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Workload:
Workload was typical. Assignments were straightforward and EXPLAINED IN-DEPTH.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 9225
Submitted: 2009-11-07
George Norman | EC05-principles of economy | Economics

Review:
This was my first economics class and I really enjoyed it. Eventhough its a huge lecture and a lot of material he tries to explain everything as best he can. He definitely likes the class he's teaching. If you're going to be an econ or IR major then you almost always have to take this course, try to take it with this Mr. Norman. He's not that accessible for office hours and isn't that intimate.

Workload:
2 problem sets. 2 midterms. 1 final. its a lot of material for someone who hasn't taken an econ course before, but if you're familiar with the material it shouldn't be too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9220
Submitted: 2009-11-06
Cheryl Tano | Spanish 2 | Spanish

Review:
Amazing teacher. Best spanish teacher I've had. She is very cute and comes up with all kinds of ways to remember and learn spanish.

Workload:
Same as all the spanish classes at Tufts, three test, turn in workbooks, compositions, final. Not bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 9216
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Downing Cless | DR 0001 - Comedy & Tragedy | Drama

Review:
This class is perfect if you need to fulfill an arts requirement, it is very similar to an english class. We read a play or two a week about 20 pages or so each play, not bad at all compared to intense english classes. Professor Cless is very light-hearted and it is a breeze to sit through. Definitely recommended.

Workload:
A play or two a week about 20 pages each play, sometimes watch the production of the play instead of reading it. Have to go to 3 plays over the course of the semester that are assigned.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 9217
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Maryanne Wolfe | CD0001 - Intro to Child Development | Child Development

Review:
Interesting class, Professor Wolfe is funny & very entertaining. Not too intense, if you are not interested in child development and need a social science class this one isn't bad. Only 2 tests over the semester and 1 take home final essay. Pretty interesting.

Workload:
A lot of reading, 2 chapters a week (70 pages) but given worksheets so some stuff can be skipped over since it isn't important and won't be on the test. TA's very nice, required section every week for 50 minutes to go over the chapters.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 9218
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Indrani Batacharjee | PHIL 0001 - Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
Although it was Professor B's first year teacher (graduate student at UMASS Amherst) I did not that she did a good job explaining everything to the students. Every class we came in and no one understood what was going on and she did not do a good job fixing that. I've heard that all philosophy classes are like this but if you can, get a different teacher!

Workload:
1 or 2 assignments of reading, usually about 10 pages each, (3) short 2 page papers & (2) 4 page papers over the course of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 9219
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Elena Paolini | ITAL0001 - Elementary Italian I | American Studies

Review:
Easiest class, Professor is amazing, always laughing, about a chapter every week and a half with vocab quizzes and a test at the end on the chapter. Tests are extremely easy and easy points are given out. Definitely take this class!! I loved it!

Workload:
About a chapter every week and a half with a short vocab quiz a week and a test every other week on the chapter that was worked on. EASY !!!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Italian


Review ID: 9210
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Susan Ostrander | SOC0030- Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Good and interesting discussions. I like what she has to say. Because of the relatively complicated and controvertial material, she constanly cites that we "may or may not be convinced." It's not that she does not tolerate alternate viewpoints, but rather that she can make a compelling counter-argument. We don't take classes from Professors just because we agree with them. Occasionally it's good to be challenged. Overall it's a good class. Susan could be a bit better but she seems on top of her game.

Workload:
Workload is relatively light. Reading intensity varies by week but no more than 3 or so hours per week of readings. The midterm was light (only a few short 1/2 page answers and one 3 pager). I had trouble keeping UNDER the limit. Not bad at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 9211
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Susan Ostrander | SOC0030- Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Good and interesting discussions. I like what she has to say. Because of the relatively complicated and controvertial material, she constanly cites that we "may or may not be convinced." It's not that she does not tolerate alternate viewpoints, but rather that she can make a compelling counter-argument. We don't take classes from Professors just because we agree with them. Occasionally it's good to be challenged. Overall it's a good class. Susan could be a bit better but she seems on top of her game.

Workload:
Workload is relatively light. Reading intensity varies by week but no more than 3 or so hours per week of readings. The midterm was light (only a few short 1/2 page answers and one 3 pager). I had trouble keeping UNDER the limit. Not bad at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 9212
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Susan Ostrander | SOC0030- Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Not bad. She does hold some pretty strong opinions. Any opinions contrary are not taken in offense. Rather she can just make a very compelling argument against them. She wants to make sure everybody is keeping up and encourages class participation. I learned a lot about the topic from her so I'd recommend it but only if you're okay getting your opinions about gender completely blown out of the water.

Workload:
Not bad at all. Readings are no more than 2 or so hours a week. Midterm was light at best. Final is yet to be seen.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 9213
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Susan Ostrander | SOC0030- Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Not bad. She does hold some pretty strong opinions. Any opinions contrary are not taken in offense. Rather she can just make a very compelling argument against them. She wants to make sure everybody is keeping up and encourages class participation. I learned a lot about the topic from her so I'd recommend it but only if you're okay getting your opinions about gender completely blown out of the water.

Workload:
Not bad at all. Readings are no more than 2 or so hours a week. Midterm was light at best. Final is yet to be seen.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 9214
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Susan Ostrander | SOC030- Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Not bad. She does hold some pretty strong opinions. Any opinions contrary are not taken in offense. Rather she can just make a very compelling argument against them. She wants to make sure everybody is keeping up and encourages class participation. I learned a lot about the topic from her so I'd recommend it but only if you're okay getting your opinions about gender completely blown out of the water.

Workload:
Not too bad. No more than 2 hours of reading per week, usually less. Midterm was light at best. Final is yet to be seen.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 9215
Submitted: 2009-11-04
Susan Ostrander | SOC030- Sex and Gender in Society | Sociology

Review:
Not bad. She does hold some pretty strong opinions. Any opinions contrary are not taken in offense. Rather she can just make a very compelling argument against them. She wants to make sure everybody is keeping up and encourages class participation. I learned a lot about the topic from her so I'd recommend it but only if you're okay getting your opinions about gender completely blown out of the water.

Workload:
Not too bad. No more than 2 hours of reading per week, usually less. Midterm was light at best. Final is yet to be seen.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 9204
Submitted: 2009-11-03
John Julian | FR001- Elementary French I | French

Review:
Great professor, probably my favorite this semester actually. Detailed, reasonable, relevant material covered in class and good for re-enforcing content learned through home work. Only thing is he moved at a rather quick pace as there was a lot of material to cover so even elementary french I moved rather quick, which was fine for students who had had some intro to French but a little difficult for those who were true beginners.

Workload:
Really depends on how hard you want to work. Meticulous attention to homework, teachings, and videos makes tests easy. Fairly frequent quizzes and tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9205
Submitted: 2009-11-03
George Ellmore | BIO10 - Plants and Humanity | Biology

Review:
Ellmore's great. He is very knowledgeable about his topic and doesn't dumb down the material to a degree that it is painful but also is clear and easy to understand. His lectures are entertaining and informative and gave me a reason to wake up for a 9:30.

Workload:
There are no outside readings. If you attend class and review your notes before the exams you've nothing to worry about. The exam questions are straight forward and all information is covered in lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 9207
Submitted: 2009-11-03
Aida Belansky | SPN0004 Spanish 4 | American Studies

Review:
She's extremely sweet it's true but during her class my Spanish skills actually diminished. If possible, I would get to know her but avoid her class. She is very disorganized and know Spanish intuitively as she Peruvian (and hence has an adorable accent), but can't explain it effectively.

Workload:
There is some assigned but no credibility for completion.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 9208
Submitted: 2009-11-03
David Sloane | RUS0021 - Comp/Conv | Russian

Review:
Wow, this guy is so crazy it's impressive that he even remembers to make it to class. Incredibly unclear and completely out-of-it. Not once has he answered a student's question - he doesn't just give confusing answers - he will say something completely unrelated. Even he is not enthusiastic about the material. He'll often begin to teach us something and give up minutes later because he finds it boring. Complete lack of focus and gets very emotional if the class does not seem to be understanding or if there are several absent students.

As far as the coursework goes, it seems to be a complete review of previous Russian classes.

Workload:
This class has a fairly easy workload. Very varied based on Sloan's mood. Some compositions which he grades rather harshly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9209
Submitted: 2009-11-03
Philip Starks | BIO130 - Animal Behavior | Biology

Review:
Professor Starks is one of the best professors I have had at Tufts. His view of teaching is very progressive, and his grading is fair (though firm). His passion for both his own research and everything going on in the vast field of Animal Behavior is palpable from the very first class, and builds though out the course. I am by no means a "morning person", yet I found myself waking up earlier than I had to in order to make sure that I didn't miss a second of this class. Students don't just memorize information in this class; they actually learn what animal behavior is all about. Dr. Starks is an energetic, funny, and brilliant, and that's a trifecta that is uncommon in professors.

Workload:
The workload was manageable. You must read the book, and you must come to class, and you must read the assigned readings, because all are important and all will be on the tests without fail. However, the assignments are completely do-able, unlike in some classes where you are expected to read two chapters in one night.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 9202
Submitted: 2009-11-02
Minquan Wang | Intensive Chinese 1/2, 3/4 | Chinese

Review:
This class is probably one of my favorite classes at Tufts so far, mainly because Wang Laoshi is incredibly helpful, understanding, and hilarious despite him not realizing how funny he can be. Because you have this class 6 times a week (twice on tuesday), the class gets to know each other very well. Every week you read dialogues, memorize a passage to recite in front of the teacher, memorize countless characters, and watch videos of chinese students, a Canadian student, and an American student speaking chinese in order to comment on the story (and at times, laugh at the awkward acting). I didn't realize how demanding the course would be when I signed up, but I am truly glad I did! If you put in the time, it is so worth the effort.

Workload:
Be prepared to realize that most of the homework you are doing is Chinese. Since it is 2 years in one year, they are not kidding when they say intensive. Weekly tests, homework packets, and hanzi online quizes. Go to conversation night at the Chinese house for extra credit (very helpful). It is possible to get a good grade, just always be prepared and do the work. If you are entirely new to the Chinese language and have no experience to the writing of Asian characters and listening to the language, this course may be very difficult for you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9203
Submitted: 2009-11-02
Minquan Wang | Intensive Chinese 1/2, 3/4 | Chinese

Review:
This class is probably one of my favorite classes at Tufts so far, mainly because Wang Laoshi is incredibly helpful, understanding, and hilarious despite him not realizing how funny he can be. Because you have this class 6 times a week (twice on tuesday), the class gets to know each other very well. Every week you read dialogues, memorize a passage to recite in front of the teacher, memorize countless characters, and watch videos of chinese students, a Canadian student, and an American student speaking chinese in order to comment on the story (and at times, laugh at the awkward acting). I didn't realize how demanding the course would be when I signed up, but I am truly glad I did! If you put in the time, it is so worth the effort.

Workload:
Be prepared to realize that most of the homework you are doing is Chinese. Since it is 2 years in one year, they are not kidding when they say intensive. Weekly tests, homework packets, and hanzi online quizes. Go to conversation night at the Chinese house for extra credit (very helpful). It is possible to get a good grade, just always be prepared and do the work. If you are entirely new to the Chinese language and have no experience to the writing of Asian characters and listening to the language, this course may be very difficult for you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 9199
Submitted: 2009-10-29
Jeremy Halpern | ELS 107 | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
Prof. Halpern was my favorite professor at Tufts and ELS 107 my most useful course. He gave me killer recommendations for jobs and introduced me to a number of jobs. I learned SO much in the class - but it was a lot of work. Made great friends in the class and also gained a lot of confidence. 100% worth your time. Plus, Halpern is young and cute, so that doesn't hurt.

Workload:
Lots of work but I liked almost all the assignments.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8996
Submitted: 2009-09-25
Krzysztof Sliwa | Physics 11 | Physics

Review:
Professor Sliwa's class was an extremely unpleasant experience for me.

It was hard to understand his Polish accent.He got really excited over demonstrating gravity but that didn't help me learn. The class was taught at a pace appropriate for kids who already had background in physics, which I didn't. He did not have the bookstore stock the solutions manual to our textbook. His posted solutions to problem sets were messy and too hard to follow. He didn't cover as many chapters as he meant to so we had to cram 2-3 chapters just for the final, on top of cumulative review study. He did not help students access any of the online material that was available for the textbook. He was half an hour later for hour final which was at 8 or 9 a.m., I don't remember, and the exam still had mistakes.

These bad factors far outweigh the positive factors that he is a great physicist.

Not all professionals should teach.

Workload:
Way too much work


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8875
Submitted: 2009-09-23
Paula Aymer | SOC 0110 | Sociology

Review:
I can understand why some of the previous reviewers are so offended. The material she teaches and presents challenge many notions we take for granted and could easily frustrate people unwilling to entertain controversial thought. But because Aymer doesn't lavish praise onto students who try to appear intelligent does not mean she does not "respect intelligence", whatever that accusation is supposed to mean. She is very friendly, approachable, and takes the time to clarify anything a student might not understand. She's incredibly well informed about sociological phenomenon across the globe and has a formidable well of historical knowledge from which she often draws.

The only thing that went against my grain was the pace of the class, boy does she take her sweet time when lecturing. It's true her classes are fairly unstructured. She does present a loose agenda at the start of class, but she mostly lets the students determine the course of the conversation.

Workload:
She assigns a sizable amount of readings every week, but it's never more than about 100 pages.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Anthropology


Review ID: 8834
Submitted: 2009-09-12
Rajeev Dehejia | Ec11-Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
Cool prof. Knows his stuff and does a good job of linking the book and class to real world issues. This was great. Not just reading the book and studying unrealistic models, but how to apply it to the real world. Glad I took this section. I think it will help me in the real world, and in other courses.

Workload:
Problem Sets. Midterm. Final. One page paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8545
Submitted: 2009-09-03
Dana Simpson | Spanish 121 and 122 | Spanish

Review:
Professor Simpson is by far the best Spanish professor I've had at Tufts and in my life. He's great with relating to students and takes individualized learning and improvement very seriously. He grades (in part) based on personal progress. His teaching philosophy involves a lot of group work so be prepared to do projects outside of class.

Workload:
The workload is normal for a language class. There's a lot of reading each week, but it's not too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8548
Submitted: 2009-09-03
Linda Garant | Math 12 | Mathematics

Review:
I loved Professor Garant. She was very approachable and always accommodating. She definitely cared about every person's success and was there any time you needed to meet with her. She made math class as interesting as possible.

Workload:
Math 12 is a tough class. The work load is just like any other math class. We had an assignment every class period, three exams and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 8549
Submitted: 2009-09-03
Anne Mahoney | GRK001 - Elementary Ancient Greek | Greek

Review:
Amazing course: who ever thought we'd be reading Plato in just one year? The pop quizzes aren't as scary as people said if you keep up with the work. She explains grammer stuff really well. I took 4 years of Latin in high school and some of it never made sense until I took Greek because Mahoney cleared it up.

Workload:
Tons of work but worth it. Really, you have to do the work every night, but you get credit just for turning something in so it's fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 8540
Submitted: 2009-08-23
Chih Ming Tan | EC0035- Economic Development | Economics

Review:
The worst professor at Tufts

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8510
Submitted: 2009-08-05
Patrick Carter | FAM 0026 | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
Patrick is awesome! I was a little worried about being in a class with the advanced drawing class as well, but he was helpful and attentive to all students and never made you feel poorly about your work, no matter what your level. He always has something good to say about what you are doing, and he really cares about his students. We learned to work with all kinds of mediums and he encouraged us to try new things. We made trips to both the MFA and the Sackler museum during class time, which was enjoyable. He met with each student halfway through to look at all of their work and see where they needed help. As you get into the semester, Patrick lets you decide what you would like to work on. Many students left and went to various places on campus to do landscapes, or some students took a break from the live model to do a still life. It is a flexible class. He even gave us a couple days off here and there when he thought we were tired and needed a break! I would love to take another class with Patrick in the future!


Workload:
The final project is a series of three drawings or one really large drawing that you present to the class at the end of the semester (Patrick brought all kinds of food and made it a party). It is a lot of work, but he gives you plenty of time and gave extensions to about half the class so they could have enough time to finish. You also have to keep a sketchbook of outside drawings that you work on throughout the semester. Two three hour classes a week is quite a lot, but you get plenty of breaks, and often he would let us leave early. It should be noted that you will need a lot of materials if you dont own any art supplies, which can get a little pricey. However, most of the art stores in the area do give you a 25% discount if you show your student ID. I improved tremendously with the help of Patrick, and I highly recommend this class to anyone who loves to draw!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8500
Submitted: 2009-07-29
Margaret Lynch | BIO46: Cell Biology | Biology

Review:
Professor Lynch was reasonably clear while lecturing - however, I found myself having to voice record her lectures and listen to them again to achieve the best scores on her tests. She really, really enjoys the small details - if you take this class I recommend memorizing every word that she says and reading the textbook accordingly (i.e. only the portions she has mentioned, everything else is useless)

Workload:
The workload isn't awful, but to get every exam question I would usually start studying 4-5 days in advance. The final exam was cumulative, so watch out!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8502
Submitted: 2009-07-29
Leah Abraham | Tissue Engineering | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
Boy, did I make the mistake of not reading the reviews before enrolling in this "course". Enough Said.

Workload:
Confusing as hell and she makes mistakes...which does result into ridiculous situations.

Would rate a 0 but this site won't allow me.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 8496
Submitted: 2009-07-28
Elizabeth Leavell | ENG 2 - Other Worlds | English

Review:
I feel lucky to have had Prof. Leavell for English 2, especially after the fiasco I experienced in English 1. Though she can be a bit eccentric, she is extremely concerned with her students' progress and makes herself readily available outside of class to offer advice about essays, etc. She wields a firm grasp of the English language and was open to different writing styles. I spent many hours outside of class with her attempting to improve my writing and I am pleased to report that I succeeded. Be warned, The Supernatural is the primary focus of this course, which can be interesting and engaging at times but also boring and dull.

Workload:
Reading Assignments: There is a reading assignment for every class, ranging from 20 pages to nearly 200 pages! She also assigns blackboard questions pertaining to the reading for each class. Unfortunately these assignments can get a bit wearisome. I know that some of my classmates did not keep up with the readings, and their grades suffered accordingly.

Essays: 3 papers of 5+ pages plus one rewrite, plus one 7-8 page research paper. It's a good amount of work, but I would say it is rewarding.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 8486
Submitted: 2009-07-21
Serap Kantarci | women studies | American Studies

Review:
I think she has beent he one writing those reviews. She is a mess; she is the worst professor I have ever had. Ask her why has she gotten fired from every single job she has had? she is very disorganized, always lost our papers, do not know how tor un a lecture, is always late for class, do not prepare her classes, she is just HORRIBLE. DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 8483
Submitted: 2009-07-16
David Krumme | It's been so long I've forgotten the course numbers | Computer Science

Review:
Given that David Krumme is retired now, and that I was his student about 20 years ago, this is more of an accolade and a "thank you" than a review.

Professor Krumme was one of the best professors I've ever had -- he cared about his subject matter, his students, and managed to create a learning environment that was both fun and intense. He balanced theory & practice, and teamwork with competition.

David helped to prepare me for a fufilling career in computer science. I will always be grateful to him for that.

Workload:
Lots of work, but it was always interesting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Comparative Religion


Review ID: 8482
Submitted: 2009-07-14
Rajeev Dehejia | EC11 - Intermediate Micro | Economics

Review:
Overall a good very good prof. He makes you work hard, but really goes to a lot of effort to connect the theory from class to the real world, basically how to apply econ to thinking about the world. So A for content.

In terms of style, he seems a little distant, but is a nice guy if you talk to him. He really cares that people learn economics and how to apply it.

All this good -- what's the downer? Only one. The class is a lot of work. I think it's worth it. There's probably easier sections, but I think learned more than my friends in other sections.

Workload:
On the high side -- weekly problem sets. Two short written assignments. Midterm. Final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8477
Submitted: 2009-07-12
David Garman | EC0015 - Intro Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Professor Garman is an excellent professor. He is very in tune to students' understanding, and will explain concepts as many times as necessary without making students feel silly or guilty for being behind. He makes sure that we are up to speed through weekly assignments and quizzes, which is very necessary for this course. Professor Garman is one of the best Econ professors I've had, and he's a really nice guy. I'd recommend taking any course with him.

Workload:
Assignments are out of the book, which is pretty straightforward. Garman is very aware of the way the book teaches the course, and he has chosen it very carefully. One problem set per week keeps you on top of the material. Standard 2 midterms and a final, and one final econometrics paper, which he helps you to plan out.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8455
Submitted: 2009-07-02
Philip Holcomb | psy009- Intro to Cognitive Brain and Sciences | Psychology

Review:
His lectures were clear and not very exciting but not to boring either. The tests were difficult although he was fair enough to grade on a curve on the first exam because not many did well. There are three exams and you can drop one. You are basically on your own for studying for the exams. It is necessary to skim the readings to get a better understanding for the exam but not a must.

Workload:
One chapter/reading per class. There is no textbook so all readings are online. They are not too bad, not too boring, a lot of bio. The readings are manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8451
Submitted: 2009-06-28
Linda Bamber | Women and Fiction | English

Review:
Taking class with Linda Bamber was one of the most challenging and rewarding of my experience at Tufts so far. Linda isn't afraid to tell you when she perceives your analysis to be incorrect and always moves conversation in the right direction. She pushes her students to think critically and her comments on the response papers are very helpful to improve your learning. Although her class isn't the easiest, it's one that you leave feeling accomplished.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 8452
Submitted: 2009-06-28
Sonia Hofkosh | General Lit 2 | English

Review:
Although General Literature 2 should have been an exciting topic, it became a drag to come to class. Instead of teaching, Prof. Hofkosh mostly speculates and then asks for student's opinions. The class is student-taught since the whole period is mostly spent by students raising their hands to guess what the text means. Although she never offers insight on her analysis of the text, each examine is based on her opinions. Although the course material was great, the class was poorly taught by Prof. Hofkosh

Workload:
Response posts, two tests including an exam, and a lengthy paper


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 8449
Submitted: 2009-06-22
Philip Starks | BIO 130 - Animal Behavior | Biology

Review:
Professor Starks is a great lecturer and his slides were really comprehensive. I loved his teaching style and the fact that he involved students in class. Great class, especially considering it was at some ungodly hour of the morning.

Workload:
The reading was interesting but not entirely necessary to do. He did not often have questions from the reading on the exam and most of the time the reading just clarified his lectures. The tests were hard but they were also curved and he gives students a chance to develop some of the questions. A great class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8447
Submitted: 2009-06-22
Calvin Gidney | CD 159 - Understanding Childhood Through Film | Child Development

Review:
This is a great class. Prof. Gidney is really interested in his students and really looks for your progress as a writer. The class is structured so that you watch a movie once a week and then discuss it in relation to a topic. There are often also guest speakers. It has a lot of reading but Prof. Gidney really grades based on participation and effort.

Workload:
A fair amount of reading and the movie showings are on fridays but they are really interesting movies and Chip makes it worth it. Have to write 4 out of the 5 possible essays and give one presentation on a movie. Lots of work but Prof. Gidney is not a particularly harsh grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 8441
Submitted: 2009-06-06
Hugh Gallagher | Physics 12- Electricity and Magnetism | Physics

Review:
Professor Gallagher is a really great teacher who really cares about his students understanding of the material. He also gives you every opportunity to do well in this class. A good portion of your grade is homework(25%) so as long as you go to recitation, you should get all those points. The exams test your understanding of the material, not how well you can spit back the answer to a homework problem. Prof Gallagher is really easy to reach and is always willing to help you understand concepts youre having trouble with. The resources are there, you just have to put in the work.

Workload:
Just weekly problem sets that take a few hours, and bi-weekly lab reports. Two midterms and a final. There were also in-class quizes that were 3% of your grade (kinda annoying if you like sleeping late haha).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 8439
Submitted: 2009-06-05
Barry Trimmer | Bio 134 - Neurobiology | Biology

Review:
Professor Trimmer definitely made this class interesting, but I found that he was not always clear in his explanations of important brain processes. He would often rush through them, and reading the book didn't always help because the chapters were so dense. When I went to his office hours, though, he was always really willing to break things down for me, and he almost always explained things better than he did in class. Tests were fair - mostly short answers and essays. If you didn't have the right answer, he would always give partial credit. Overall, an enjoyable class (especially after taking Genetics).

Workload:
Keeping up with the reading was always a good idea, but it was not enjoyable because each chapter was really detailed and dense. There really wasn't any homework in the class, which only came to be a problem right before exams. He would post a few practice problems a few days before, but it would have been beneficial to have some to work on throughout the month leading up to the test for better practice.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8438
Submitted: 2009-05-29
Monica Ndounou | DR0048 African American Theatre and Film | Drama

Review:
This was one of the best courses I took at Tufts. Professor Ndounou is not only very knowledgeable about the subject but her teaching style engages students in the topic, linking historical aspects of the course to the current state of the country and the African American experience today.

Workload:
There is a lot to read and the tests seem easier than they really are. However, if you participate it is not difficult to do well in the course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 8437
Submitted: 2009-05-27
Charles Inouye | JPN061 - Introduction to Japanese Culture | Japanese

Review:
Hmm how does one sum up Professor Inouye?

PROS:
-Clearly loves the topic, which IS fascinating
-Wrote a book on it (which follows lectures closely, even the anecdotes are the same)
-Tells amusing stories to help you understand the material
-Uses effective powerpoints
-Is willing to arrange appointments outside office hours
-Throws a cherry-blossom-viewing party for the class at the end of the spring semester

CONS:
-Forces the participation out of you (he will even provoke you - as in you individually, not the whole class)
-Isn't very clear about his expectations
-Uses stereotypes and isn't very tactful
-Assigns a 2-page letter every week, which is just busy work. In fact, it's such busy work, even he fell behind on grading them (which had no effect on the strict deadlines for us). And he fell so behind that we stopped writing them.
-Comments on letters weren't very helpful. Sometimes I wasn't sure he was really reading them.
-Asks for way too much personal information about you so you should be willing to share a lot and get used to the fact that he may bring up this information in class
-Requires that he know you personally; only that's all on you, because he doesn't make much of an effort himself
-Plays favorites. Seems to like some people more, and give others a harder time. I don't know why, but it was noticeable.

OVERALL:
I guess he's pretty nice, and it's great that he wants to get to know students; but his teaching style is definitely an acquired taste. He's got his quirks and you have to get used to them. I spent a great deal of time reminding myself that the material was interesting and that was what mattered -- it was one of those classes. I don't think I'd take another class with him.

ALSO: This is NOT an anime class. Do not take this class if you have an aversion to philosophy that you are not willing to grapple with.

Workload:
YOU MUST PARTICIPATE IN CLASS. Weekly readings weren't so bad. 2-page letters (written to your future self assuming you could be dead - yes, that is the prompt) every week based on lecture, readings, how you feel about the material. Final 10-page paper on a piece of Japanese literature/movie. And it might sound easy, but I was surprised at how much effort I had to put into this class since he deliberately deflates grades (ask him). It definitely took a lot of time away from classes I was actually taking for my major. If you have the option of pass/failing, that might be a good idea because this course is NOT an easy A (or A-, or B+...).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8436
Submitted: 2009-05-26
Peggy Cebe | Physics 0011 | Physics

Review:
Professor Cebe was one of the nicest professors I have ever had at Tufts! Her concern for the students was so great that, for example, whenever she made mistakes in her lecture, she would always write little notes to herself and then send the class an email with the corrections. Since the class met twice a week, there was a lot of material to cover every session, and her lectures, although fast, were thorough. She would explain the basic concepts and then work out sample problems, an aid not only for the problem sets but for the final. Overall a very fun-loving professor!

Workload:
There were 13 problem sets, with each problem set due once a week and consisting of 10 questions. Depending on the difficulty, you could finish it within 2-4 hours. I never went to recitation, but I worked on the problems with a friend. Labs met every other week and consisted of a write-up, but the TAs graded extremely easy (I never saw anyone get below an A). Finally, there are two midterms consisting of four problems of multiple parts and a final with eight questions. The first midterm was straightforward, covering concepts like projectile motion, and forces. The second midterm though was a lot harder, namely because of the lack of time and the length of each question. However, the final surprisingly was relatively basic and not at all difficult. One thing that helped me with this professor was the sample problems she went over during lecture; typically, at least one or problems on the midterms were almost identical to these. I think she tried to give advantage to those people that attended lecture! Overall, the class was not that difficult as long as you keep up every week with lecture and understand the problem sets.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8432
Submitted: 2009-05-22
Hugh Gallagher | Physics 12 | Physics

Review:
Prof Gallagher is an amazing professor. I've never had a teacher that was so concerned with my progress in a science seminar course the way Prof. Gallagher was extremely helpful. During his office hours not only would he offer snacks he also came up with better ways for me to study. He took the time to figure out my study style and adapted his assistance to accompany it. He also hosted a "cram session" 15 minutes before the final for last minute questions. He's an amazing professor!

Workload:
Weekly homework and Bi weekly labs. No practical :)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 8429
Submitted: 2009-05-21
Stephen Bailey | Anth0040 - Biological Anthropology | Anthropology

Review:
Prof. Bailey is an excellent lecturer - when he shows up. I showed up to every class; he didn't. His making an appearance in class was never guaranteed. When he did come, he was usually 10-15 mins late (although, to give him credit, he got better as the semester went on). He is funny but also a little condescending. Don't ask dumb questions, especially about the syllabus.

Workload:
The class is divided into 3 sections. The first 2 sections are insanely easy - I did all of the assigned reading for the 2nd section in one night. But the third section is insane - you pretty much read the entire book. The material is interesting, but it's a lot to cover, and it's infuriating when you realize that all your studying (my friends and I took detailed notes of every chapter, lecture, and made study guides) doesn't help for the final. Some of the multiple choice questions were totally irrelevant to the course and I think I did well only because I took AP Biology and remembered how catalysts work, etc. The professor (or his TAs) messed up while making the tests twice in a row; both times, one half of the class (he makes 2 versions of every test) was missing a page.
The tests are 10 multiple choice questions, a short open response (often a diagram), and an essay. Tests are scaled.
You can do well in the course, but a lot of it depends on luck.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8430
Submitted: 2009-05-21
Ildefonso Manso | SP0021 - Comp & Conversation I | Spanish

Review:
Prof. Manso is an excellent teacher and an all-around great guy. He is encouraging without being a pushover and made Spanish genuinely enjoyable (I reluctantly signed up to fulfill a requirement). IF YOU CAN TAKE A CLASS WITH HIM, DO IT!

Workload:
Workload is the same as all the other Spanish 21 classes. You get out what you put in. It's a consistent level of work, but nothing unreasonable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8420
Submitted: 2009-05-15
Andreea Cohen | EC011 - Intermediate Microeconomic Theory | Economics

Review:
Lectures were very helpful but could also drag on for a little bit. There were two 75-minute classes (3 50-minute would have been better). She puts plenty on the blackboard, most of it is examples with lots of math. Modest class participation, and she is extremely eager to help students and make sure you understand everything. One of the nicest professors I have had so far.

Workload:
2 problem sets due every week were manageable. Each one has a practice set with solutions that can help solve the real ones. Reading the chapters is not mandatory as there are no reading quizzes, but doing the reading definitely helps a lot. 2 midterms and a final, all 3 were very difficult but curved.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 8402
Submitted: 2009-05-11
Gilbert Metcalf | EC 191 - Energy Economics | Economics

Review:
He's too busy to care about classes, or grading papers. 100% subjective grading, can't remember what topics he has already covered in class, basically just rehashes papers read outside of class. Maybe if you hang around with politicians all day, you become one. Class not worth taking if you want to familiarize yourself with the energy industry- just get a copy of the syllabus and the readings he covers.

Workload:
Not much outside of a few papers, straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8373
Submitted: 2009-05-05
Lee Minardi | ES002 - Introduction to Computing in Engineering | Engineering Science

Review:
This is the 2nd introductory engineering science class that all first year and transfer engineering students take. It involves more computer science-like logic, as there is programming involved. First you start with MathCAD (like AutoCAD but with numbers instead of objects) and then move to Microsoft Excel, eventually incorporating VBA. The lectures are unbelievably boring, but are almost necessary at the beginning to understand how to start things. You learn more by actually doing the homework and labs, and the class would function better as 2 labs alone rather than 2 lectures and 1 lab. The TAs are helpful, and tend to know more than Minardi does. Frequently during lectures he would try to demonstrate something only to have it crash on him. Go to the lectures and half-pay attention. Absorb the basics of what he is saying and put it into practice at the labs. A necessary class for engineers with a sub-par professor.

Workload:
DO NOT BUY THE TEXT BOOKS! The reading from the text books does not help and there are only a couple problems assigned from them. For these assignments, find a friend with the book, or split the cost with 5 friends. Obviously buy the lab manual as that has 99% of the assignments. Labs and homework weekly are not too much. The final project is also manageable if you start early. Once the final is over and you just have the project, there is no need to attend lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 8374
Submitted: 2009-05-05
Loring Tu | MATH013 - Calculus III | Mathematics

Review:
Loring Tu is the best of the Math13 professors by far. Registration for his section fills up first so try to get it. Lectures are informative and useful. Definitely take notes as he pretty much writes them on the board for you. He is very enthusiastic and gets people to participate every so often. I tell all my friends taking Calc III to have him.

Workload:
Standard workload for a math course at Tufts. Homework set due every day (they are useful and helpful, DO THEM). 2 midterms and 1 final. Midterms were standard difficulty but the final was a little more difficult. Best part of Calc III is that there is little to no knowledge of Calc II required!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 8376
Submitted: 2009-05-05
Chris McHugh | Monetary Economics | Economics

Review:
Great professor. Be prepared, he is not another one of these left swing Keynesian monetary economists spewing back money multipliers and the like. He works at a hedge fund in Boston so he is the real deal in terms of industry experience (not having his head in the sand like so many profs these days) and presents a very clear and compelling set of ideas. Great class.

Workload:
Not bad at all, 4 problem sets, midterm and final. Class participation is a plus


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8370
Submitted: 2009-05-04
Siddiq Abdullah | EC150 - Financial Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Abdullah is by far the worst professor I have had at Tufts University. I am a senior majoring in economics, and I have never encountered a professor who is so unconcerned with student progress and who is so oblivious to what goes on in his own class. He grades problems really late (sometimes not at all) and just regurgitates the book. He is often confused about the syllabus and is never really clear about material for the exam. Given the choice, I would not have taken this class (or any other) with Professor Abdullah again.

Workload:
Workload was reasonable. 3-4 problem sets, 3 exams (including the final) and an optional extra-credit.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8354
Submitted: 2009-04-30
Peter Winn | Hist 75 - Americas | History

Review:
Professor Winn stood in the front of the class gave a mumbled "lecture" for half the class, put on some shitty video, and then left. The man is an asshole to talk to, and a horrible professor. Yes, he may be a scholar, but hes a deusche

Workload:
INSANE amounts of reading, dont try and buy all the books you'll go bankrupt, and he makes you buy his book too... Long ass midterm and final take homes. At least theyre take home!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 8346
Submitted: 2009-04-28
Vickie Sullivan | PS 148: Montesquieu | Political Science

Review:
Vickie Sullivan is by far one of the best, and most brilliant, professors at Tufts. This was a small seminar class, so discussion was encouraged, but Sullivan would always guide the discussion in case people's points were a bit off-track.

This is one of the few courses at Tufts (in political science/IR) where you are given the freedom to think deeply and broadly about issues instead of merely regurgitating the views of a professor or an author.

Workload:
We read two texts: Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws and the Persian Letters. Spirit of the Laws can get dense, so it's important to read carefully and pay attention to what Sullivan says in class, but the Persian Letters was an easy read.

Sullivan is definitely not an easy grader (in the past four years, she said she's given only 1 A for an advanced level class), but if you work hard and understand the material (and if you thoroughly enjoy political theory or any class that compels you to think outside the box!), you should definitely take this.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 8348
Submitted: 2009-04-28
Jeffrey Taliaferro | PS 160: Force, Strategy, Army Control | Political Science

Review:
Professor is knowledgeable, but not tolerant of approaches to IR that fall outside of the realist framework of thought. After taking many advanced political science/IR courses, this course was a complete waste of time, as many of the lectures were focused on providing background information, and summarizing the professor's viewpoints as well as the viewpoints of the readings (since I did the readings, the lectures were not that enlightening).

Taliaferro can be funny (bitingly sarcastic) at times, but I was thoroughly bored by the way the material was approached.

Workload:
Workload: one research paper (~20-25 pages), typical amount of reading; final = writing a policy memo.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 8317
Submitted: 2009-04-24
Enrico Spolaore | EC060 - International Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Spolaore's a pretty cool guy who obviously loves his subject and teaching. It was definitely a privilege to have him as an int'l econ professor because this is his field and he's pretty well-known in it. His expertise aside, it was nice to find out that he can teach, does care about his students and still makes time for them, despite the crazy schedule he must have as the Econ Dept. chair.

This being a huge lecture class, it is mostly him lecturing, though he'll take any questions. Sometimes, if enough people ask about something in the news that's related, he'll take the time to have a discussion. (This however, did put the class a bit behind schedule at times). In addition to what's in the textbook, he'll come up with his own, usually much funnier and more memorable example problems; and those are pretty helpful if you need extra help absorbing the material. I never went to his office hours, but you can email him all your questions, and he gets back to you promptly. That said, most of the stuff is really handled by his TA's (sections, grading, problem set help, etc.), since it's such a big class. But this was definitely one of the more interesting economics classes I've taken (and good prep if you're taking the related 100-level courses later) and I only wish Prof. Spolaore would teach more classes.

Workload:
One midterm, one final, problem sets scattered throughout. The semester I took EC60, our schedule got a little messed up and we were running behind; so sometimes things got hectic and it seemed like there was a lot of work. But it was manageable. The exams are pretty straightforward and if you do the psets and look at the book and lecture examples, you'll be fine. I'm not so sure about the multiple choice sections though because sometimes the questions were ambiguous and a lot of people hated that they were worth so much. But Spolaore's exams are still hardly as brutal as other economics exams I've taken so no real complaints here.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8318
Submitted: 2009-04-24
Edward Kutsoati | EC150 - Financial Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Kutsoati was all right, though hardly one of the best econ profs I've had at Tufts. I'd read mostly positive reviews of him before I took the class, but my experience wasn't so great. Sometimes it seemed like he was a bit frustrated and couldn't really function without his powerpoints when the projector died, which happened a lot. He's a pretty mellow guy, but often that translated into a seeming lack of enthusiasm, which invariably made lecture boring. He is willing to help you with the material and problem sets during office hours though. As for EC150, it's a good class with important material for anyone hoping to go into finance; but you might want to try for a different professor if you seek a more lively and enthusiastic approach to the subject.

Workload:
Couple of problem sets, I think two midterms, and one final. Found a lot of grading mistakes on my problem sets (I think it may have been a TA grading them though), but it was nice that he was willing to add points back. The exams were okay, you do get choices as to which tricky questions you want to answer (they're all tricky). It was annoying however, that well into the final, he decided to make one of the questions mandatory, on top of all the corrections that had to be applied.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8321
Submitted: 2009-04-24
Christopher McHugh | EC151 - Monetary Economics | Economics

Review:
I honestly struggled in this class, mainly because banking and finance aren't my fortes in economics. But I don't regret taking EC151 with McHugh at all. He's a really cool guy. He's ridiculously enthusiastic about economics (though not so much macro...) and I guess because his day job is in finance, he is very, very up-to-date with all the latest figures, Fed announcements, etc.

The course is a bit disorganized in terms of a continuous plan of study for the semester (there's just a really BROAD outline that he'll partly stick to); but I guess it makes sense for his approach, which is heavily based on what is current in the world. He's got a lot of his own views about this subject, but always encourages you to voice your opinions, especially if you think he's being -in his words - a "chump." It can be confusing at times though, when you're learning some of this stuff for the first time and already there's no right or wrong model/theory/example, there's only what you think and can argue. So if you're looking for a more solid, straightforward lesson on Monetary Econ... you might want to wait for a different prof.

In terms of material, you don't need to take EC150 before this, but I personally think that it probably would have helped me. My friends who took EC150 then EC151 also said that that order helped them. It's all very interesting material, but McHugh tends to throw in some of the stuff you might focus more on in EC150. So if you don't already know a bit about financial economics, stocks, bonds, that stuff, you might struggle.

But McHugh is very understanding and willing to help. You can talk to him during office hours, he gives you his phone number, answers his emails, etc. I did poorly on the first exam because the questions weren't what I was expecting; but I talked to him and he was willing to cut a deal (leave out my midterm and make my final count twice). I didn't take that deal, but it was nice to know it was available, and I think he really is receptive to your hard work and effort. If he knows you're trying, that will help.

Workload:
Problem sets, midterm, final. Problem sets are graded, but he's super lenient. Exam questions are based greatly on the real-world examples he talks about in class, so make sure you listen in lecture and keep up with the news. Also, if there are graphs in problem sets, know those. Reading the book will help in terms of understanding concepts, especially if this is your first course in this area of economics; but be warned: McHugh doesn't always agree with the textbook's authors.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8323
Submitted: 2009-04-24
Gary Leupp | HIST008 - US Imperialism in Asia | History

Review:
I had Professor Leupp for his survey courses on Japanese history and he wasn't so bad then. Maybe it was the more controversial nature of this subject, but I can't say I was entirely happy with how this class went. Let's get this straight, if you need to talk to him about your paper during office hours or even -if you need them- weekend meetings, he's great about that. If you agree with his political views, fantastic. Or, if you don't agree with him but like being shot down in class, what are you waiting for? Take this class!

If you want something better, or to feel valued as a history student, look elsewhere. He is just challenging you, but really, if other professors can do that civilly...

Study this stuff on your own, you might get more out of that. It's just such a shame because this is a fascinating topic. I still have a lot of respect for this man because he does know so much and I enjoyed his Japanese history courses. But sometimes it's hard to tolerate him when he's tearing you and your classmates apart.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading, which you might want to do if you intend/dare to speak up in class discussions, but you don't have to. 2 research papers - shorter one for the midterm, long one for the final. He's a pretty easy grader, just don't give him anything to shred.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 8313
Submitted: 2009-04-23
Siddiq Abdullah | EC150 - Financial Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Abdullah is passionate about what he teaches and it was interesting that he encouraged us to discuss current events in class. However, he is extremely disorganized as a professor and is not good at teaching. I would highly recommend you never ever ever take a class with this professor.

Workload:
3 problem sets, 3 exams


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8303
Submitted: 2009-04-22
Radiclani Clytus | ENG0037 - 20th Century African-American Literature | English

Review:
This course is completely unlike the course description. It is one of the mostlife-changing courses at Tufts. The class can seem very intimidating at first, but stick with it and you will be rewarded. Prof. Clytus is an amazing thinker and very encouraging of his students. Come prepared to class every day and participate. Prof. Clytus gives back whatever you can put in. Amazing, amazing teacher and man.

Workload:
About half a novel per class (usually no more than 100 pages) and a class majority choice of 2 or 4 papers. Attend class and do the readings and it is never overwhelming


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8306
Submitted: 2009-04-22
Philip Starks | BIO130- Animal Behavior | Biology

Review:
This class was by great lengths the worst I've ever taken. Prof. Starks is so concerned with being a "cool dude" that the interest he takes in transmitting knowledge is minimal. Whenever students asked questions, he'd either:
1. re-direct the question to the class and we'd be stuck with a poor explanation (read:guess) from a student.
2.he'd congratulate the student on having a good question and never answer it.
I learned more about his brother George than I did about animal behavior.
He also spends most of the time trying to get the TAs to show us how gazelles stot or what a waggle dance looks like instead of teaching us the significance of these behaviors.
Whenever he did actually pretend to give a lecture, he'd give us extremely superficial and speedy explanations and then expected students to somehow gain complete understanding of the concepts for the exam.
His topics are extremely unorganized and while all the topics in the book lead into one another, Starks' approach left us with material that was neither cohesive or coherent.

Cliffsnotes:
-Terrible teacher
-Don't take this class unless you want to learn about his brother and watch the TAs do "funny" things.

Workload:
The textbook is fascinating. Alcock's presentation of the material is extremely clear, cohesive, and lucid as opposed to Starks'. Unfortunately, you do not have to read it.
Tips:
-Memorize every slide on the powerpoint presentations.
-Don't try to make sense of them because it's impossible.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 8297
Submitted: 2009-04-21
George Ellmore | BIO010 - PLANTS & HUMANITY | Biology

Review:
This guy is a compete @^*^%$&*!
He doesn't care about student's progress. Class involvement was strictly discouraged. No matter what intelligent question you may have, he will never give you a chance to ask. Even if you keep your hand up for half an hour, he will pretend he can't see you. Also, he is a VERY unfair grader!!

George Ellmore is the WORST professor I came across at Tufts.


.

Workload:
Three exams, two midterms and a final.
You may never find justice if you disagree with his grading cause he doesn't assign any reading material - it's all about what he says in his - more than often - not relevant lectures. So, if he ever asks in an exam about x or y, even if you know he never talked in class about those things, you will have to guess the answer. Well, if you are OK with these things, go on with it - take the class.

My suggestion? STAY AWAY!


.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Anthropology


Review ID: 8280
Submitted: 2009-04-16
Radiclani Clytus | Eng 37 - 20th Century African American Literature | English

Review:
He is amazing. Take this class. You will not regret it. Changed my life.

Workload:
2 papers. Produce quality work and you will get a good grade. Show up for every class and participate.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Comparative Religion


Review ID: 8270
Submitted: 2009-04-15
Kristen Bennett | Eng 001 | English

Review:
I wish I would have taken the AP English test to place out of the class, but my writing greatly improved with Bennett's class. She was very concerned with student's progress, was very enthusiastic for the course, and encouraged class involvement. She gave very constructive, extensive comments on papers. She is very positive and upbeat.

Workload:
There were 5 papers ranging from 5-7 pages. There is not much reading.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8271
Submitted: 2009-04-15
Consuelo Cruz | Latin American Politics PS 127 | Political Science

Review:
I really enjoyed this class! Professor Cruz is funny, original and passionate about Latin American Politics. (She is from Nicaragua) There was not much class involvement as the class is around 40 people.

Workload:
Around 30-40 pages for every class. We only had a regular block time two times a week. A 10 page midterm paper (40%) and a 10 page final (60%)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8272
Submitted: 2009-04-15
Patricia Smith | Spanish 004 | Spanish

Review:
Sra. Smith is very kind and enthusiastic for the class. She speaks clearly and encourages class participation. She is an easy grader on tests. She offers extra credit periodically. I enjoyed the topics covered.

Workload:
The workload is very manageable. The novel is a bit challenging, but class discussions help.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8273
Submitted: 2009-04-15
Ronna Johnson | On the Road in America | American Studies

Review:
I needed a class and this fit my schedule, I would not have taken it otherwise. For being an elective credit, it took a lot of time. We read a ~200 pg. book every week. There was a movie to watch every Sunday. It's a small class, around 12 students. She makes everyone feel comfortable to share insights and comments. I feel like I now have a greater understanding on the road and buddy narrative. The course in comprehensive and varies in "road stories." I went to her office hours and she is very nice, concerned with progress and overall well-being.

Workload:
A book a week, 2 response papers (2 pgs.) an in class midterm and a literary analysis final (5-6 pages)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8257
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Malena Espanol | Math 005 - Intro to Calculus | Mathematics

Review:
I took Calculus AB in high school but didn't do too well so I decided to take Math 5 in the hopes of better grasping the concepts before I moved on. Unfortunately, Prof. Espanol was not a great option. She is inarticulate and does not conduct even a small class of 25 well. I learned absolutely nothing from attending class, which was always lagging behind schedule thanks to her inability to go over assignments efficiently. She has difficulty explaining even the simplest mathematic concepts and her inexperience really wears on you as the semester progresses.

Workload:
Assignments from the textbook daily...nothing too difficult if you read the explanations from the textbook. However, the few problems I did run into I definitely could NOT rely on the professor to explain them...she had a hard time doing the math herself.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8259
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Fernanda Estevan | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
This was Prof. Estevan's first semester teaching at Tufts - and it showed. She is rather difficult to understand and the lectures are extremely boring. Although I am a tentative economics major, this was an absolutely horrid introduction to the subject. I just hope the courses and the professors improve dramatically as I progress.

Workload:
6 problem sets over the course of the semester plus 3 exams including the final. Exams were very difficult and the professor was unreceptive to appeals...which made the class even more frustrating.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8260
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Cheryl Tano | Span002 - Elementary Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Prof. Tano is the best professor I've had so far at Tufts. She teaches with enthusiasm, strongly encourages and promotes class participation, and makes herself readily accessible outside of class. She stays loyal to the class syllabus and is very efficient in her instruction. She was also very accepting of my less-than-average grasp of spanish (I placed out of spanish I so I hadn't taken a spanish course in a year) and helped me greatly improve and get ready for more advanced spanish courses.

Workload:
Workbook and exams - nothing too difficult


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8261
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Sara Folta | Nutr101 - Human Nutrition | Nutrition

Review:
Prof. Folta was an average professor. Her lectures are a little dry, but her inclusion of the iClicker in class keeps you involved and attentive. She also brought in several guest lecturers (mostly from the graduate school) to teach class, which helped to mix things up and kept things interesting.

Workload:
4 exams including the final plus one major project - the diet record. The class is NOT easy, which was my impression upon registering for the class. However, if you study efficiently, you'll do fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8263
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Chih Ming Tan | EC35 - Economic Development | Economics

Review:
The class was more math based than I expected or would have liked but I still really enjoyed it. The professor is really nice and engaging in class. He makes a effort to encourage participation and I liked how he reviewed what we did last class at the beginning of the next. He's also pretty accessible and cares a lot about his students.

Workload:
Not too much work, the question sets are difficult (you absolutely must form a study group and do it together) but he grades them pretty easy. The midterm and final were quite difficult and there was very little time to complete them but he puts a big curve on them... almost everyone gets Bs. The group research paper/presentation is a good way to raise your grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8264
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Mark Karlins | Eng0001 | English

Review:
Professor Karlins was a very good professor. He knew what he was talking about and is highly knowledgeable about the most obscurest of topics. He was a little on the odd/eccentric side, but that was what made the course more interesting. It was not a conventional english course, I'm sure. He liked having discussions and hearing the students' opinions on various topics and was very open. He was very encouraging of our writing. Professor Karlins would have a time and day set up where you could meet with him about your first draft and he'd discuss with you what needed to be clarified, emphasized, and gave suggestions for a more focused topic. It was a pretty straightforward class and I enjoyed exploring the different types of writing styles that he gave as a sort of guideline for our essays. However, if you are looking for a more technical approach to writing and need to work on grammar, sentence structure and things of that nature, Professor Karlins does not do this directly and touches it lightly in grading your essays and talking to you about your drafts.
Overall, though, I would definitely take another course with Professor Karlins.

Workload:
He gave miscellaneous works to read, which were primarily excerpts from various books. There was about one essay every two weeks. One week to write a draft for peer editing and then the weekend or the next week for the final draft. It was a decent and reasonable amount of work. We read Abel's Island and we watched Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.
Professor Karlins seems to have a particular liking to essays that explore unconventional and unique topics though.
He also teaches a film course so he was much more technical when it came to writing about Do the Right Thing.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 8265
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Anne Taieb | 0021-Comp and Conv. I | French

Review:
Professor Taieb is a wonderful and absolutely sweet person. Personally, I have not needed any extra help from her, but I have heard of other students receiving extra help from her outside of class when they were struggling with the material. She is also very reasonable when it comes to deadlines with compositions and homework assignments. If you needed an extension and gave a legitimate reason as to why you would like one, she is more than likely to give you one. There is also extra credit available if you watch the french films on the weekend.
There were many grammatical rules and sentence structure taught in the class, but they were conveyed in a very understandable and clear way.
I liked her so much first semester, I am taking Fr 22 with her as well.

Workload:
There are four exams focused on grammar topics covered up until the exam, along with a mini composition on the film or reading you had. There are around four compositions as well; the first draft of which she makes corrections and depending on how much you improved, she raises the final grade of the composition by a third or half a letter grade.
We watch a few french films, which is really great for more cultural exposure, I think, especially because I haven't watched any myself outside of class despite the fafct that I would like to. The class is not very expensive material-wise either--one of the cheaper courses here I think, except Barson...
The assignments and exams were VERY straightforward. Her grading is very reasonable and fair. She looks at both content and structure. She encourages class participation by calling on you, but it's not a put-on-the-spot sort of way. In addition, despite the fact that she is French, she speaks at a very normal pace so that everyone can understand her.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 8266
Submitted: 2009-04-14
Virginia Drachman | HIST0093 | History

Review:
The class is very straightforward and not too demanding, though it is more about movements than specific women. The readings are manageable and interesting. Professor Drachman is knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. She is also very good about ending on time.

Workload:
Two tests, one paper, and an easy ongoing assignment. Grading is fair (but you get one grade at the end of the assignment and you don't really know where it came from). If you do the work, it is an easy class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 8236
Submitted: 2009-04-08
Daniel Richards | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
Richards is one of the best in the department. I find it hard to believe that so many reviewers found him hard to reach outside of class. He is my adviser, and I have never had a problem. He has a dry, but very good sense of humor. Always an exciting lecturer, and he knows the material better than probably anyone in the department.

Workload:
Workload is never too heavy with Richards. Tests are somewhat challenging, but fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8232
Submitted: 2009-04-06
Robert Stolow | CHEM0053/54 Organic Chemistry Lab | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Stolow is a very friendly professor who does his best to explain things. Unfortunately he goes into a lot of needless depth, especially for a lab lecture. He talks about the lab handout and theory (that you will have already learned to death in organic chemistry itself) for an amazing hour and fifteen minutes. As a comparison, Dr. Iacabucci went through the lab in about 15 minutes when she explained it. Very long and dull class.

Workload:
Quizzes were as difficult as they could get for a lab course. The questions would sometimes be very specific (like knowing compounds and structures of things used in the lab) and there will always be some sort of mechanism question and obscure multiple choice question. He assigns reading, but it is not very necessary, a quick glance is more than enough.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 8233
Submitted: 2009-04-06
Julie Strand | Music 3: Intro to World Music | Music

Review:
literally the worst professor I have ever had. I am surprised this is the first review about her. She is an awful teacher, has no idea what she is talking about, does not really care to teach the students much, has NO self-confidence. This class is a waste of money. all of her power points from class are the ones that the author of the text book put up on his website. I feel like I am actually dumber in every way after taking a class with her. AVOID THIS TEACHER AT ALL COSTS.

Workload:
reasonable. the class should be an easy a but its not, because she is too unintelligent to teach the material properly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8214
Submitted: 2009-04-01
Onur Akmehmet | Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
I would definitely take another class with him. He makes the course easy to follow and likes the students. He is very approachable and detail oriented. He owns the course, unique professor...

Workload:
Three problem sets, one midterm, one final. He grades everything himself and writes tons of comments. His problems tend to be tough yet fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 8197
Submitted: 2009-03-24
Cheryl Tano | Elementary Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Professor Tano was an amazing teacher. She can spend most of the classes just talking with her students, which really enforces the speaking aspect of learning a new language, and is a great way for students to learn the language. She is very patient and willing to work at a good pace for her students. Always available for extra help, and really likes to be involved with her students' learning.

Workload:
same workload for all classes in this level.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 8183
Submitted: 2009-03-16
Judith Haber | General View of English Literature | English

Review:
Bad news. She is nasty, dismissive of undergrads, and is unkind to her TA.

Workload:
Usual.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 8173
Submitted: 2009-03-12
Paul Waldau | Religion and Animals | Comparative Religion

Review:
Paul Waldau should not be allowed to teach, let alone collect accolades from prestigious academic institutions. He has a focus on animals because he cannot relate to other human beings. Someone should ask him why he is unable to create successful relationships with women. He has been married and divorced three times, no children, with a history of physical abuse. This is not the person you want preaching from the pulpit on the subject of ethics! He is pathologically narcissist and is manipulative enough to make you believe he is truly humble. That facade could not be farther from the truth.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 8164
Submitted: 2009-03-09
Rana Gupta | Enterprenourial Finance | American Studies

Review:
I had this class on BU in 2008 and I was impressed. He is one of the few professors around who actually having real business experience. He was running a company, he was a partner in a VC firm and he was teaching. He did say how difficult is to get VP financed and this is a fact, no need to discredit him for it. He talked about 6-7 other financing - if you were to create your own company. I think that was a real lesson and a non-book-case one, which worth the investment (unlike 80% of the other MBA classes).

Workload:
Not bad, but real work had to be done: interview and consult real enterprenours in Boston. Get to help them in their finances. Real stuff (to me at least).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8119
Submitted: 2009-02-21
Christopher McHugh | EC151 - Monetary Economics | Economics

Review:
While he is certainly enthusiastic, if you are actually interested in Monetary Economics do it on your own. he is way too cynical about his subject. It is one thing to be skeptical. It is another thing entirely to be dismissive and he is. When discussing current events he prefers to critique the op-ed pages as trite and populist as if they were worth our time. He never bothers to actually discuss the policy action and data that is referred to in any substantive manner. He clearly does not realize that this is an upper division economics course. He spends time going over algebra and basic economic facts from EC5 rather than actually teaching something that would be difficult to learn on your own.

In short if you are looking for an easy and trite overview of monetary economics this class is for you. If you are looking for something more serious, you will quickly become FED up.

Workload:
Probably the easiest course you could take in the economics department. he is not serious about the subject and so it never requires and rigorous thought about it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8122
Submitted: 2009-02-21
Christopher McHugh | EC151 - Monetary Economics | Economics

Review:
While he is certainly enthusiastic, if you are actually interested in Monetary Economics do it on your own. he is way too cynical about his subject. It is one thing to be skeptical. It is another thing entirely to be dismissive and he is. The difference is that his criticism of the subject is not thoughtful. It primarily consists of him asking the question rhetorically, "where's the model?" over and over again. And he never bothers to try to find one. When discussing current events he prefers to critique the op-ed pages as trite and populist as if they were worth our time. He never bothers to actually discuss the policy action and data that is referred to in any substantive manner. He clearly does not realize that this is an upper division economics course. He spends time going over algebra and basic economic facts from EC5 rather than actually teaching something that would be difficult to learn on your own.

In short if you are looking for an easy and trite overview of monetary economics this class is for you. If you are looking for something more serious, you will quickly become FED up.

Workload:
This is probably the easiest course you could take. He is trite and superficial in his treatment of the subject, even his criticisms so you will never have to think rigorously about anything.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8086
Submitted: 2009-02-07
Ken Garden | REL0152 - Islam and Modernity | Comparative Religion

Review:
He's an awkward lecturer, but is very knowledgeable on the subject. The class may not be what you expect; It's more about the Islamic intellectual response to modernity that it is about violent responses to modernity. Since the material is complex, and Mr. Garden often has trouble simplifying it, you have to read the material beforehand.

Workload:
Usually about 30-40 pages of reading per class, usually biographies of Islamic modernists, so it's not too hard to understand. (2) Midterms (really easy of you do the reading), and (1) 10-12 Final Paper for which you can choose the topic. Very manageable workload overall.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Comparative Religion


Review ID: 8087
Submitted: 2009-02-07
Ross Feldberg | BIO-013 | Biology

Review:
Very difficult course. Do the reading, see your lab T.A. to clarify any points. Go to the lectures, they highlight the areas you should concentrate on. The reading will clarify the lectures, because the lectures are fast-paced, especially by the third section. Go to review sessions. talk to the professor if you have any problems: showing your face lets them know who you are = better chance of them sympathizing when grade you. Expect a 73-78 class average per test (your grade will be determined by the grading curve). Feldberg makes sure the class is a challenge, Mitch McVey (the genetic lecturer) is a much more amiable lecturer, and the third lecturer is very quick (but the material she covers is straight-forward).

Workload:
Heavy amount of reading, Lab write-ups are difficult to get perfect. 3 midterms, 1 final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8088
Submitted: 2009-02-07
Andrew Klatt | SPN-001 | Spanish

Review:
Best class. Klatt knows the exercises are absurd and the material can be boring. He makes up for it with his solid sense of humor. He's the perfect teacher is you don't like the extra fluff of beginner language classes (skits, etc.). He'll teach you what you need to know. Fills in extra time by talking about culture. Will entertain your questions. Will be sarcastic. In short, Klatt's a baller.

Workload:
Workbook exercises collected at end of a unit (answers in the back of the book) for which you either get a check or not (depending on whether you do the work or not). Four tests, each covering 2-3 chapters of material. Final exam is straightforward; There are several practice tests that are sufficient preparation.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8089
Submitted: 2009-02-07
George McNinch | MATH0011 - Calculus 1 | Mathematics

Review:
McNinch is not a good lecturer. If you've never taken Calculus before, you better not take this class. If you have, you better bring a magazine to class. His lecturing style is awkward and he spends too much time on theory, and not enough on practice. He laughs at jokes that are clearly only make sense to him and, I'm guessing, Trekkies.
That being said, he's very willing to help students, and will answer your questions (though he'll make mistakes in the process.) In short, very easy to like him, very difficult to understand him.

Workload:
Problem set collected each class (usually about 10-15 problems; not a lot). 2 midterms, and one final. Make sure to read the chapters, and do the homework, it's the only way you'll understand the material.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 8077
Submitted: 2009-02-04
David O'Leary | REL 0001- Introduction to Religion | Comparative Religion

Review:
First ever religion course. Prof. Oleary made the subject come alive. Going to be a Religion major!

Workload:
Mid-term, research paper and reflection papers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Comparative Religion


Review ID: 8051
Submitted: 2009-01-26
Malik Mufti | American Foreign Policy in the Middle East | American Studies

Review:
Professor Mufti's class was one of the best I'd ever taken. He definitely does not know favoritism in his treatment or grading of students. The manner in which he conducts discussions was very thought provoking and encourages students to perform at their best. Highly recommended.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8045
Submitted: 2009-01-24
David Garman | Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Professor Garman is an excellent professor, and the best you could as for for a class like Econometrics. He is very thorough and concerned with students' progress. He will always review something again, even if it is basic, to make sure that everyone is on the right page, and he won't make you feel bad about being behind or not understanding. He is very in demand but he always makes himself available if you need help, and for reviews before tests. Tests are fair. He is also an extremely nice person, and funny too!

Workload:
There is a homework and a 5 minute quiz every week, which do not take long but ensure that you keep up, very important in this course. There is one chapter assigned per week, but if the class is not getting it he won't move on until it does. There's a big (15-25 pg) paper at the end, but he helps you start thinking about it early and reduces homework so you have time and can space it out.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 8011
Submitted: 2009-01-18
David O'Leary | REL001-01 | Comparative Religion

Review:
Professor O'Leary's Intro to Religion course was great!
Over 30 plus students in the class & he knew all their names.
He is very helpfull in guides for writing the research paper, very open to meeting students outside of class.

Workload:
Take home mid term, weekly reflection papers and a major research paper. NO FINAL!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Education


Review ID: 8002
Submitted: 2009-01-15
Ronna Johnson | ENG0091 - Writing of the Beat Generation | English

Review:
By far the reason she's at Tufts. If you are going to take a course concerning American literature of the 1950s through 1970s, it must be this one. She knew what she was talking about, knows the authors (personally as well as intellectually), and carries on a wonderfully interesting lecture. All the books were amazing and her antecedents about the authors and Beat culture were especially interesting. If you are at all interested in Kerouac/Ginsberg/Burroughs/et cetera, you should take this class. She is quite the character, but coupled with her expertise concerning these books and authors, I found it endearing. A great class.

Workload:
Lots of reading, but all of it books worth reading. About three short papers, but nothing overwhelming at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7997
Submitted: 2009-01-14
Susan Russinoff | PHILL 33 | Philosophy

Review:
One of the worst classes at Tufts mainly because the teacher is awful. Not only does she berate and make fun of students but her explanations are unclear. Even when students would ask for further explanation of a concept she often said, "Isn't that self explanatory?". One on one she was just as harsh and rude and couldn't find alternative methods of teaching logic if you didn't understand her way of doing it. The TA's were helpful (some more than others) if they were paying attention. Overall it was an experience that no one should endure unless it is required to graduate.

Workload:
There was a problem set due about every week and a half. Three tests and a final. You will make life a lot easier, if you attend every class, those who missed even a few always were lost when they returned.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7980
Submitted: 2009-01-08
James Ennis | SOC0010- American Society | Sociology

Review:
Professor Ennis was nice and enthusiastic about the material he taught, but utterly ineffectual at actually teaching it. The subject matter was very promising, but Ennis never dug below the surface, so that if you read the assignments, you rarely learned anything new from the lectures. He habitually brought up quite interesting questions about the nature of some aspect of American society, and then instead of actually analyzing or delving into this question, he would simply say "so that would be interesting to look into." He also had the annoying penchant of showing charts of survey data and simply reading the numbers aloud to the class instead of explaining the sociological trends they represented.
Overall, I feel he did not teach me much about either sociology or American society. Perhaps he would be better in a more advanced class.

Workload:
Moderate workload. About 3-4 readings for each class, each reading around 10-25 pages. 5 short online response posts, a midterm exam, a 15 page research paper, and a final exam. Not a difficult grader. The tests were sometimes nit picky about the covered material.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 7971
Submitted: 2009-01-06
Emily Bushnell | PSY 27 - Perception | Psychology

Review:
Prof Bushnell did a great job teaching this course. The material was really interesting, and though she tended to repeat herself at times, she was generally really thorough and clear in her explanations. She was definitely accessible outside of class, and made time for review sessions before each of the exams.

Workload:
The book is really great for going over material discussed in class, but honestly, all that's required to do well in the class is to attend and take good notes. It's good to read what's covered in class, but often the entire amount of assigned reading covered topics we weren't tested on, so don't waste time doing all of it. The tests were all pretty easy (multiple choice and essay questions). The presentation was also not very difficult to pull together. Overall, a pretty fair, easy workload.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 7973
Submitted: 2009-01-06
Cynthia Golzman | SPN004- Intermediate Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Cynthia was a great teacher. She was very nice, informal and approachable. Classes were mostly always discussion, always in Spanish. She was very good at leading class discussions, making sure everyone was talking and everyone understood what she was saying. She always offered extra help after class or in office hours if you didn't understand something. The downside of the class was that because it was all discussion, you had to learn the grammar and vocab on your own.

Workload:
Workload was average for a Spanish class. Boring workbook exercises (though she didn't care too much about these). We read 1 short novel. She assigned a few compositions, and lets you turn in a 1st draft which she corrects and gives back to you to fix- she then averages the grades to the 2 drafts. Exams. Final exam was hard.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 7955
Submitted: 2009-01-02
Elizabeth Remick | Comparative Revolutions | Political Science

Review:
Remick is by far the worst professor I've had at Tufts! She's boring and doesn't know what she's talking about most of the time (kids in class either correct her wrong answers or ask her something that she doesn't know the answer to). She's constantly changing office hours because of her kids. Her comments on papers are the most unhelpful of any professor I've had. Her assignments are difficult and she gives little time between them. She also is slow to grade papers which hurts her students since each paper is based off the last. I'd rather bang my head against the wall then take another class with Remick - no joke!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7948
Submitted: 2008-12-31
Rana Abdul-Aziz | ARB001-Arabic 1 | Arabic

Review:
Rana is, as the previous reviewer noted, a very helpful and rewarding teacher to study with. I would recommend her to any student who actually wants to learn and use Arabic in their lifetime. If you just sort of want to take a language to fulfill a requirement or don't want to spend 2 or 3 hours doing regular homework, then you should not take Rana's class.

The tests and quizzes are definitely reasonable after you pick up the pace of the course and what is expected of you. The hardest thing at the beginning is mastering all the letters when each day in class you are given 2 or 3 new ones. You need to be pretty flexible, as later in the year you will be listening to videos in class and having to repeat back what is being said (Happened like 3 times). There were some people who had a rough time in the class (some days), but I think it was just that we might have 2 quizzes in one week, and studying to really know the material took awhile. Another hard thing to get use to but that sort of disappeared later (at least on quizzes) was dictation. Otherwise, everything was from the book, and if you studied it the exam should be easy.

Rana also goes out of her way to have office hours, email, and the whole nine yards to help you. So if you like to get extra help she is for you.

Excellent teacher if you like to really immerse yourself.

Workload:
At first you have just Alif-Ba, and you do a few exercises (listening, writing, vocab). At about midterm you hand in the book, it should be an easy, easy 5% of your grade. In Al-Kitab you then get your standard, write 10 vocab words from the DVD with sentences, and like an exercise from page 2. Another easy like 10% of your grade. Quizzes and tests could be never raking to study for if you waited until the last second, but you basically need to know all the vocab that she tells you to know. She tells you whats on it, so know it.

We had a ton of quizzes, a midterm exam, a final, and one tiny project on your families. Same as every other Arabic 1 class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7942
Submitted: 2008-12-30
Mark Karlins | ENG0001- Expository Writing | English

Review:
Professor Karlins really cares about each student's progress in the course. He met with each student individually outside of class to discuss every paper before the final draft was due. Discussions tended to be a little scattered, but extremely interesting nonetheless. If you want your writing to improve and have interesting reading assignments coupled with an interactive class atmosphere, I recommend taking a class with Karlins.

Workload:
4 papers (3-5 pages, 12% each)
1 research paper (5-7 pages, 18%)
Small group projects and participation account for the rest of your grade.
We were given a lot of freedom on each paper. If you like structured directions, this would be a great way to expand your writing style.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7943
Submitted: 2008-12-30
Maria Conchita Davis | Spanish 22 | Spanish

Review:
An overall good professor who keeps the class running according to the syllabus and emphasizes grammar and writing ability. Although she is very nice, Conchita does not strive to get to know any of her students personally (beyond their names). It is very hard to get an A in her class, and the material is often dull.

Workload:
A considerable amount of work required for the 4 Compositions and studying is essential in order to succeed on the exams. The readings are average.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7932
Submitted: 2008-12-28
Sidique Abdullah | Economics 05 | Economics

Review:
Horrible teacher who ruined economics for me. I found his lectures to be profoundly boring and repetitive. He was not engaging or clear. I switched my major so I would not have to take another class with this teacher. If you love economics and do not want it to be ruined by this awful teacher, try to get in the other section by all costs.

Workload:
You read the book and hopefully understand... time for class depends on how long it takes to teach yourself economics


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7924
Submitted: 2008-12-25
Jay Cantor | Excercise and Health | American Studies

Review:
After working with Professor Cantor for 2 years I am grateful to know such a Off-Handed,Sarcastic, Mundane, Dreary,and sincerely loving Indivdual! Your Presence Missed!

Alex R.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 7918
Submitted: 2008-12-24
Judith Haber | Eng. 51 | American Studies

Review:
Man, I don't know how to contain myself on this Judith Haber review. She is EVIL - I must say this over and over again. When I had her some years ago I had several arguments with her after class because she refused to see any alternative point of view on any literature she taught.
I have never met a professor more unresponsive to alternate student opinion as Judith Haber. At one point in my academic career I had Haber engage me in a yelling match outside of class because I stood up for a single alternate interpretation of a reading in class. I must say in many years of alternate education and drug use I have never had a professor be so opposed to an alternate points of view and simultaneously be so whacked out of logic that I thought I was super toasted on weed and her celebrated time in a whacked out Berkeley, California. I have never met a person before or hence who has no grasp of reality, has no tolerance of alternate views and can't even grasp the depths of her own teaching of material (e.g. "Astrophil and Stella", Shakesperrean sonnets, et al) beyond the literal meanings of the words. Her lack of creativity and understanding... and inablility to change her whack, psuedo, non-gendered hairstyle... are very frustrating but know that a teacher who is insecure in her own understadings of literature is insecure in understandings of her self and despite the A's and B's you can con yourself into getting, they will in no way enhance your intellect or ability to grasp the true beauty of literature. Judith Haber is a women who missed the 60 and the 80s and is a relic trying to disco her way into mediocrity for the rest of her life. A sad play and a reason to stay the hell away from anything she academically influences.

Workload:
It's minor. Some sonnets and other passages every week. Don't be intimidated by a little Beowulf to start the semester. Just watch the movie, dont' talk in class and write down everything she says. She doesn't want to hear a peep except her own bland and literal interpretations of time she never sasw in the first place. Soo boring, unimaginative and anti-intellectual. It's like being in class with George Bush/Dick Cheney.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 7919
Submitted: 2008-12-24
Judith Haber | Eng. 51 | American Studies

Review:
Man, I don't know how to contain myself on this Judith Haber review. She is EVIL - I must say this over and over again. When I had her some years ago I had several arguments with her after class because she refused to see any alternative point of view on any literature she taught.
I have never met a professor more unresponsive to alternate student opinion as Judith Haber. At one point in my academic career I had Haber engage me in a yelling match outside of class because I stood up for a single alternate interpretation of a reading in class. I must say in many years of alternate education and drug use I have never had a professor be so opposed to an alternate points of view and simultaneously be so whacked out of logic that I thought I was super toasted on weed and her celebrated time in a whacked out Berkeley, California. I have never met a person before or hence who has no grasp of reality, has no tolerance of alternate views and can't even grasp the depths of her own teaching of material (e.g. "Astrophil and Stella", Shakesperrean sonnets, et al) beyond the literal meanings of the words. Her lack of creativity and understanding... and inablility to change her whack, psuedo, non-gendered hairstyle... are very frustrating but know that a teacher who is insecure in her own understadings of literature is insecure in understandings of her self and despite the A's and B's you can con yourself into getting, they will in no way enhance your intellect or ability to grasp the true beauty of literature. Judith Haber is a women who missed the 60 and the 80s and is a relic trying to disco her way into mediocrity for the rest of her life. A sad play and a reason to stay the hell away from anything she academically influences.

Workload:
It's minor. Some sonnets and other passages every week. Don't be intimidated by a little Beowulf to start the semester. Just watch the movie, dont' talk in class and write down everything she says. She doesn't want to hear a peep except her own bland and literal interpretations of time she never sasw in the first place. Soo boring, unimaginative and anti-intellectual. It's like being in class with George Bush/Dick Cheney.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 7922
Submitted: 2008-12-24
Judith Haber | English 68 | English

Review:
Man, I don't know how to contain myself on this Judith Haber review. She is EVIL - I must say this over and over again. When I had her some years ago I had several arguments with her after class because she refused to see any alternative point of view on any literature she taught.
I have never met a professor more unresponsive to alternate student opinion as Judith Haber. At one point in my academic career I had Haber engage me in a yelling match outside of class because I stood up for a single alternate interpretation of a reading in class. I must say in many years of alternate education and drug use I have never had a professor be so opposed to an alternate points of view and simultaneously be so whacked out of logic that I thought I was super toasted on weed and her celebrated time in a whacked out Berkeley, California. I have never met a person before or hence who has no grasp of reality, has no tolerance of alternate views and can't even grasp the depths of her own teaching of material (e.g. "Astrophil and Stella", Shakesperrean sonnets, et al) beyond the literal meanings of the words. Her lack of creativity and understanding... and inablility to change her whack, psuedo, non-gendered hairstyle... are very frustrating but know that a teacher who is insecure in her own understadings of literature is insecure in understandings of her self and despite the A's and B's you can con yourself into getting, they will in no way enhance your intellect or ability to grasp the true beauty of literature. Judith Haber is a women who missed the 60 and the 80s and is a relic trying to disco her way into mediocrity for the rest of her life. A sad play and a reason to stay the hell away from anything she academically influences.

Workload:
It's minor. Some sonnets and other passages every week. Don't be intimidated by a little Beowulf to start the semester. Just watch the movie, dont' talk in class and write down everything she says. She doesn't want to hear a peep except her own bland and literal interpretations of time she never sasw in the first place. Soo boring, unimaginative and anti-intellectual. It's like being in class with George Bush/Dick Cheney.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 7917
Submitted: 2008-12-23
Jianping Feng | Chinese 1 | Chinese

Review:
I can honestly say that Feng Laoshi is the best foreign language teacher I have ever had in my life. I looked forward to every single class with her, and I know that the rest of my classmates did as well. She is so concerned about her students' progress and makes herself available outside of class. She always makes jokes in the class and keeps the enthusiasm high. Feng Laoshi makes sure that each student is working to the highest of his or her potential. Overall I just love her. She's the best.

One thing I'll say is that she's a tough grader. Chinese 1 is no walk in the park. I don't think she gave out any A's, even to the kids who legitimately did get those grades. Still, Chinese really isn't about the grade; it's about the experience

Workload:
Expect a fair amount of work--I'd say you'll have to put approximately two hours into each homework assignment if you really want to retain the information. The assignments are straightforward and it becomes routine; just make sure you keep up with the Hanzi online quizzes or your life up until the final will be hell.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 7910
Submitted: 2008-12-21
Ross Feldberg | Bio0013 | Biology

Review:
Biology 13 has three professors, one for the Biochemistry and Macromolecules section (Feldberg), one for the Genetics section(McVey), and one for the Biotechnology section(McLaughlin). Feldberg was also the course coordinator, so I believe he wrote all the tests. I personally had no problem with any of them, although most people seemed to like McVey the best, citing that Feldberg was set to basically get people and McLaughlin skittered through her lectures very fast. Although many people claim this is one of the hardest premed courses, it does not have to be. All the lecture slides are available for download the day before the lecture, so you can bring it to class and just take supplementary notes. In addition, podcasts of all lectures are available, so you don?t even have to go to lecture (although the podcast did not work for two lectures, so there is no guarantee it will work all the time). As far as the book is concerned, there isn?t anything in the tests that does not come from the lecture slides, so the book is not mandatory to read. However, I always found it a good idea to review the sections complementary to the upcoming lecture, so I would be able to come into lecture at least having a basic idea of what the topic was about.

Workload:
There are three tests of 25 questions each and a final of 38 questions for the lecture portion of the course; all tests are Scantron, multiple choice. Sometimes, there are weekly quizzes and problem sets posted to Blackboard that are not mandatory but are recommended because the same type of questions can appear on a test. This is not a simple memorization course; you will need to not only understand the concepts, but also apply them. As a result, for an upcoming test, you should definitely familiarize yourself with exams from previous years to get a feel for the type of questions asked, and in many cases, a similar question might appear on the test. For the final, specifically, make sure you understand all the questions from the tests you have taken throughout the semester, because they usually have one or two questions from previous tests on the final. Make sure you understand the most difficult concepts, because you can bet Feldberg will ask a question about it. Also, read each question carefully; a little word that you miss may make the difference between a right and a wrong answer. It?s not impossible to get an A in this course; you just need to understand the concepts and carefully do each test.

The lab portion of the course meets once a week for three hours (sometimes, you?re done earlier than that). Workload consists of weekly homework assignments (usually consisting of writing a section of a lab report), two mini-lab reports, pre-lab assignments and quizzes (easy, not a big deal), and a lab practical (just make sure you understand the concepts and know how to use the major devices in each lab). The biggest problem I found with this part of the course was, obviously, the writing portion. Unlike other lab sciences, Biology is really anal about minor details; I got a poor grade once on my Discussion section even though I had almost perfect content; my mistakes were all formatting. Although they give you a rubric for each individual section assignment that makes the mini-lab reports easier (because you know exactly what they are looking for in each section),it is only after you receive your homework grade. So, it is annoying that sometimes they don?t tell you exactly everything you need for a section until you get your grade back with the rubric. For me, lab was hardest in the beginning, but then got easier once you understood what your TA wanted.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7900
Submitted: 2008-12-20
Eli Siegel | BIO0041- Genetics | Biology

Review:
Professor Siegel was perhaps the worst professor I have had at Tufts. In addition to being a poor lecturer, he showed no concern for the understanding of his students. He was extremely unavailable, having office hours for only 45 minutes at a time. He would never go out of his way to help students, and could be downright rude at times in response to requests for extra help. I ended up doing well in the class, but in spite of Prof. Siegel, not because of him. I would never recommend taking a class with him unless absolutely necessary for a major requirement.

Workload:
Workload was only three exams, which were difficult, but not impossible. Prof. Siegel will post old exams to study from, but the exams and their answer keys contain errors that he knows about but does not notify anyone of unless someone makes a point of it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7902
Submitted: 2008-12-20
Joseph DeBold | PSY0127- Behavioral Endocrinology | Psychology

Review:
Prof. DeBold is one of the best professors I have had at Tufts. He is extremely knowledgable, fair, and engaging. He truly wants his students to learn, with exams more for the purpose of making sure everyone is keeping up than for anything else. In fact, because most people did well on the midterm, the final was optional. Because everyone in the class is either a Psych or Biopsych major, and therefore everyone is there because they want to be, not because of a distribution requirement, it really reflects on the way the class is run.

Workload:
There is always a chapter or study that needs to be read for every class, but nothing unreasonable, and most of it is very interesting. Only grades were a midterm, a presentation, a final paper, and participation. Very fair work load.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 7885
Submitted: 2008-12-18
Anne Cantu | SPN 0022 XA - Comp/Conv II Hispanic Theater | Spanish

Review:
As someone interested in theater, I was hoping that this class would be a fun way to finish my Spanish requirement. Unfortunately, it was not all I had hoped it would be. The readings were confusing and not very interesting and the process for reading each one was monotonous. We would read the story, answer some questions, and then talk about the story in class. Professor Cantu said on the first day of class that she hoped that by the end of the semester, we would feel more comfortable with the language. I did not feel like this. I consistently felt inferior in class, mostly because the class is run like an English class. If analyzing literature in English is a challenge for you, then doing so in Spanish will be even harder.

We did some fun things in class occasionally. We wrote our own monologues and performed them, and then put on plays at the end of the semester from one of the stories we read. Performing in class was nice because it took us away from the daily discussions, which got old really fast.

Professor Cantu doesn't seem to have much of a grading system. Even if papers are grammatically correct, she will take off a lot of points for content. She often does not explain what content should have been included, though, or what would have improved the paper. Her paper assignments are essentially to write whatever you want, which can be nice sometimes and really aggravating at other times.

Workload:
The workload for this class wasn't excessive, but it was greater than average. Professor Cantu did not space assignments out well, so often two or three big things would be due in the course of two weeks, and we only had class twice a week. Also, Professor Cantu often made assignments due earlier than she first wrote on the syllabus, and she would tell us this last minute, which was really frustrating. We had to read one short story a week (10-20 pages), and write 5 one-page responses to different stories we read and 2 two-page essays. We also had three tests on the readings, which were very fair. There was no final, but our play presentation was sort of like a final project.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7887
Submitted: 2008-12-18
Mervat Ali | ARB 001 | Arabic

Review:
Mervat is great! She's really funny and she really encourages you to speak. She actively listens to student comments, and will actually change something if she feels that your comment is valid. She is, however, a native speaker of Arabic so it's different learning from her because she doesn't know what it's like to try to learn it as an English speaker. I'm taking her again next semester. I highly recommend her.

Workload:
Assignments are pretty straight forward. At the beginning of the semester you are given pages to do in the workbook nightly. DO THEM! It's the only way you'll learn the material. It's Arabic, you can't just fake it. There really isn't that much anyway, and she does grade it at the midterm. The second half of the course, you get homework assignments that are even less work. Really, because there isn't that much, you should do all of the homework. Other than that, I suggest spending at least 10 minutes a day studying vocab.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7888
Submitted: 2008-12-18
Alisha Rankin | HIST 0039 Health and Healing in Early Modern Europe | History

Review:
Initially she was kinda a dry lecturer, but it got a lot better as the course got more interesting. The course has a lot of really interesting material, especially if you like history. The hour and fifteen minutes can be a little much, but usually it's not too bad.
Prof. Rankin really likes when people participate and she's very willing to clarify things. Powerpoint pictures of bloodletting, medieval anatomical diagrams, and cupping really enhance the lectures. Not a very hard class if you pay attention in class and take notes.

Workload:
Workload was very manageable. One to two primary source readings were generally assigned for each class and several secondary sources. They can easily be skimmed though, and the secondary sources are not essential for each class. Two papers. A midterm and a final. Part of your grade is for participation and a small fraction is for visiting office hours which helps most people out.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7889
Submitted: 2008-12-18
Alisha Rankin | HIST 0039 Health and Healing in Early Modern Europe | History

Review:
Initially she was kinda a dry lecturer, but it got a lot better as the course got more interesting. The course has a lot of really interesting material, especially if you like history. The hour and fifteen minutes can be a little much, but usually it's not too bad.
Prof. Rankin really likes when people participate and she's very willing to clarify things. Powerpoint pictures of bloodletting, medieval anatomical diagrams, and cupping really enhance the lectures. Not a very hard class if you pay attention in class and take notes.

Workload:
Workload was very manageable. One to two primary source readings were generally assigned for each class and several secondary sources. They can easily be skimmed though, and the secondary sources are not essential for each class. Two papers. A midterm and a final. Part of your grade is for participation and a small fraction is for visiting office hours which helps most people out.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7874
Submitted: 2008-12-15
Steve Sharobem and Doug Martland and Audrey Perlow | EXP 70 - Constitution and American Education | Experimental College

Review:
This class is awesome. Doug, Steve, and Audrey really care and they just want to make it a fun time for discussion. The class is incredibly thought provoking and interesting, especially if you are interested in law. Lots of education majors in it too. Take it! You'll like it! It was my favorite class at Tufts.

Workload:
Not bad at all. 4 papers (3-4 pages) one final paper (5-7 pages) and 1 final group project. You read cases for homework every week. Very unique.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7875
Submitted: 2008-12-15
Steve Sharobem and Doug Martland and Audrey Perlow | EXP 70 - Constitution and American Education | Experimental College

Review:
This class is awesome. Doug, Steve, and Audrey really care and they just want to make it a fun time for discussion. The class is incredibly thought provoking and interesting, especially if you are interested in law. Lots of education majors in it too. Take it! You'll like it! It was my favorite class at Tufts.

Workload:
Not bad at all. 4 papers (3-4 pages) one final paper (5-7 pages) and 1 final group project. You read cases for homework every week. Very unique.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7868
Submitted: 2008-12-14
Ayanna K. Thomas | Psychology 28 - Intro to Cognitive Psychology | Psychology

Review:
This could have been a great class by Dr. Thomas is the worst teacher i have ever had at tufts. she should be fired. first of all she has no idea how to teach. unprofessional, disorganized, lazy, inaccessible, and overall a terrible teacher. the best part of the semester was when she brought in her lover boyfriend from the philosophy department to give a terrible guest lecture. she spent the entire lecture drooling in love with this guy. totally unprofessional. and we dont need to hear her love stories or bed stores with him. gross.

Workload:
easy but she doesnt know how to teach. no point in going to class. class makes you stupid with this teacher


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 7869
Submitted: 2008-12-14
David O'Leary | REL 001 Introduction to Religion | Comparative Religion

Review:
This intro course was one of my best. O'Leary made the subject material come alive.

Workload:
Weekly readings and reflection paper. Take home mid-term and a 10-12 page research paper. No Final!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7870
Submitted: 2008-12-14
David O'Leary | REL 001 Introduction to Religion | Comparative Religion

Review:
Prof. O'Leary is really into his students. Willing to meet outside of the classroom, willing to write letters of Rec.
Taking Intro to Religion was new for me. O'Leary made the material come to life.

Workload:
Weekly reflection papers on the readings, take home mid-term, large research paper 10-12 pages.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7856
Submitted: 2008-12-12
Kathleen Camara | CD 61 Personal and Social Development | Child Development

Review:
Although she seemed concerned with students' progress, she never responded to emails about meeting. It was useless to go to class since she lectured word for word from the powerpoints.

Workload:
The assignments were pretty straight forward but prepare early for the final project. Do not take this class without knowing someone else in the class since the final project really is time consuming and is best done in pairs.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 7857
Submitted: 2008-12-12
Keefe San Augustin | Math012 - Calculus II | Mathematics

Review:
To start off, our section was 8:30am twice a week and 9:30am the 3rd time. So most of the students seemed pretty out of it, myself included on certain occasions. He showed up late a few times, usually no more than 5-10 minutes and it didn't affect the timing at all. Regardless of the early class time, he was always ready to go. It was interesting hearing his insightful comments about certain applications of the material, and he was usually able to explain answers to questions students had. I would absolutely take a class from him again, he is teaching Math 6 next semester and I hope he sticks around.

Workload:
Same as pretty much any calculus class at Tufts. Syllabus at the beginning of the semester lays it all out. Homework set every night due the next class, having the solutions manual helps once you get to convergence of series and have no clue which test to use. Number of problems varies, usually you notice when certain nights have an obnoxious amount of problems, and not so much when there are not that many to do. Make sure you actually attempt the homework though because it will definitely help your understanding of the material for exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7858
Submitted: 2008-12-12
Joseph DeJuan | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
The book will be your best friend in this class. His lectures are done on a giant overhead projector, and everything he says comes straight out of the text. Even the specific examples, numbers, and graphs he shows are found on pages in the book. He is one of the worst people to hear lecture because he has little to no enthusiasm and it is hard to feel motivated to pay attention and actively learn the material. He occasionally solicits class answers from students, about once every lecture or so. Considering you will find it hard to pay attention in class and only go from the book, you might think recitations would help. On some level they do. The TA's are very knowledgeable and are great at answering questions you come with. But the work DeJuan provides them with does not make things any easier. He also seems to not want to reveal the content of exams, considering not even the TA's were able to give answers, only their best guesses.

I switched into this section because I heard Abdullah was an awful professor. I have no basis for comparison, but I can tell you that you will come to loathe this class. During the semester you might not think it's bad because there isn't much work to keep up on. But towards the end, once the final approaches, you will realize how useless going to class is and that he just basically read the book to you, something you could have done on your own. And even then he does not make the material any easier to understand. Do not let this discourage you from taking EC5, however. I still plan on minoring in econ; EC5 is considered the worst econ class so just take it to get it over with. Don't take it as an easy elective.

Workload:
Works consists mostly of reading. There were 4 assignments throughout the semester, each consisting of a few problems from, what else... the book. 2 midterms and a final exam mostly multiple choice with a few calculations to do at the end. The assignments can be done the night before; they really do not take long. If you want to keep up, make sure you do the readings, although it can be a little unclear as to what you should read before the next lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7859
Submitted: 2008-12-12
Joseph DeJuan | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
The book will be your best friend in this class. His lectures are done on a giant overhead projector, and everything he says comes straight out of the text. Even the specific examples, numbers, and graphs he shows are found on pages in the book. He is one of the worst people to hear lecture because he has little to no enthusiasm and it is hard to feel motivated to pay attention and actively learn the material. He occasionally solicits class answers from students, about once every lecture or so. Considering you will find it hard to pay attention in class and only go from the book, you might think recitations would help. On some level they do. The TA's are very knowledgeable and are great at answering questions you come with. But the work DeJuan provides them with does not make things any easier. He also seems to not want to reveal the content of exams, considering not even the TA's were able to give answers, only their best guesses.

I switched into this section because I heard Abdullah was an awful professor. I have no basis for comparison, but I can tell you that you will come to loathe this class. During the semester you might not think it's bad because there isn't much work to keep up on. But towards the end, once the final approaches, you will realize how useless going to class is and that he just basically read the book to you, something you could have done on your own. And even then he does not make the material any easier to understand. Do not let this discourage you from taking EC5, however. I still plan on minoring in econ; EC5 is considered the worst econ class so just take it to get it over with. Don't take it as an easy elective.

Workload:
Works consists mostly of reading. There were 4 assignments throughout the semester, each consisting of a few problems from, what else... the book. 2 midterms and a final exam mostly multiple choice with a few calculations to do at the end. The assignments can be done the night before; they really do not take long. If you want to keep up, make sure you do the readings, although it can be a little unclear as to what you should read before the next lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7860
Submitted: 2008-12-12
Joseph DeJuan | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
The book will be your best friend in this class. His lectures are done on a giant overhead projector, and everything he says comes straight out of the text. Even the specific examples, numbers, and graphs he shows are found on pages in the book. He is one of the worst people to hear lecture because he has little to no enthusiasm and it is hard to feel motivated to pay attention and actively learn the material. He occasionally solicits class answers from students, about once every lecture or so. Considering you will find it hard to pay attention in class and only go from the book, you might think recitations would help. On some level they do. The TA's are very knowledgeable and are great at answering questions you come with. But the work DeJuan provides them with does not make things any easier. He also seems to not want to reveal the content of exams, considering not even the TA's were able to give answers, only their best guesses.

I switched into this section because I heard Abdullah was an awful professor. I have no basis for comparison, but I can tell you that you will come to loathe this class. During the semester you might not think it's bad because there isn't much work to keep up on. But towards the end, once the final approaches, you will realize how useless going to class is and that he just basically read the book to you, something you could have done on your own. And even then he does not make the material any easier to understand. Do not let this discourage you from taking EC5, however. I still plan on minoring in econ; EC5 is considered the worst econ class so just take it to get it over with. Don't take it as an easy elective.

Workload:
Works consists mostly of reading. There were 4 assignments throughout the semester, each consisting of a few problems from, what else... the book. 2 midterms and a final exam mostly multiple choice with a few calculations to do at the end. The assignments can be done the night before; they really do not take long. If you want to keep up, make sure you do the readings, although it can be a little unclear as to what you should read before the next lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7853
Submitted: 2008-12-11
Natalie Matsuoka | Intro to American Politics | Political Science

Review:
First class of the semester, she set up the power point and read exactly off of it. She rarely went on in depth to explain the notes, and when she did, she looked to the ceiling and flapped her arms around a lot, much like many young professors who try to sound like they know what they are talking about. She had no knowledge of the subject, would stumble over her words whenever anyone asked her a question. Very annoying masculine voice that comes off condescending. She claims it's a bipartisan class about 50 times during the first day, obviously trying to calm skeptics. However, her flaming liberal point of view is shoved down your throats with her biased statistics such as why Hurricane Katrina was the fault of rich white people. Her notes actually defined liberal as the "Most American point of view." She also never makes an attempt to help the students, just reads off the prompter and leaves. She should probably be fired.
My TA was very good, she had a general knowledge for the subject and led unbiased group discussions and debates. She would have done a much better job as the Professor.

Workload:
If you want to take a blow off class, take this one. Never did any of the reading, since most of the books were about material I had learned in high school. Midterm is an elementary school test, with 13 definitions listing, any the little kiddies get to choose 10 of them! Final: same format, more words. Here's the kicker: there is a project that every kid must do, which sucks. Ours was an exit polling project, where we stood outside of the voting stations and conducted a survey. It takes up nearly the whole day, and is followed by a 10 page response paper, which is grades easily. I wrote half of mine on the weather that day, the night before, and got a solid B on it. I have a feeling the only reason she taught the class was because of this project, since we didn't receive our midterms(our first grade of the class) until after the project(2 and a half months into the class). Basically, she made sure none of her pawns would drop the class so she could have more servants doing her research project. I hope you're reading this right now Mightysaka. Kiss it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 7847
Submitted: 2008-12-10
Alice Trexler | DNC11-DR11--Intro to Physical Theatre | Dance

Review:
Alice is a very professional person, and teaches the course in a very professional way. It's a really easy class to take as far as class participation goes. All you have to do is follow her instructions, and there is really no wrong way to do things in this class. Alice is very strict, but as long as you approach the class in a professional way, as she does, you will find it to be a very enjoyable experience. I've made so many good friends in this class!

Workload:
You get about 2 short (maximum 5 pages) articles to read per week, and then you have to submit a 300-word analysis of whatever you've had to read (they are grouped into ReadingResponse A, B, C, etc. so you know how many articles you are writing about per analysis). She grades them within a few days. About once a month, you have to go watch maybe 1.5 hours worth of specified videos and do an easier maybe 500-word recap, or whatever she has specified. There are about four projects throughout the semester, done in class, that you have to meet about 10 minutes before to prepare for. It's not much work at all, except for the last one, the final project, which takes up about four hours outside class. The good thing though is that it's a physical project, no studying needed, and when you're done, you're done!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 7845
Submitted: 2008-12-09
Pearl Robinson | African Politics and Politics in Global Africa | Political Science

Review:
I did not enjoy the experience of either class with Pearl. I've taken two because of the fact that the classes relating to Africa are so few I chose to take classes I think I'll find interesting regardless of the teacher. Well, this policy is being tested by Pearl, when she comes to class (which is far from all the time) she lectures nonstop about often tangential topics and expects students to know esoteric and irrelevant things. She is intimidating and will simply tell you you're wrong, no gentle reframing of a statement. In a class of three people, she still managed to talk 90% of the time and 90% of that was about herself! Even if I could get through the classes, the assignments are not enjoyable or truly fairly graded.

Do not take a class with her, I know, I know "the class sounds so interesting" "it's exactly what I want to study", well that's not what the class will be anyway and Pearl will make even the interesting disappointing and drawn out.

Workload:
There are some books and papers to read, none of which are impossible but can be very dense and sometimes she doesn't even bother really using them in lecture or tells you after the fact she doesn't like the book and wonders why she assigned it. The papers are hard, watch out, even if you think you can write there's a good chance she will rip your paper apart. Test essays are the same, if you don't give her exactly what her preconceived notion of what a good essay is just give yourself a C now.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 7832
Submitted: 2008-12-06
Elizabeth Remick | Comparative Revolutions | Political Science

Review:
Professor Remick is boring, confusing and one of the worst professors at Tufts. She is overly obsessed with her children and family life, which seems to distract her from teaching and the ability to help students. The class focuses on lot of history from different regions in the world, which Remick seems to lack knowledge of. I would save yourself the torture and avoid Remick at all costs!

Workload:
Lots of reading. Papers are intense and built off one another. She's slow to return papers, and makes the next one due before she has returned the previous one. Remick's comments are unhelpful. She doesn't give explanations as to the grade she gives.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7833
Submitted: 2008-12-06
Joe Hurka | ENG 0005 - Creative Writing: Fiction | English

Review:
Joe is a great professor. He is an experienced writer, and always has helpful suggestions, but he doesn't force his ideas on you. He really knows his stuff. From the stories he tells you can tell he's done it all. He really cares about students' progress in writing. And he's just plain a nice, funny guy. If you have any interest in writing at all, or even if not, take a class with him. You won't regret it.

Workload:
Class met once a week, and we had a few assignments due throughout the semester, which weren't graded, but he returned them with feedback. Three revised stories due for the final (one longer and two short). If you're a perfectionist and really consider his and the class's suggestions while revising, it can be a fair amount of work. But it's not at all overwhelming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 7834
Submitted: 2008-12-06
Kerri Conditto | FRN 0002 - Elementary French II | French

Review:
She is a great professor. Very clear and enthusiastic, and she really cares about students' understanding and progress. She's also just a very nice person, and she would make jokes in class that sadly people didn't laugh at much, probably because it was a morning class. I would definitely recommend taking a class with her.

Workload:
Manageable. A short essay, oral production, and quiz for every couple of chapters, which is much less work than it sounds. Two exams, plus the final. Not at all overwhelming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 7823
Submitted: 2008-12-03
Karen Panetta | mechanical engineering | American Studies

Review:
I'm not a big fan of Panetta at all. I asked her for a recommendation and she was too busy. I feel she is very disorganized and needs to have more dedication towards her students. She is not punctual at all and I feel it is a challenging class. Panetta doesn't hand your grade on a silver platter but she doesn't realize that making questions on a test for the next chapter is not the right thing to do. Panetta needs to put in more time helping students and being more sympathetic towards them. Her office hours are ok but she needs to stop teaching at Tufts and teach at Northshore Community College. Tufts students are very intellectual and she is clearly dumb herself. She has no teaching capabilites and is too concerned about herself. She is very unprofessional and is not the best teacher I have had. I hear she is hated throughout the Engineering teaching department and she is not a big fan of the students. Obviously the students that like her are her pets that will do anything to get an A from her. Her final exam was very hard but I bet she couldn't even do it herself. She is not ambitious in doing her work and she has been seen writing up classwork hastily before class starts. That's very bad and she can be disrespectful at times. I don't recommend ever having a class with Panetta because she needs some growing up her self. I find her very immature at times she acts like she is in grade school. Her attitude is not professional and needs serious improvement.

Workload:
The assignments were ok but challenging to make you think. She didn't even understand them at times in class when she would go over them. Maybe she needs to go through high school again so she can learn a thing or to herself.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7816
Submitted: 2008-12-02
Karen Panetta | Mechanical Engineering | American Studies

Review:
I think Karen Panetta is the worst professor I have ever had. She was never prepared for class and thinks she is the s**t. She has no idea how to teach and her office hours are horribly. I believe she needs to quit tufts and get a job grooming bunnies... which she talks about constently. I think this woman needs serious help when it comes to teaching and as far as I know the other teachers hate her as well. She writes things up before class because she rather think of other stuff to do instead of thinking of the well being of her students. She seems to think of herself too much. I would never reccomend her as a teacher and I am beyond thrilled that her class is over. I would kill myself if I ever had to see her again. Her projects are stupid and she is quite frankly too ugly to even look at. She is a selfish human being and acts like a baby. I think she is totally dumb and alot of students think this to. I believe Karen should take a look at what students are writing about her so she will get the overall picture about how bad she is. I think she is a dumb ass and think we should make a petiton about kicking her out of tufts. She is an absolute brat and a b***h.

Workload:
Too muchh work.. I understand she wants us to do work because she has better stuff to do but she needs to cut it down. I bet she doesnt even read over reports and just gives a grade according to if she likes you or not. She probably has her husband correct them which makes me wonder why the hell she is even married because I dont understand who the hell who would put up with her s**t!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7785
Submitted: 2008-11-25
Gerard Gasarian | 20th Century French Poetry | French

Review:
This course is a waste of time. Professor Gasarian, albeit a very kind man who is clearly interested in his subject, seems afraid to tell any student that he or she is wrong; he goes to great lengths to justify every single student's commentary, no matter how removed from a poem it may be. In this case, tolerance of alternative views verges on the absurd. I strongly believe that two of the greatest difficulties of poetry are a) studying the intricacies of diction, form, syntax, and meaning, and b) learning not to make claims about a poem that cannot be supported by the poem itself. Almost invariably in class do we talk about "grands th?mes" and subtexts (i.e. this poem, like every other one we've read of Francis Ponge, is allegorical. This word represents the language itself, this represents the writer, this represents this, et cetera). Thus, what is almost always missed is a deep discussion of a single poem. This is in part due to the fact that we read a great number of poems for each class, and that we (evidently) cannot therefore talk about many poems in depth.

There is, however, little excuse for producing the same tired, (pseudo-)allegorical reading of each and every poem. I am learning almost nothing precisely because everyone is always right and because we (frequently) only speak of poems in generalities (ironically, the same generalities that no professor accepts in a paper).

In the end, Professor Gasarian seems to be an intelligent and engaged reader, but he needs to demand that we produced focused and exhaustive readings of fewer texts, rather than fudged, quasi-intellectual readings of entire collections of poetry.

Workload:
The workload is manageable, especially when you know you don't have to spend too much time examining any one poem. Two oral expos?s are required, and yours will be "tr?s bien" no matter what.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 7787
Submitted: 2008-11-25
Gerard Gasarian | 20th Century French Poetry | French

Review:
This course is a waste of time. Professor Gasarian, albeit a very kind man who is clearly interested in his subject, seems afraid to tell any student that he or she is wrong; he goes to great lengths to justify every single student's commentary, no matter how removed from a poem it may be. In this case, tolerance of alternative views verges on the absurd. I strongly believe that two of the greatest difficulties of poetry are a) studying the intricacies of diction, form, syntax, and meaning, and b) learning not to make claims about a poem that cannot be supported by the poem itself. Almost invariably in class do we talk about "grands th?mes" and subtexts (i.e. this poem, like every other one we've read of Francis Ponge, is allegorical. This word represents the language itself, this represents the writer, this represents this, et cetera). Thus, what is almost always missed is a deep discussion of a single poem. This is in part due to the fact that we read a great number of poems for each class, and that we (evidently) cannot therefore talk about many poems in depth.

There is, however, little excuse for producing the same tired, (pseudo-)allegorical reading of each and every poem. I am learning almost nothing precisely because everyone is always right and because we (frequently) only speak of poems in generalities (ironically, the same generalities that no professor accepts in a paper).

In the end, Professor Gasarian seems to be an intelligent and engaged reader, but he needs to demand that we produced focused and exhaustive readings of fewer texts, rather than fudged, quasi-intellectual readings of entire collections of poetry.

Workload:
The workload is manageable, especially when you know you don't have to spend too much time examining any one poem. Two oral expos?s are required, and yours will be "tr?s bien" no matter what.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 7763
Submitted: 2008-11-19
Hazel Bright | African American Presence | English

Review:
Professor Bright is a wonderfully sweet woman, but unfortunately this class is a disaster. She taught us absolutely nothing, but expected a great number of papers from us. They were not called research papers, but in fact, since she had neglected to teach us any subject matter, it was extremely hard to write any paper without in depth research outside of class. This was particularly ironic because we had a month to write a 6 page research assignment worth 20% of our final grade, and only a couple of nights to write every other 4-5 page paper which (although she was oblivious to this fact) actually required substantial research. Furthermore, she was extremely, almost frighteningly, forgetful. She also asked us to go on a field trip on a Saturday, which was fun because the students in the class were interesting and engaging, but otherwise a complete and total waste of time.
I would not recommend this class at all. It is a significant amount of work, you learn next to nothing, and you find yourself continuously frustrated with how scatterbrained Bright is.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7760
Submitted: 2008-11-18
Annie Geoghegan | French 21 Comp and Conversation | French

Review:
To begin, let me just say that Prof Geoghegan is a very kind, genuine person. She's always in a good mood in class and is very personable. With that being said, she tends to be very disorganized and jumps around a lot in class. She doesn't stick to the syllabus (especially towards the end of the semester), which can be confusing, and she grades everything really hard. She also moves very quickly in class, especially with grammar, so it can be difficult to follow her.

Workload:
Assignments are pretty straightforward - she gives out mostly grammar exercises in the text, questions for chapters of reading, and compositions. She collects homework unexpectedly and often veers from the assigned work on the syllabus.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7761
Submitted: 2008-11-18
Annie Geoghegan | FR0021- Comp/Conv I | French

Review:
Professor Geoghegan obviously enjoys French and seems to care about her students (she was always sure to ask us if we were okay after an absence or a poor performance on a test). She speaks very quickly so for those who have difficulty understanding spoken French you should choose another teacher. her grading of written work is rather brutal, but at least the grade is an average of the score of the rough draft and the final after corrections. As for in-class discussions, some of the questions that she poses lack clear wording making them difficult to respond to. I feel that she does have favorites in the class, but I do not believe that she treats those who are not her favorites in a negative manner. In a class where three quarters of the students are only there to fulfill a requirement it is inevitable that a teacher would favor those with a genuine interest in the subject. Overall, I did not consider her demands excessive and would take another class with her.

Workload:
the reading assigned was fairly complicated as it dealt with psychological states of the characters and was not purely plot based. This made it difficult to discuss. Professor Geoghegan got slightly rattled when we were unable to answer quickly. The book work is not difficult, and the tests are limited to the material covered in the class. Unfortunately they are very lengthy. This is not a teacher for those unsure of their grasp of French.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 7751
Submitted: 2008-11-17
Natalie Masuoka | PS0011 - Intro American Politics | Political Science

Review:
AWFUL
changes the syllabus constantly without informing the class...has made at least three revisions because she cannot manage to keep up with the readings in class
boring, and terrible communicator.
during class people constantly look at each other in disbelief at the words coming out of her mouth. AVOID this prof.

Workload:
basically the readings are a lost cause because who knows what you're supposed to be reading?


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7754
Submitted: 2008-11-17
Joseph Litvak | What The Novel Knows | English

Review:
Only take this class if you are a senior and have extensive amounts of literature under your belt. This class is just a student-lead discussion (by witty, well-read English majors) and if Litvak does not like (or respect) what you have to say, he ignores it and quickly changes the subject or calls on another student to change the subject. As a non-english major, I found him unapproachable, his ideas few and far between, and his grading terrible for my GPA. I really wish such a high chair in the department was actually a truly inspiring teacher.

Great reading list.

Workload:
Two papers. His grading is harsh and the unfocused nature of the paper topics make it hard to succeed unless you bring a lot of pure "English" knowledge to the table.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 7755
Submitted: 2008-11-17
Margaret McMillan | 0036-Macroeconomic Analysis in Developing Countries | Economics

Review:
She means well and appears to be a legitimately intelligent person, but she's just not cut out to be an effective professor. She stumbles through the notes at a snail's pace and is incapable of explaining anything thoroughly and simply.
I recommend EC 35 instead.

Workload:
Not too much work. Most stopped doing the reading after a few weeks when we figured out it was completely useless.
4 problem sets worth 25% total, 1 midterm worth 25%, 1 final worth 50%.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 7756
Submitted: 2008-11-17
Anne Mahoney | CLS 55 GREEK AND ROMAN TRAGEDY | Classics

Review:
Professor Mahoney definitely knows her stuff, though can be a little spaced out and vague. Her grading is harsh and though the discussion on the plays is interesting, the assignments can be completely senseless. She expects you to know everything and she pinpoints on each word and punctuation mark. I was relieved that the course was over

Workload:
the reading is a lot, a new play every 3 classes at least. the assignments are senseless and can pertain to dramatics, greek and if you're not too good at either you have a disadvantage to begin with. You should definitely want a rough draft if you want to make it to a B+ even.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 7738
Submitted: 2008-11-14
David Pauling | FR0004- Intermediate French I | French

Review:
Professor Pauling, while perfectly agreeable one on one was rude in class, often to the point of being insulting. 90% of the class was spent going over the assignments from the night before, and 10% was spent actually learning new material. This would have been fine if we had just been reviewing, but as we were expected to learn concepts simply by reading the textbook, the class did little good. I could have taught myself the course. I will never take a class with him again.

Workload:
About an hour to two hours every night. Work is collected and gone over every day. If you don't do it, expect to be insulted in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7739
Submitted: 2008-11-14
Avner Baz | Philosophy 152- History of Modern Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
Professor Baz was engaging and obviously enthusiastic about the class. He treated everyones' opinions with respect and encouraged, indeed expected, students to participate. He hardly strays from the topic, but he is often funny. I found him to be personable and helpful inside and outside of the classroom. His paper comments were constructive and his grading was fair. He expects alot from his students but is very willing to help them along the way.

Workload:
A moderate amount of reading every week. If you fall behind it will be difficult to catch up. He often pushes back the paper deadlines if he feels the class needs more time. He expects you to have done the reading so you can constructively participate.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7740
Submitted: 2008-11-14
Ildefonso Manso | Spanish 21 | Spanish

Review:
He is a great professor. Very enthusiastic about the class and encourages a lot of discussion. Understanding and willing to help. Speaks clearly. I recommend him.

Workload:
Straightforward assignments following the syllabus. Regular 21 workload


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 7741
Submitted: 2008-11-14
Benjamin Hescott | Comp 11 and 15 | Computer Science

Review:
By far the best professor I have ever had. He is so engaging and although he gives challenging material he explains it well and puts so much extra time into helping us understand it. Always available to help whether it is with his class or on anything else you need. Makes a lot of jokes and is always full of energy.

Workload:
Lab every week and programming assignments every few weeks which take a considerable amount of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 7729
Submitted: 2008-11-13
Natalie Masouka | PS0011 - Intro American Politics | Political Science

Review:
I was expecting so much more from this class. The professor might be intelligent, but she has a lot of difficulty communicating in an interesting (or even coherent) manner to her students. She often gets confused and twists her words (i.e. trying to explain the Prisoner's Dilemma), which is made so much worse by the fact that she can't get the PowerPoint to work. Some of the readings are interesting, but others are so stupid they are almost offensive - one of the books she assigned us is not only rife with grammatical errors, but the cover misspells Cheney as "Chaney." I generally learn more in recitations than in class.
However, her midterm is definitely doable (although it takes 2-3 weeks to get graded), so it's not a killer class.
Maybe she's better in the higher-level courses, but after taking this class with her, my inclination to study Political Science has gone from moderate to none.

Workload:
There's a lot of reading. My advice? Don't bother, or at least don't take notes. The material on the midterm came directly from classes. If you try to take notes on the reading, you just get confused about what to study.
There's a paper, a midterm, and a final. It's not a big deal.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7730
Submitted: 2008-11-13
Natalie Masouka | PS0011 - Intro American Politics | Political Science

Review:
I was expecting so much more from this class. The professor might be intelligent, but she has a lot of difficulty communicating in an interesting (or even coherent) manner to her students. She often gets confused and twists her words (i.e. trying to explain the Prisoner's Dilemma), which is made so much worse by the fact that she can't get the PowerPoint to work. Some of the readings are interesting, but others are so stupid they are almost offensive - one of the books she assigned us is not only rife with grammatical errors, but the cover misspells Cheney as "Chaney." I generally learn more in recitations than in class.
However, her midterm is definitely doable (although it takes 2-3 weeks to get graded), so it's not a killer class.
Maybe she's better in the higher-level courses, but after taking this class with her, my inclination to study Political Science has gone from moderate to none.

Workload:
There's a lot of reading. My advice? Don't bother, or at least don't take notes. The material on the midterm came directly from classes. If you try to take notes on the reading, you just get confused about what to study.
There's a paper, a midterm, and a final. It's not a big deal.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7733
Submitted: 2008-11-13
David Proctor | History 10 | History

Review:
Easily the best professor I've ever had at Tufts. Never have I had a teacher who cares so much for the well-being of his students and who works so hard for his classes. He presents great lectures, is extremely easy to approach, and you'll find that you really learn what is taught to you.

Workload:
Basically just reading that corresponds with the lectures... weekly essays which are pretty straightforward, too. If you go to the review sessions, the exams are very doable, too.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 7734
Submitted: 2008-11-13
Christoph Borgers | Numerical Analysis | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Borgers is a very nice person. I took the Numerical Analysis class with him Spring 2008 and he was basically excellent. He cares about the stuff he teaches very much and he spends a lot of time preparing notes for the students and making them available online, so most of the time you do not have to worry about missing notes in the class and you can basically concentrate on the course itself. He always welcomes you for any questions you might have. He spent many hours resolving questions I had about my own research although they were just very little related to the coursework. Morally he is a very good person and one of the best professors I have ever had in my life.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7735
Submitted: 2008-11-13
Christoph Borgers | Numerical Analysis | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Borgers is a very nice person. I took the Numerical Analysis class with him Spring 2008 and he was basically excellent. He cares about the stuff he teaches very much and he spends a lot of time preparing notes for the students and making them available online, so most of the time you do not have to worry about missing notes in the class and you can basically concentrate on the course itself. He always welcomes you for any questions you might have. He spent many hours resolving questions I had about my own research although they were just very little related to the coursework. Morally he is a very good person and one of the best professors I have ever had in my life.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7717
Submitted: 2008-11-10
Malik Mufti | PS0172 - US Foreign Policy in the Middle East | Political Science

Review:
Professor Mufti is an excellent teacher. He is impressively knowledgeable in Middle East history, politics, and culture. Yet, as that can perhaps be said for many professors, I found three things really separated Mufti from the pack.

First, his wit. Whether he is quipping about the absurdities of events in the Middle East, cleverly taking the overly verbose students down a notch, or explaining how confused US policy makers often become, Mufti ensured that class was anything but boring.

Second, Mufti's personal experiences bridge the gap between theory/reading and reality. Mufti pulls seamlessly from his childhood in Turkey, his time in the Jordanian army, and his interviews with officials throughout the class, and makes it that much more interesting.

Third Mufti always encouraged round table discussions on issues, allowing students to apply the reading for themselves, and engage in debates.

The only complaint I really have for Professor Mufti would be that he is somewhat set in a Thucydidean Realist perspective. Nonetheless, he is not condescending or oppressive about his views, but rather presents his arguments through the material and challenges students to reach (his) conclusions on their own. If you listen to his lectures knowing this, however, it is hardly a problem.

Workload:
An average amount of reading for a high level PS class. The books we used, however, were superb (though at times dense). Reading the assigned material alone makes the class worth it. Midterms were ID based (choose 2/3), which was a bit nerve racking, Mufti is a fair grader. Overall, a class well worth the time you put into it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 7712
Submitted: 2008-11-09
Loring Tu | MATH0013 | Mathematics

Review:
He was by far the best professor I've had in the math department. He is organized, clear, and whole-heartedly interested in the success of his students. And he wears fantastic sweater-vests.

Workload:
One homework per class, 3 exams and a final. Standard math course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 7714
Submitted: 2008-11-09
Richard Glickman-Simon | CH00107 | Community Health

Review:
This class was FANTASTIC. It is almost no work (the readings are only supplementary to the lectures and you aren't tested on them, so you can read if you're interested or skip if you're not) and it is huge amounts of fun. It's like playing doctor for a grade, only less creepy. Professor Glickman-Simon is also really hilarious...but he has a fondness for gross medical pictures, so don't take it if you're uber squeamish.

Workload:
3 (easy) essays and 3 (moderately easy) exams, regular optional readings


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 7696
Submitted: 2008-11-07
Elizabeth Leavell | ENG002-Other Worlds | English

Review:
Professor Leavell is amazing. She facilitates good discussion, is funny and kind, and truly cares about her students. She makes great comments on paper and guides the class on how to write a better paper. If you improve, she will be happy and give you the better grade instead of giving a low one just because. I would highly highly recommend her for English 2. She made me want to become an English minor even though I am a life sciences major.

Workload:
Short stories every week with questions that needed to be answered on a discussion board where the students in the class could interact. The workload was very manageable with about 4 papers, one of them a longer research paper. And the topics discussed are awesome!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 7697
Submitted: 2008-11-07
Lauren Sullivan | ARCH0030 Prehistoric Archaeology | Archaeology

Review:
This class is very interesting if archaeology and prehistory are where your interests lie. Personally I find it fascinating, but others were bored to tears. Professor Sullivan is fun and has lots of stories and anecdotes. She's very nice and is great about taking questions and having discussions. There are lots of slide shows, quite a few videos and a lot of notes.

Workload:
Threre are three tests and one paper. Tests focus mostly on vocabulary from the book and notes from class. The chapters are long but the vocab is the most important part.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 7698
Submitted: 2008-11-07
Andrew Klatt | SPN0001AZ | Spanish

Review:
Professor Klatt is a relatively nice, but kind of strange. He talks in very quick and often difficult to understand Spanish, especially considering this class was for people with no previous experience. The class consists of a lot of partner activities that are marginally helpful but sometimes pointlessly repetitive.

Workload:
The homework out of the workbook isn't bad if you do it as laid out in the syllabus. If you let it pile up, though, it's a beast and very unpleasant. The workbook itself is silly and redundant but not usually difficult. The tests are relatively comprehensive and tend to have sneaky bits of culture, so pay attention when he talks about that.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 7694
Submitted: 2008-11-06
Elizabeth Howe | Literature of the Golden Age | Spanish

Review:
Prof. Howe is hands down the best spanish professor I ever had. She had enthusiasm and wit, and was easily able to keep a lively dialogue going amongst the students in class. She made sure you understood the material and could even coax a fairly heated response from time to time. I took every class she taught, and then did an independent study with her. An unforgettable professor, I wound up with a double major because of her.

Workload:
Fairly paced reading and essay assigments and no surprises on exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Environmental Studies


Review ID: 7690
Submitted: 2008-11-04
Shruti Kapila | A catcher in The Rye , JN'U , India . | Italian

Review:
Dear Bitch , If it takes me 12 years to get in touch , I'll probably kill you some day . I've died in heaven , was reborn in hell and am still called Jai.Mukund.Pandey. 15 years of psychiatry haven't left much of a human being , I'm married (fcuk you) , Have a son & have been writing to your father's house at 245 , sector 11 , chandigarh . I'm soon going to be 37 , I have a registered court case , becoz I killed a 94 year old & have a US citizenship . It's election day in The USA today and i checked Google to get to you . You have a Fcuking Ph.d & are all over Cambridge , Oxford , Harvard & Corpus Christi Sites . Shame . Men ? *** What the Fcuk are you trying . You don't know who I got married to !!!! Anyway , life moves , I've learnt to smoke & my parents are still illegit . Son's name is UTK(Utkarsh), he is 2 . Fcuk you . 94 to 2008 & you didn't write to me once , unless it's the fcuked post office . And get the fuck out of Psycho History . It's going to kill you . If you are at present in the States Of America , get out of your house , get a beer , buy some porn , good Marlboro's & write me a good paper on "Sex in USA:--Confusion , Myth or Detail". How's Kriti K . I wrote her a love letter , once maybe twice (Chandigarh) but she didn't write back . Total Bitch .She makes me look like Two years in JNU was about wanting to F, U, C, K her big ass . Bye for now . I hope you check this site , don't ignore it & write to me at 277 C , 1B , Ashok Nagar , Ranchi -- 834002, Jharkhand , India . Remember me , my fcuking tranquilised erections ???? And I'm serious , I actually killed a man . 2005 A.D. . They were pushing too much psychiatry . No law & order hassles . I'm not in Jail & I'm not on Bail . Fuck you Prof. Shruti Kapila !!!. I still love you though . Quite a bit . Family is fine . Shruti , my sister is in Bangalore , married , two kids . and I'm serious about going out for a beer a pack of good Cigarettes & a couple of Playboys or Penthouse . Write about what you see . America is made on Porn . Write to me . I love you . Fuck you !!!!!
Yours truly ,
JD Salinger .

Workload:
I remember the smell of your skin , I remember Everything . What does The 'BodyShop' Bitch wear these days ? Spellings :-- Gagan , David , Bob , Raj , Manish , Rajiv , Michael , Shailendra , Rajeshwar , Madhav Palat (Behen chod !!) , Siddique . Fuck you .The professor is too short . We can't see her !!!!.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: World Civilization


Review ID: 7689
Submitted: 2008-11-03
Stephanie Levine | English Writing Seminar: Differences | English

Review:
I have to say that this class was the simply the highlight of my semester. We read books that really played into profound discussions on the concept of human differences. Student participation was encouraged and Professor Levine added much insight to our wide-ranging discussions. Professor Levine is enthusiastic and very flexible. She is a little scatterbrained at times, but her class does have an organized syllabus that is easy to follow. The readings were all fantastic.

Workload:
Totally manageable. Four papers (4-6 pages) over the course of the semester and readings due every class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7678
Submitted: 2008-11-01
Joseph Litvak | What the Novel Knows | English

Review:
The books are the best part of this course. Class discussions can be interesting if Litvak doesn't get too involved, but he always tries to get his say in after anyone comments. His interference sometimes hinders the evolution of the discussion, particularly because he demands a focus on "What the Novel Knows," a narrow concept that he never really defines.

Workload:
Twelve interesting novels, over about twelve weeks. Midterm and final paper; no exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 7664
Submitted: 2008-10-29
Virginia Drachman | HIST0086 | American Studies

Review:
She's definitely very enthusiastic about the course as all she does is talk nonstop. She constantly repeats herself throughout the lecture, which gets kind of annoying and boring. She isn't very helpful and takes a long time to respond. She told me she'd get back to me, but two weeks later I still had no reply. Favoritism definitely plays a part in her grading so suck up and talk a lot so she remembers you.

Workload:
Work is pretty straightforward and easy. Mostly just reading. The tests, short answers and mini essays, are dependent upon using examples from the books to prove the main concepts discussed in class--pretty simple.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 7642
Submitted: 2008-10-21
Leah Abraham | No course | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
I was a classmate of Leah Abraham's in high school. She grew up in a small city in the Finger Lakes region of NYS (Geneva, NY). She was a bit smarter than most, but she was always picked on (for lack of a better word) by other students, especially the girls. I always thought that Leah was a nice person, but I think she is returning the "favor". In other words, the abused may have become the abuser. If so, this is very sad since again I think that she has a lot of potential as a person.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7576
Submitted: 2008-10-02
Peter Probst | FAH04- Intro to Arts of Africa | History of Art

Review:
Prof Probst is the nicest guy. He's really helpful and very good-natured. He tolerates all kind of ignorance that people throw out during class. While his accent and his voice's cadence is a bit distracting, his down to earth lecturing style will keep you awake for the whole class.

Workload:
A midterm and a final and one paper/project.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 7577
Submitted: 2008-10-02
Radiclani Clytus | ENG 37- 20th C African American Literature | English

Review:
Prof Clytus is one of the most engaging English professors I've had in my years at Tufts. He's down to earth and very good natured- enjoys talking about the texts after class and is always open to opposing opinions. Definitely challenges you to look at the world in a new way. The class focused more on LATE 20th century literature, which was misleading, but he covered some of my favorite authors, usually neglected in academic English courses, as well a few I'd never heard of. Will certainly try to take another class w him before I graduate.

Workload:
Three papers- including final. He enjoys class discussion, but if it's lacking, you're forced to do lame group work and pop quizzes. Students are well served to seek him out outside of class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 7578
Submitted: 2008-10-02
Radiclani Clytus | ENG 37- 20th C African American Literature | English

Review:
Prof Clytus is one of the most engaging English professors I've had in my years at Tufts. He's down to earth and very good natured- enjoys talking about the texts after class and is always open to opposing opinions. Definitely challenges you to look at the world in a new way. The class focused more on LATE 20th century literature, which was misleading, but he covered some of my favorite authors, usually neglected in academic English courses, as well a few I'd never heard of. Will certainly try to take another class w him before I graduate.

Workload:
Three papers- including final. He enjoys class discussion, but if it's lacking, you're forced to do lame group work and pop quizzes. Students are well served to seek him out outside of class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 7561
Submitted: 2008-09-25
Karen Panetta | EE0014 - Microprossessor Archetecture | Electrical Engineering

Review:
So, after taking ES-4 with KP, I thought that she was all of the things that she said that she was. She had often told us in class that she was a valuable resource for getting an internship. Well, I took that to heart and went and had her help me with my resume. She promised to talk to her friends at a company (she said she knew a VP) and would send them my resume. I submitted my resume to the company, was eventually selected for an interview, and was chosen for the job.

I assumed that KP had a hand in this, so I was pleased that she had followed through. However, on the first day of EE-14 she asked "who had 'real' jobs this summer?" I raised my hand with a few other people. When she asked here I worked, I mentioned the company and she looked shocked at me and said "Why didn't you tell me that! I could have gotten you a job there like that! [snaps her fingers]."

So she obviously had NOT sent my resume to the company, and evidently had no idea that I had even spoken with her the previous semester. I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with a professor here at Tufts. For the rest of class she mentioned how she could get anyone a job. For all of her emphasis on professionalism and "networking", I'm beginning to think it's all a lie to get her students to respect her more.

Workload:
Homework had little direction, and the website wasn't even updated for the first four weeks of class. For the first assignment the website had last semester's homework (it wasn't the same as this semester), and she had neglected to update the website, and swore that she was correct.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 7531
Submitted: 2008-09-12
Leah Abraham | BioMed175 | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
Don't take this course. Waste of time. Professor is deceitful. Bias because she must pick who will get the A's B's and couple of C's. Look at the grading scheme.
It is not a trend. It's what will happen percentage wise.

For example, the lab portion (20%) means absolutely nothing! This is what she did. In the middle of the term she gave out paper slips with "grade so far" that doesn't have the lab portion factored into it. This will lead you to believe that it will raise your grade because everybody gets 100's on the lab "checks". Turns out since everybody gets 100's on the lab and she must hand out a fixed number of A's, B's and C's, the lab portion is meaningless! Same thing with the "final oral exam"! Since everybody will get 100, it's a waste of time!

Warning: Final Exam towards end will have lots of questions like "what kind of scaffold would best serve arteries/veins" If you answer elasticity, size, etc, that's your answer for most questions! Just vary your phrasing to fool her a little bit.


Workload:
The first couple of weeks will lend you to believe that this course will be easy/pleasant. It just happens that right after the drop deadline, it gets frustrating/annoying/useless/waste of time/all of the above.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 7518
Submitted: 2008-09-09
David Denby | Phil 39 - Knowing and Being | Philosophy

Review:
David Denby is one of the best professors in the philosophy department, if not at Tufts in general. Sure, there are lots of brilliant people who teach here, but few of them are as accessible and "human" as Professor Denby. The class is an intro to Metaphysics and Epistemology, which might sound scary but are actually fascinating topics that require no background knowledge in philosophy. The papers are graded by a TA but you can submit them early and have them checked over before you submit them for real if you're scared of getting a bad grade. Denby seriously has no interest in giving bad grades just to make himself look like a hard grader...he's happy when his students do well.

Workload:
Three 4-5 page papers, an optional fourth. Not much reading. Don't miss class!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 7520
Submitted: 2008-09-09
Nancy Bauer | Phil 91 - Philosophy of Film | Philosophy

Review:
Ridiculous class. Very little philosophy, mostly just film critiques. I went on AIM in every lecture. I learned nothing. Bauer is a tough grader, too. I thought I made some really good points in some of my papers but every single one got a B+.

Workload:
Weekly film screening. Weekly one-page response paper to a question that Bauer poses about the film, can miss 3 throughout the semester. Two 5-page papers and a final 8 page paper. Reading was sort of heavy for a philosophy class, about 20-40 pages a week.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7473
Submitted: 2008-08-29
Karen Panetta | ES4, EE14 | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Karen Panetta is one of the worst professors Ive seen at Tufts, as far as teaching is concerned. She gives out homework on material that is covered in clas weeks later, doesnt bother checking her homework questions before assigning them, and frequently makes mistakes in class which seem innucuous at first, but then come back to bite you when she asks the questions on the final. True, she has office hours, but with my current workload, its incredibly unreasonable for me to have to wait an hour to ask her a question. Her "tough luck" approach to any complaints you have, legitimate or not, tends to be more detrimental to morale than anything else.

That being said, she is also one of the best professors to have on your side because of her connections to industry. You have to take her course, no matter what, so do your best to get on her good side.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7475
Submitted: 2008-08-29
George Ellmore | Plant Phisiology | Biology

Review:
I really wasn't a fan of the class. Ellmore is at times an engaging professor. However, his lecture style is hard to follow. I found that it was often unclear what material we were supposed to absorb from the lectures and what was just rambling on his part. He did not follow the information that we read for class; in the end, the textbook was completely useless and also more advanced than our lectures.

Workload:
The tests were hard and often involved new material. It was hard to study for them because you never knew what to expect. However, besides three exams there wasn't really any other work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7453
Submitted: 2008-08-21
Susan Ostrander | SOC 102- Qualitative Methods of Action | Sociology

Review:
While I can understand the bad rap that Prof. Ostrander receives for her short temper and for neglecting to acknowledge alternate opinions, I think there is more to the story than that. Underneath it all, I think she has a sincere concern for the progress of her students, and she is good at what she does, so she doesn't hesitate to let you know it. That being said, her suggestions and remarks are often helpful, even if they seem harsh. To add, she was extremely flexible with us, and was often willing to change due dates if we asked appropriately. I found that, if you are very friendly and patient with her, she will act the same way with you. If, on the other hand, you are impatient with her suggestions/comments on papers, or you are tardy to class often, you will likely find your place on her bad side, which you do NOT want.

Workload:
I found that the workload for this class was completely appropriate, even light compared to other classes I have taken at Tufts. She often would mix up assignments and make the syllabus a bit confusing, but ultimately, I had no problem completing the 10-30 pages of reading she had us do each week. Besides the reading, you are expected to attend your research site about once a week for a few hours, but that is something that comes with the nature of the course. As long as you keep up with research assignments, you will likely come out with a very strong body of work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 7437
Submitted: 2008-08-15
Robert Stolow | Chem 52 - Organic Chemistry | Chemistry

Review:
It is fairly difficult to summarize the immense amount of problems encountered in this course. Like in Chem 51 Dr. Stolow did not bother to use the blackboard to write out mechanisms or explain in detail, except for a few rare occasions. He will read from the textbook and from handouts. Which is essentially the same thing as going home and reading the textbook and the handouts. Which would have been helpful, if we solved problems relating to the material in class after this, but again this was done very, very rarely. Realistically it's possible to take down almost no notes of any great substance the entire semester.

Problem sets still did not have answers provided and exams still tested syntheses that were not always gone over in detail in class. The only way to succeed was to read the book religiously and to memorize almost every mechanism in it. In fact, the only benefit of the class was to learn which one or two mechanisms not to memorize. Since, again, exam problems were almost never completely covered in review sessions scheduled one or two days before the exam, you were left on your own. Frankly, the only way to do very well was to know every reaction from this and last semester like the back of your hand and be able to recall them quickly. Which is well over 400+ reactions and various mechanisms.

Combining weekly labs (which Dr. Stolow also lectured in), lab quizzes, lab reports, problem sets, and the hours of memorization this course was thouroughly unenjoyable. Don't except to even learn of any useful applications for the material with this professor. The relevance of this course for many people is for biochemistry and unless you like to read the sidenotes in the textbook, you won't get many connections between the fields in lecture.

So, unless you enjoy large amounts of self study, 10+ hours of rote memorization and problem sets with no answers, and a useless lecture, I would recommend taking Organic Chemistry with another professor.

Workload:
The only assignments outside of class are the weekly problem sets that are due at each exam. By the end of the course you'll probably have solved up to and maybe over 300 problems. But you won't get the answers for any of them! You have to seek out the TA's and individually ask about every question. So you'll never know if you're solving anything correctly unless you get the solutions manual, which is strictly forbidden. Three exams and a final also which almost exclusively test mechanisms, retro-synthesis, and reactions. Memorize everything in the book to do well on these. And DO NOT leave the problem sets unfinished. Unless you have photographic memory expect to spend at least 8-10++ hours a week studying for this course alone (not counting all the extra time you might need to figure out if you solved the problems correctly at all).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7431
Submitted: 2008-08-14
Philip Starks | BIO 130 - Animal Behavior | Biology

Review:
This was one of the best courses I've ever taken. If you have a passion for biology and understanding how the pieces of life fall together, this course will really open your eyes. It provides a systematic method for viewing life in a completely different, more informed way. Prof. Starks is a very smart guy and a really good professor, which is a great combination to have. You'll learn a lot in this course if you genuinely put time into it and can handle the 8:30 AM time slot. But to be honest, I looked forward to waking up and going to this class because of Prof. Starks' interactive teaching style. And he's great to talk to during office hours, very approachable and accommodating.

Workload:
Exams were pretty much based solely on lecture notes (took this course in the spring of 2008), so if you really know the lectures like the back of your hand, you'll be fine. I mean the material is extremely interesting, so studying for the exam wasn't bad at all. Bottom line, know your notes really well, know the concepts really well, and be able to apply them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 7394
Submitted: 2008-08-06
Charles Murphy | EC003 - Accouting | Economics

Review:
Murphy makes Accounting fun. Although this class doesn't count for EC majors, I highly recommend taking this course. You will finally learn something practical this time around. Murphy's lectures are clear as crystal. He's among the best EC professors if not the best!

Workload:
The workload is very tolerable. Homework is never collected. He simply goes over them the follow day in class. If you can do the homework, you'll be in good shape for the exams. There are 3 exams and not cumulative.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 7395
Submitted: 2008-08-06
Charles Murphy | EC007 - Principles of Finance | Economics

Review:
This course is only offered in the summer. You will learn many valuable things that very well may apply to your financial life unless many other higher level Economics courses at Tufts. Professor Murphy explains everything very clearly. He is among the best!

Workload:
Workload is minimal. Homework is not mandatory but very helpful. If you can do the homework, you will do fine on the exams. There are three exams (not cumulative). They are extremely straight-forward and come directly from the amazing lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 7329
Submitted: 2008-08-04
George Norman | EC175 Economics of Management and Strategy | Economics

Review:
Intelligent, fun professor. His stories are very engaging and made me seriously consider pursuing a career in strategic business.

Workload:
two five page midterms (easy), one 15-page research paper and a group project. it sounds like a lot, but it really is not too bad at all. plus you don't even have to go to class because he puts up slides on blackboard... but still go, because he's a lot of fun to listen to.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 7190
Submitted: 2008-07-28
Anne Moore | English 002-34 Other Worlds | English

Review:
This class left me with mixed feelings.

First and foremost, even though I placed out of 001, I had to wait till spring semester to take this English class b/c I was unaware of Philosophy counting towards the requirement. The professor much to my surprise 2/3 of the way into the semester was not a professor but instead a grad student still working on her papers. To add insult to injury, she used a syllabus from the previous semester and forgot to change dates. It was pretty awkward when someone pointed out the fact that one of our classes was on a holiday.

Not to say she isn't a brilliant person. Honestly, if she organized the class a LOT better, I think she'd make an AWESOME professor. Creative, energetic and talented, but just too much going on and too bogged down w/ her own work to convey material well. She took eternity to return papers and had a weird grading scale (I say weird b/c I'm not used to this; perhaps this is the norm in Tufts?) where she gives a grade in four different categories and then averages?? resulting in "two grades" that eventually become one? If you're confused. Good. I was and still am. Basically, people ended up w/ C+/B- on their papers. Classes were generally disorganized with the class going over the surfaces of a lot of interesting topics but never hitting the meat. The pace was also erratic. Kind of like the Quick step: Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow. Routinely went over the time slot. Runs off on tangents a lot, which is cool when discussing sexuality in vampire lore, but not so cool when you're discussing the C+ you got on your theory paper about Freud's 'the uncanny'. She was really into participation which always a major plus in my book. And she's got such wonderful ideas!

However, none of it could make up for the experience of the class in general. We started out with 12-13 and ended w/ 7 on a good day and 9 on a GREAT day. Personally, I learned next to nothing; I flip-flopped between boredom and frustration. I had more fun and learned more from my AP English teacher. Plus, we read better books. She was always willing to help though; always available during office hours. Honestly, like I said earlier, mixed feelings. She's got the makings of a great teacher w/ a couple more years of experience under her belt. Type of English professor you'd love to work on your thesis w/ over a cup at B&B but not the type you'd like to discuss one of your awesomely bad 8-page papers about Stoker's Dracula with.

Workload:
Terrible workload. Way to much work for a simple English 002 class. Too much seemingly random readings. I felt like none of them had anything to do with the course, but that's my opinion. Some of them were interesting, but still no relevancy and you couldn't skip them b/c 95% were required to do the many, unnecessary, response papers. We read a lot of philosophical/psychological stuff that coming from a psych major, although interesting, when forced to write papers about become nerve wracking.

There were 5 long papers. All of them were basically torture sessions b/c she has this weird system of turning in a "pre-write" then a rough draft (after your partner has gone through it) and then a final. Very frustrating and time wasting for people who like to get things out in one shot, proofread and send it out. Also, topics for papers were convoluted and difficult to understand much less properly answer in papers. Usually ran out of ideas after about 2 pages (5-page requirement). Book choices were also not so good. We had to read Stoker's Dracula in a week (three classes) and had to pick scenes from it to answer some obscure question that to this day I dare not even think about. The final paper was pointless and ended up doing it the night before just to get it done. Could've definitely done without it. There were also grammar and content presentations. Useless, annoying and unnecessary. No one learned anything. Pretty sure they didn't factor into our grades and were a pain in the you know where especially when the presentation is due the same day as a major exam in another subject.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 7131
Submitted: 2008-07-25
Christine Cousineau | Housing Development Failures 101 | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
Christine Cousineau was the Executive Director of this FAILED PROJECT. Everything went wrong so if you want to see what in reality CC can do, here ya go!

Editorial: Cape Ann Housing Opportunity, leaders owe the public full explanation for Pond View

July 24, 2008 04:33 am

?

Wellspring House has always enjoyed a reputation for being a champion of social justice, of lifting families out of poverty, of supporting working men and women.

But that reputation is being unfortunately clouded by its leaders' own hands. And as more details come to light about the troubled Pond View Village development ? carried out by Cape Ann Housing Opportunity, a corporation spawned by Wellspring ? it gets worse and worse.

Pond View was sold to the public as a model of compassion and creativity, the conversion of a former industrial site in Gloucester to a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments and condominiums. Wellspring created a companion entity ? Cape Ann Housing Opportunity ? and CAHO raised millions in private and public money for what state officials called a model of adaptive reuse. But there were site problems, construction costs soared. then the condo market crumbled. Last December, the project's biggest lender, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., took ownership of 33 unsold condos instead of foreclosing. Cape Ann Housing Opportunity had defaulted on more than $8.5 million of $9.2 million it owed the investment corporation. There were also loans from the state totaling more than $5 million.

This week, rather than take the property as the only bidder in a foreclosure auction, MHIC postponed the auction until Aug. 19, in the hopes that another bidder would appear. That, one of Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp.'s attorneys explained, is because if another buyer purchases the property at a foreclosure auction, that will wipe out the claims of all the other creditors, including a number of contractors and subcontractors who were never paid for some or all of their work.

All of this is apparently fine with Cape Ann Housing Opportunity's president, Nancy Schwoyer, and its treasurer, Robert Gillis, who wouldn't comment when asked about the project and its aftermath. They referred all questions about the situation to their attorney ? who also declined comment. But the lack of transparency goes beyond refusing to comment. CAHO, a nonprofit, is required to file annual financial reports with the attorney general's office. But its last report was in 2005. It has been out of compliance for two years. According to Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., the nonprofit is in the process of dissolving itself.

The collapse of Cape Ann Housing Opportunity may have been caused by forces beyond its control. But, as the recipient of millions in grants, loans and contributions from both private and public sources, Cape Ann Housing Opportunity and its leaders owe the public a complete and accurate accounting of what happened ? and where the money went.

The current wall of silence will not do.

Copyright ? 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 7100
Submitted: 2008-07-23
Christine Cousineau | RE Development | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
Make sure Professor Cousineau tells you all about her bankrupt project she helped foist on the taxpayers of MA . Its called pond view village in Gloucester and is a case study on how not to leverage, plan or develop affordable housing. A total disaster actually.

Workload:
Huge


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 5648
Submitted: 2008-07-03
Todd Quinto | Math 136 Real Analysis II | Mathematics

Review:
Prof Quinto is great. He is very enthusiastic about the material, genuinely concerned about students understanding and he has a great sense of humor. He also really knows what he is talking about (he would often answer students out-of-the-blue questions brilliantly after thinking about them for only a few seconds) and its a pleasure to go to his class.

Workload:
Weekly problem sets. These usually take about 5 hours to complete. Two midterms (one of which was take home). These are not so bad if youve been paying attention and doing the HW. Final is same difficulty as midterms.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 5649
Submitted: 2008-07-03
Todd Quinto | Math 136 Real Analysis II | Mathematics

Review:
Prof Quinto is great. He is very enthusiastic about the material, genuinely concerned about students understanding and he has a great sense of humor. He also really knows what he is talking about (he would often answer students out-of-the-blue questions brilliantly after thinking about them for only a few seconds) and its a pleasure to go to his class.

Workload:
Weekly problem sets. These usually take about 5 hours to complete. Two midterms (one of which was take home). These are not so bad if youve been paying attention and doing the HW. Final is same difficulty as midterms.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 5420
Submitted: 2008-07-01
Lisa Coleman | constructions of whiteness | American Studies

Review:
you'd be an idiot to graduate without taking this class. it changed my life- Lisa Coleman is brilliant.

Workload:
Tons of work/ reading. Very much worth it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Women's Studies


Review ID: 5296
Submitted: 2008-06-24
Anne Cantu | Spanish 21 | Spanish

Review:
If you can, avoid taking a class with Cantu. It's not that she's a bad teacher, but just that I really learned nothing from her and she's an incredibly boring person.

Workload:
Workload is about the same as the other Spanish 21 classes, but she grades significantly harder than the other Spanish 21 teachers on essays and tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 5297
Submitted: 2008-06-24
Jonathan Kenny | Chem 08: Environmental Chemistry | Chemistry

Review:
Whatever you do, AVOID PROFESSOR KENNY! The man simply cannot teach or convey anything remotely relevant to the topic of the class/what he puts on the test. I really believe that he means well, but he is quite possibly the most unorganized, scatterbrained professor I've ever had at Tufts. Fulfill your science requirement through another class.

Workload:
Workload was quite low, just some reading, midterm and a research paper/optional final. Beware: Midterm and final had NOTHING to do with what he went over during class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 5235
Submitted: 2008-06-18
Donald Wertlieb | CD193- Pediatric Psychology | Child Development

Review:
I have to be honest, I have no idea what the other three people who reviewed this class are talking about. This was the second-worst class I've ever taken at Tufts, and it was all because of good ol' Donald. He's like the dad in American Pie, but not funny and way more annoying. He's condescending to students and thinks so highly of himself it's painful. He teaches his own ideas as if they were accepted pediatric psychology canon and single-handedly depleted the trees in the Northern Hemisphere through the amount of handouts that he printed (which, incidentally, he only mentioned 5 or 6 of in class). Though I did learn a few things, most of the material was common sense, and this was my first CD class.

Workload:
The amount of reading assigned was ludicrous. The "required" reading usually averaged 5-9 long articles plus a chapter or two in the book per night. "Recommended" reading sometimes approached 30 articles. This might not be so bad if readings were discussed AT ALL in class, but that was too much to hope for. I counted: we discussed a grand total of three articles, all on the same day, for a length of about 3 minutes each. Fortunately, he was a picky but fair grader on papers and projects (2 papers, 1 group presentation & paper, midterm, and choice of final or final project).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 5237
Submitted: 2008-06-18
Edith Balbach | CH001- Intro to Community Health | Community Health

Review:
Professor Balbach is great. She really knows her stuff, has a great sense of humor, and makes class very interesting with personal stories, films, and guest speakers. Make sure you go to class, because the slides she posts on blackboard aren't very helpful. This was one of my favorite classes at Tufts.

Workload:
The workload was typical, maybe on the lighter side of typical. Readings were interesting and there were 3 papers, a midterm, and a final. The exams weren't easy but they were fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 5238
Submitted: 2008-06-18
David Gute | CE158- Occupational and Environmental Health | Civil Engineering

Review:
I loved Professor Gute, even though he can be a bit boring. He's so genuinely concerned with his students and you can just tell he's one of those brilliant guys who has no street sense at all. He consulted us with due dates and even moved the exam for our convenience. This class was fairly interesting, and I learned a lot.

Workload:
The workload was pretty light for most of the semester; just 2 homework assignments and a midterm for the first part. However, at the end, there's a huge paper that you also have to present in a poster session, as well as a final. It did seem overwhelming at the time but I managed to get it done. I got the sense also that he would have been very understanding with extensions and such.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 5239
Submitted: 2008-06-18
Kathleen Weiler | ED165- Educating Women & Girls | Education

Review:
This wasn't the most interesting class I've ever taken, but it wasn't too bad. It was small (only 7 people) so the group discussion format was really great. Sometimes the material was a bit tedious, but the discussion format of the class plus interesting films thrown in saved it. Professor Weiler was very nice and helpful with advice on papers, and she really gave us a lot of rein when it came to discussions and paper topics.

Workload:
The workload was fine. Usually 2-3 30 page articles per class, but you could get enough to talk about them by reading the first 10 pages or so. There was a presentation and paper on a book and a take-home final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Women's Studies


Review ID: 5240
Submitted: 2008-06-18
Mitchell Silver | PHIL124- Bioethics | Philosophy

Review:
I had mixed feelings about Professor Silver and this class. On the one hand, it made me think a lot and it helped me to solidify my opinions on a variety of tough topics. This class certainly gives you the tools with which to think and write about these topics. On the other hand, I wasn't that fond of Professor Silver. I thought that often he encouraged participation, but when someone voiced their opinion he really shot them down. By the end of the semester there were only a select few who were still brave enough. Sometimes he was quite funny though.

Workload:
The workload was pretty light. There was a normal amount of reading, but I didn't do most of it. Paying attention in class was more important. There were two papers, the first graded by the TA and the second graded considerably easier by Professor Silver. There was a final that consisted of three questions chosen out of a bunch that he gave beforehand.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 5241
Submitted: 2008-06-18
Mark Woodin | CE154- Principles of Epidemiology | Civil Engineering

Review:
I loved Professor Woodin and this class. This is the graduate level of Epi, so it was at night, but I was always engaged and interested. Professor Woodin was just awesome: he knows his stuff and presented the material in a clear and applied way, and he has an incredible sense of humor. He tells a lot of stories about himself and his family that are hilarious. He posts the slides for all of his lectures on blackboard, but I would recommend not printing them out and taking your own notes because everything makes sense when he's doing it in class but when you go to do it on the problem sets it can be tricky.

Workload:
There was no reading for this class, which was great. There are 3 problem sets and a take-home final, all of which can (and should) be done with a partner or partners. He and the TA were fair but picky graders.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 5087
Submitted: 2008-06-12
Sonia Hofkosh | EN123- Frankenstein's Sisters | English

Review:
Although Sonia Hofkosh is a very nice lady, I could barely sit through this class. The Austen material is very, very dry and there is much more of it than Shelley readings. This class tends to attract an all-women base as well; you must be able to handle the competitive banter that is inevitable in feminist classrooms. Expect the class discussion to have no direction whatsoever.

Workload:
One book a week, some longer than others, and three 6-8 page essays plus one 6-page final. Students who are best prepared will have read the material in the summer or over December break; check the Tufts bookstore site for a list. I recommend lightening up your English courseload if you plan to take this class- it was very time consuming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 4993
Submitted: 2008-06-06
Ina Bagdiantz-McCabe | HIST005 - History of Consumption | History

Review:
I loved this class! Professor McCabe is really nice, very interesting, and very smart. The class' title is pretty ambiguous, so I'll explain that "Consumption" means the history of how people consume things. We talked about tea, drugs, diamonds, louis vuitton in Asia, Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution, Coffee, bananas, and lots of other goods/topics.

The class was really easy - I think about half of the class got As on the midterm - but still really interesting. It's one of my favorite classes that I have taken at Tufts and it's the first one that I can legitimately say was an "easy A".

If you're an IR major it's the perfect class to fill your core History requirement with.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading but you don't have to do all of it. Just MAKE SURE TO GO TO RECITATIONS becuase that's where you learn everything for the tests. The readings are usually really good though so i read a lot of them.

1 midterm, 1 final, and 1 group in-class presentation. The midterm and the final are the same and are really easy as long as you prepare. They give you a list of terms the class before the test and then say that they'll choose 15 of them for the exam, of which you choose 10. So as long as you know all the terms they give you you're good to go. Same goes for short answer questions. There's a take home essay 5-6pgs for both the midterm and final due on the day of the test, but that's just about reading (aka what you talked about in recitations). The in class presentation just requires a few days to prepare - you don't have to do anything fancy, just know about your topic.


I HIGHLY recommend this class, it was really fun and not stressful at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4721
Submitted: 2008-05-21
Marian Vestergaard | Ast-0009 | Astronomy

Review:
This class, without a doubt, is perhaps the worst class in the history of academia. Most everyone takes this class to fulfill their natural sciences requirement, and past semester's classes have adhered to that standard. However, for Professor Vestergaard, this class was treated as a graduate course. First off, she treated the students as if they were in elementary school, making rules such as no laptops, no talking, no coming in late and making noise, and no packing up before class is over. She often made snide and sometimes outright rude comments to students, and her lectures were incredibly dry and boring. Attendance is necessary because of the i-clickers, and it is still nearly impossible to absorb any of the information.
The tests were very difficult, so much so that she had to scale all of them significantly. She uses a strange curving system, so final grades were strange(For example, an 81 would be a C+ instead of a B-).
Adding insult to injury, in an email she told students to contact her if they had any questions about their grades. Two weeks after the fact, I am still waiting for a response and very highly doubt that it will ever come.
If you have an opportunity to take this class, make sure it is not with her. It was undoubtedly the worst experience of my Tufts career so far.

Workload:
The workload is outrageous for an entry level astronomy class. Two homework assignments a week, most of the time taking several hours to do. The book was also ridiculously price, somewhere in the $130 range, and that's not even including the price of the i-clicker. As an icing on the cake for this awful course, I couldn't sell the book back to the bookstore. Hopefully, they take it in the fall or next spring, or else this whole experience has been a colossal waste.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 4704
Submitted: 2008-05-20
Deborah Schildkraut | PS0111-Political Psychology | Political Science

Review:
I have to be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this class. I thought a lot of the readings (especially the books) were boring, long, and confusing. She hardly used the books at all, except to quiz us on trivial terms. And we were left reading hundreds of pages. On most days, class lectures were quite boring and mainly involved psychology definitions that were later memorized for tests. The tests weren't terribly hard, I just found them pointless: it felt like the only point was to memorize terms. My main complaint is that we never went deeper into what we learned and there was very little analysis. If you're looking for a class that won't really inspire you or challenge you beyond your memorization skills, take this class. But if not, I wouldn't recommend it.

Workload:
Two tests, two 5ish page papers, and one very long 20+ page final paper. At times, the readings felt long because they weren't very interesting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 4646
Submitted: 2008-05-16
deborah schildkraut | PS-109 - The Politics of Ethnicity and American Identity | Political Science

Review:
Reading other reviews on this site, and based on my experiences this past semester, it seems like people have pretty divided views on Schildkraut. Personally, I found her class to be thoroughly engaging, relevant, and interesting. Schildkraut grades tough, but I think she curves up the grade at the end of the semester when factoring in participation and so on, which is nice. She's extremely knowledgable about the subject material and will go out of her way to make sure class discussions are a good mix of personal opinions, case studies, policy suggestions, and so on. A couple of the classes had films, too, which was nice.

Workload:
This is where things can get rough for some people. The workload for the semester was:
- A weekly Blackboard paragraph responding to the readings
- Two 5-page reaction papers responding to readings, spaced out over the semester at two class periods of your choosing
- One 20-minute presentation covering your research paper topic
- One 25-page research paper (combined with presentation, worth 45% of grade.)

DO NOT take this class with another upper-level seminar. You'll be miserable. That being said, I learned tons in this class and I think that despite the workload it was definitely worth it. Obviously, not everyone feels the same way. My advice would be to get a look at the syllabus and see if it's up your alley.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 4648
Submitted: 2008-05-16
Lecia Rosenthal | ENG092C - Conrad, Forster, Woolf | English

Review:
Lecia Rosenthal is a goddess, and this is coming from someone who barfs at the notion of teachers as objects of hero-worship. That being said, it's clear from other reviews that not everyone thinks so. The material is nuanced, her ideas esoteric, her methods unconventional. If you're looking for an easy A or you're not invested in the material, don't bother. She deserves invested students, and nothing is sadder than seeing her oozing brilliance in the face of 25 kids who are totally checked out and five who are in awe of her brilliance (which is what the classes sometimes seem like.) She can seem intimidating - and so can this review, I'm sure - but hang in there. Considering how smart she is, she's also more than willing to listen to people's ideas and perspectives and unlike many smart professors, she's not dismissive and is very polite.

Workload:
Book a week, final paper. Not difficult, but not easy-A easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 4649
Submitted: 2008-05-16
siddiq abdullah | EC005 - Introduction to Economics | Economics

Review:
Ughhhhhhh. This class annoyed me. People seem to fall over themselves to convey their love of Abdullah, but I never really got it. He's a nice guy, sure, but he conveys very important material in a very dry and abstract way that can be difficult to apply to real life and can turn people off. Also, TAs are a crapshoot - you get a bad one like I did, and it just makes you want to die rather than go to recitation (not to mention impeding your understanding of the material.) If you MUST take this class for your major, then good luck. If not, I highly suggest you drop out like I did, and read "The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford instead. It'll basically teach you the exact same material in a way you can understand and be invested in.

Workload:
Three exams, I think? Lots of dry textbook reading. Everyone skips class, which I think says a lot.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 4650
Submitted: 2008-05-16
Pearl Robinson | PS-130: Seminar on African Political Economy | Political Science

Review:
Ah, Pearl Robinson. First class I had, I was a little intimidated, but I grew to love her. Very knowledgeable about Africa as a whole and loves to wander off into story time about her life and experiences in Africa, from her days in the Peace Corps in Niger up to the present day. Apparently this annoys some people, but I loved it. I've never been to Africa but I learned so much in this class not only about the history, politics, and economics, but also a general sense of the "feel" of Africa which I think is something that is probably very hard to convey, but that she did a good job with. Her interest, involvement, and dedication to the subjects at hand are evident, plus she has a sense of humor and a degree of flexibility to boot. Downsides: has a tendency to lose emails, turned in assignments; has a rigid template for reaction papers that can be difficult to adapt to every reading.

Workload:
It's an upper-level poli sci seminar, so know what you're getting into. You should take a good look at the syllabus on the first day of class. The reading is a book a week, and varies from very interesting (Joe Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs' new books this semester) to the excruciating (I won't name names.) You have to do weekly reading responses of about 500 words, but fortunately you only have to do 5 out of the 7 books you read, so you have a degree of flexibility for opting out if the reading is just too painful or you get sick or something. The kicker is a 25-30 page research paper worth 70% of your final grade. No, that's not a typo. Fortunately there's a low-key presentation where you can get feedback from her and classmates, plus ample time to prepare. Considering how much I learned, I thought it was worth it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 4609
Submitted: 2008-05-13
Andy Joseph | EXP005-Rastafari: a New World Religion | Experimental College

Review:
I signed up for this class with a lot of interest in the subject matter, however, I found the course lackluster, at best. When class wasn't cancelled, there was no structure to the lesson and was mostly the professor talking at us. This is the first time I've ever been dissatisfied with an Ex-College course. The department usually is able to filter out the good from the bad, but clearly they have overlooked this course.

Workload:
The workload was typical, however, figuring out what assignment was due when was a nightmare. We received a loose syllabus that was never followed, and many assignments we were supposed to do were cancelled. Grading was based on very subjectively graded assignments, and we never had any clue as to what the professor was looking for in the homework.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4611
Submitted: 2008-05-13
Linda Garant | MATH0012-Calculus II | Mathematics

Review:
Linda did a fantastic job of teaching the principles of Calculus II. In a fast paced class with a tremendous amount of material to cover, she always made time for questions in class. I never felt intimidated by her in class. She also does a good job in office hours. She makes sure you understand everything completely and you grasp the concepts. Her lectures were easy to follow considering the speed of the class. I would love to take another course with Linda.

Workload:
I placed into Math 12 because of AP Calculus in high school and I had no trouble with the course. The homework was fair and not too much. If there was ever any problems I couldn't do, I would just ask in class. Overall, the class was not too time consuming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 4612
Submitted: 2008-05-13
Sergiy Kryatov | CHEM0001 and CHEM0002-Chem Fundamentals w/ Lab | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Kryatov was a very good lecturer and knew his chemistry. For each lecture he prints out the power point for each student to take and follow along with. This allows you to be able to listen to the lecture rather than spend the entire time writing down notes. He also, from time to time, performs awesome demonstrations that are relevant to the topics discussed in class. This makes his lectures much more exciting. He was always available for outside help and spent a lot of effort making sure you understood the material. Although he may seem boring at some times, he covers the material in a clear way that is a difficult feat in terms of Chem 1 and 2.

Workload:
Intro chem is exactly what is sounds: an intro course. It has a fair amount reading and nonstop problem sets and online homework. It also has lab once a week that usually does not use the entire three hours. The tests are difficult but not unfair. He posts practice tests that are very helpful in preparation for the test. I highly recommend completing in full the online MasteringChemistry homework because that works you through the types of problems that will be on the test. If you read the book, do the homework, and go the the recitation when you do not understand something, you should be fine in this course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 4578
Submitted: 2008-05-07
Tony Smith | PS188 - The New Anti-Semitism | Political Science

Review:
Great, unique class. Every lecture was engaging, and discussions were constructive and dynamic.

Prof. Smith is by far the most student-engaged professor I've had at Tufts. Speaking to him one-on-one was easy, productive, and unintimidating.

Workload:
Lots o' reading, but all of it relevant, most of it interesting, some of it brilliant.

Two papers, a 10pg and a 20pg.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4579
Submitted: 2008-05-07
Joseph Litvak | ENG?? - Black Comedy | English

Review:
Prof. Litvak is very personable and engaging, both in lectures and in person. His analysis of the works can sometimes be frustrating and superficial, but I suppose there is some merit in pointing out phallic and fecal references in every work. I don't know why he bothers teaching Lolita...two class periods for that book doesn't even scratch the surface.

Workload:
Not alot of reading, and all of it is really fun.

2 papers, 5pg each. Litvak is known for being a tough grader. He will also, somewhat hypocritically, call you out for being pretentious.

The final is asinine....basically a cumulative memorization test (as described by Litvak in class--this review is being written an hour before the test). Very little to do with analysis and understanding of black comedy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4577
Submitted: 2008-05-06
Susan Ostrander | Sociology 130 | Sociology

Review:
Despite insisting on the a discussion-based medium for teaching her class, Susan has an awful tolerance for outside views, and incessantly stifles conversations even to the point of cutting off students while they are talking, just to hear her own voice. She is only concerned with a student's progress as long as that student is willing to swallow and reiterate all of Susan's own opinions. She approaches class every day with a palpable air of superiority that takes away from the feeling of a safe learning environment; condescending on students with alternative views is her modus operandi.

The class covers a large amount of very interesting material. Buy and read all of the books, they are extremely valuable. The classroom experience fails to actually analyze or interact with the readings.

I would never take another class with Susan Ostrander... even if my major depended on it (It is a waste of time and money).

Workload:
You are expected to read around 50 to 70 pages a week. Assignments are straightforward; however, the grading rubric that Ostrander uses is completely subjective. Personal analysis and creativity is discouraged. If you want to get a good grade, hide your opinions behind the quotes of an author she assigns. Susan is not at all interested in what you have to say.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 4574
Submitted: 2008-05-04
Ina Baghdiantz McCabe | HIST005- History of Consumption | History

Review:
Prof. McCabe is great. She's really friendly and laid-back and also is very enthusiastic about the course material. She is always smiling and willing to help you. Both her lectures and readings are really interesting. I would recommend taking this class with her.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading for the class each week, but it was interesting and some of it you could just skim. Some things we read were about the history of coffee, the life of marie antoinette, and excepts from Fast Food Nation. It's easy reading. Besides reading there is just a midterm, final, and in-class presentation (which is easy).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4575
Submitted: 2008-05-04
Mark Woodin | CH054/CE054- Fundamentals of Epidemiology | Community Health

Review:
Prof. Woodin is great. I would definitely recommend taking a class with him. He is very engaging and funny and therefore makes the lectures interesting. He is one of the teachers that cares a lot about education. He wanted you to understand not only the concepts of epidemiology but also rare diseases and biological processes that he would never test us on. He thought to increase knowledge instead of teaching for a test. Additionally, he's very accessible. He's happy to talk with students outside of class and gives all students his cell phone number and home phone number on the first day of class. It's a fabulous class.

Workload:
4 problem sets, 1 critique of an epidemiological study, and a take-home final were given. Although parts of these were tricky, you are able and encouraged to work in groups of 3-4 people, so the group as a whole can usually figure it out. The only criticism I have of this class is that I was never forced to learn anything because every assignment was take-home and in groups. I'll probably forget all of this very quickly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 4531
Submitted: 2008-04-30
David O'Leary | CR 56 Catholicism | Comparative Religion

Review:
This is O'Leary's best course. He is a priest, but does not let the official church get off easy. Gave time to chat about women's ordination and married priests.

Very willing to write letters of recommendation.

One of my best courses at Tufts.

Workload:
Two take home exams, weekly reading and reflection paper, research paper and presentation.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4532
Submitted: 2008-04-30
Jeremey Luallen | EC 11 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
Dr. Luallen is an excellent lecturer. He is youthful and enthusiastic (physical characteristics and idiosyncratic mannerisms remind me of a young Tom Cruise: think before 2000). Lectures are Powerpoint based and very straightforward. Material was covered very quickly (some would say too quickly). If you had questions, Dr. Luallen was very helpful and demonstrated genuine concern w/ the student's progress.

I would absolutely take another class w/ Dr. Luallen.

Workload:
There were three exams, each which counted 30% of our grade with the remaining 10% based on homework problem sets that were due the lecture after we finished a chapter. No cumulative final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4533
Submitted: 2008-04-30
Bill Mosher | EC 12 - Intermediate Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
Professor Mosher is straight-up old-school. Lectures were concise, blackboard and chalk. As a person, he might be rather intimidating. I feel he is very intellectual and knows his material very well.

We would start lecture w/ discussion on the current US economy, have lecture on to-be-tested material and end within an hour though the plus block is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Sometimes, Professor Mosher would cancel class spontaneously.

I would take another class with Professor Mosher

Workload:
One midterm, one non-cumulative final. All essays. Very intense. Old-school.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4527
Submitted: 2008-04-29
Klaus Miczek | PSY123 - Pyschopharmacology | Psychology

Review:
This is one of the best classes I have ever taken at Tufts, without a doubt. Don't get me wrong, it is a difficult class, but it is not a difficult class to do well in. The material is difficult and the readings are advanced, but Dr. Miczek is truly committed to making sure his students do well and understand the material. The class meets twice a week. For the first third of the class, you essentially do background on Brain & Behavior (PSY103, a prerequisite) and general neuropharmacology. At the end of this period, you take a test on the material which you must pass with at least an 80, or else you have to keep taking it. This isn't to harrass the students or stress anyone out, it's to make sure everyone has a strong background in the information necessary for the course and readings. For the second third, the first class of the week is a background lecture on the week's topic and the second class of the week is a group discussion of several articles from scientific journals. The biggest part of this class isn't the pharmacology or psychology aspect, it's that you really learn how to properly read a journal article and dissect it. Dr. Miczek also gives you background into the life of a professional researcher. I would absolutely recommend this class to anyone going into the sciences, especially research and academia.

Also, Dr. Miczek always says he wants everyone in his class to get an A, whether or not that corresponds with the university's grade inflation policy.

Workload:
1 Test after the first third of the class that doesn't count towards your grade (but you do have to keep taking it until you get an 80+), 1 Take home final that counts for 70% (the other 30% is participation) of your grade (~20 pages), plus reading at least 1 scientific review and 3 scientific journal articles every week


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 4522
Submitted: 2008-04-28
David Dapice | Economic Development | Economics

Review:
Professor Dapice is wonderful- he has great experience in the field and is always willing to talk to you or help you out if you're concerned or confused about something in class. The class is interesting and just about right for someone looking to gain a foundation in the field of economic development.

Workload:
Workload was not bad at all. 2 in-class exams and 2 papers- again, he is willing to help and he is a fair grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4526
Submitted: 2008-04-28
Mary Jane Shultz | Chem 16 - Chemistry of Materials | Chemistry

Review:
The course is more difficult than Chem 1, delving into several subjects from Chem 2. If you took AP Chem or did well in some other respectable high school chemistry or are generally good with sciences, you'll manage this class fine. It really is tailored for engineers and you will learn a lot provided you aren't lazy. Dr. Shultz is extremely knowledgable and picks great TAs.
My one big complaint is that Shultz uses her own textbook, and it is probably the worst text I've ever owned (I'm not one to complain about textbooks). Fortunately, the readings can be skipped.

Workload:
The reading is managable and completely unnecessary if you pay attention in class. The weekly problem sets can be completed in two hours or so. At the end of the year, there's a research paper, but it is not too difficult to write. You go into the research paper really prepared, because the whole semester of topics had been centered around it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 4514
Submitted: 2008-04-27
Jane Bernstein | MUS008 - Mozart | Music

Review:
Music 8 was a great class! I'm not a music major and I was never into classical music but I got a lot out of this class. Dr. Bernstein is incredibly knowledgeable and her classes are really fun with all kinds of media supplementation like audio and video clips.

Workload:
There are regular reading and listening assignments but you don't really have to do them as they're not graded. There's also an opera performance field trip that's "mandatory" but isn't part of your grade. The grading is as follows:

Attendance 6% - each missed class after the first 2 is a whole point off so i.e. miss 3 classes=get 5/6. This was probably the biggest hassle since other classes you can just skip but this one you really can't.

4 Projects 23.5% each:
1) Historic/Mozart's Life (essay & presentation)
2) Symphony (listening project)
3) Requiem (listening project)
4) Opera (listening project)

The listening projects which made up the bulk of the grade were take-home and had 40-50 short answer and multiple choice questions. They could take a while so don't leave them to the last night.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4518
Submitted: 2008-04-27
Oxana Shevel | PS0021 - Introduction to Comparative Politics | Political Science

Review:
I am not a major in this subject, but find this course very useful in conceptualizing politics and would definitely take another course with the same professor. The professor is awesome, very organized, enthusiastic, intelligent, and informative on the subject. The material in every class is engaging and explained in copious and refined detail. Lectures on theory are interrupted by empirical examples, simple and common examples, and room for questions from students, with the professor taking the questions very seriously and explaining them for as long as necessary. The professor is also very available.

Workload:
The course is organized around recitation participation credit, 2 quizzes (with about 12% of extra credit), a paper midterm, and a final. There is a ton of reading assigned, but it's well dispersed throughout the course and both the professor and the TA's take care to go over everything they want you to know on most of the readings. You also don't have to do 100% of the reading, just make sure to capture the key logic and terms presented within specific articles. If you go to class (lectures are very important, as they clearly lay out the information you need to know) and take care to cover the reading, the quizzes are quite easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4507
Submitted: 2008-04-26
Eli Siegel | BIO008- Human Heredity | Biology

Review:
This is an extremely interesting class IF you have a really solid foundation in biology. Having taken just regular biology in high school (not AP bio) won't be enough. Prof. Siegel assumes you have a solid foundation in many bio topics and does not thoroughly explain them. He is good at explaining new, higher level information, but not foundational things. If you took AP bio in high school and just want to get a science credit out of the way, definitely take this class - it will be very easy.

Workload:
3 tests, 3 quizzes. They are relatively straighforward with a few curveball questions. Study thoroughly and you'll be fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 4509
Submitted: 2008-04-26
Jeffery Taliaferro | PS061- Intro to International Relations | Political Science

Review:
People told me that Professor Taliaferro would be arrogant and frustrating. He really likes what he thinks, and he isn't the "all opinions are valid" type. But really, in an intro class, it's really good for the professor to shoot down obnoxious people who just want to spew mindless monologues about politics. He knows his stuff, and for IR, that's the best type of person to give students the foundation. I loved the class. I am scared of the guy, and his office hours are an intimidating experience, but it makes students put thought into the class and their questions. He makes you think really hard before saying anything, and that's good, in the end.

Workload:
Lots of reading, a paper, midterm and final. Standard for a hard intro class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4511
Submitted: 2008-04-26
Paul Wulfsberg | ARB001- Elementary Modern Standard Arabic | Arabic

Review:
I had a really good time with this class. I was interested in taking Arabic in college, and I decided to go for it when I arrived. Yes, his last name is Wulfsberg--not Arab--but it's honestly like taking the language from a native speaker. He's a young professor, and the class seems awkwardly formal at times considering the age similarity between professor and student. It's a tough language, and a tough class, but after a while, it's fun, and "Khalid" Wulfsberg becomes a little more relaxed and informal. The class itself is reall challenging, you know, seeing as there is an entirely new script to learn, but "Khalid" knows his stuff and will help you during office hours. Go to the office hours, really, it will help. If you put the work in, you will realize how good his course is.

Workload:
Lots of grammar drills, etc. Hard tests, with vocab to memorize.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4492
Submitted: 2008-04-24
Phillip Holcomb | Intro to Pyschology (Psych 001) | Psychology

Review:
The professor was interesting. He's a pretty easy going guy and tried to get people to participate. Explained concepts very well. The only downside is the powerpoints. Very bland and with too much information. He writes a lot on the powerpoints that he doesn't go over b/c its obvious or not necessary. Other than that, good professor! I enjoyed his class.

Workload:
Standard Intro to Psych readings. The book is pretty okay. Some parts were interesting and some parts--well depending on when you're reading it (i.e 2 AM)--just dragged on and on and on! Other than that, no work whatsoever. I reccommend keeping up w/ readings as he likes to throw 1-5 questions from experiments or ancedotes that the book uses but he never mentions in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 4491
Submitted: 2008-04-23
Jeremy Luallen | EC0011 - Intermediate Microeconomics Theory | Economics

Review:
Dr. Luallen is a great professor. His energetic and enthusiastic teaching really brings a lot to the class. He makes an effort to learn the name of every student in the class and genuinely cares about each student's progress. As a chronic class-skipper, I can say that his class was engaging enough that I skipped class only once. I highly recommend him and his class. I would definitely take another class with him.

Workload:
His problem sets are due the next class after he finishes the chapter in lecture. They're not hard at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4486
Submitted: 2008-04-22
Rafael Davilo-Franco | SPN0022XE | Spanish

Review:
Rafael is a very sweet man who doesn't know anything about teaching. He lets his students walk all over him and moves very slowly through the material. Thus, he is forced to add "make-up" classes (though he never actually misses a class).

If you are the kind of person who needs to review what you read the next day in class (and trust me, you will, the last assignment is about 40 pages a night in a chapter book until its 200+ pages have been read), then Rafael is not the teacher for you.
He is, however, available for outside help.

Workload:
Spanish 22 is pretty standard across the board. 3 tests, 1 major in class essay, many compositions and quizzes, loooong book...

However, note that I found Rafael's grading style much harsher than my Spn21 teacher's style.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 4487
Submitted: 2008-04-22
David Proctor | History 11- | History

Review:
Phenomenal teacher. Very well prepared, really cares for his students' well-beings, and an all-around great guy. Probably my favourite teacher at tufts so far

Workload:
decent and doable


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4490
Submitted: 2008-04-22
Caroline Gelmi | ENG0001- Expository Writing, ENG0002- Love & Sexuality | English

Review:
She is really great. I have had her for both English 1 and English 2 Love & Sexuality. She's always enthusiastic, and is always avaliable if you need to see her.

Her feedbacks on essays are really fun also.

Workload:
English 1 was a rather dry, analytical readings, but English 2 Love & Sexuality had a lot of fun readings.

five essays and a debate. revisions possible.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4481
Submitted: 2008-04-21
Alexander Frumosu | MATH0011 | Mathematics

Review:
Amazing professer who I learned alot from easily and quickly. He sometimes goes a bit quickly in class but it isn't too hard to keep up. He is approachable, friendly and encourages his students to do well. I liked him so much that I actually want to take another math class with him even though I don't need to for my major and even though I don't particularly like math. Definitely take his class if you can

Workload:
Homework everyday. Not too hard and he does confusing problems on the board Like any other math class at TUFTS


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4482
Submitted: 2008-04-21
Dale Peterson | ENG0001 | English

Review:
Great professor!! Very laid back and understanding. Loves discussions and often just sits back and let's students analyse the readings for themselves and come to their own conclusions. Easiest A I've received amongst all my classes here at TUFTS. Objectivity is the name of the game, and the most important aspects in writing are structure, organization an punctuation. Free reign with content though. Be explicit, creative and provocative. He is also one of the coolest people you'll ever meet.

Workload:
As far as I remember around 7 or 8 written papers 3-5 pages each and one research paper of 8 pages based off of one of the previous papers that you've written.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4483
Submitted: 2008-04-21
Dale Peterson | ENG0001 | English

Review:
Great professor!! Very laid back and understanding. Loves discussions and often just sits back and let's students analyse the readings for themselves and come to their own conclusions. Easiest A I've received amongst all my classes here at TUFTS. Objectivity is the name of the game, and the most important aspects in writing are structure, organization an punctuation. Free reign with content though. Be explicit, creative and provocative. He is also one of the coolest people you'll ever meet.

Workload:
As far as I remember around 7 or 8 written papers 3-5 pages each and one research paper of 8 pages based off of one of the previous papers that you've written.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4484
Submitted: 2008-04-21
Ellen Detwiller | FR0003- Intermediate French I | French

Review:
One of the nicest professors you will ever meet. Highly organised (trust me for a language professor that is one of the most important qualities), approachable, and quite funny at times. She explains grammar concepts well but there are so many exceptions and weird alternatives for grammar rules, always ask her questions even over the silliest things. Other than that, I liked her so much I took her again for FR0004.




Workload:
Alot of work. But I think the workload is the same for any french class you take at TUFTS. She also like to send alot of sheets through e-mail so, you should check your g-mail or hotmail accounts every single day. Also invest in a good printer because she send a tonne of materials, which you need to print out, fill in, and take to class on the assigned day. Check over th syllabus carefully too as that is where all the hw is listed ambiguously.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 4485
Submitted: 2008-04-21
Dale Peterson | EC0005- Introduction to Economics | Economics

Review:
Good professor, posts his notes up on blackboard, explains things rather simplistically. The key to succeed in his class though is to snatch up a good TA who you can harass night and day for help with. More than what you learn from the professor in class, it is important what you learn during recitation, so try not to miss those.

Workload:
Problem sets are highly confusing and ambiguous but if you have a good TA, your life is set. Two midterms made up of relatively objective multiple choice questions and one long ambiguous question at the end that you'll need to bull our way through.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4479
Submitted: 2008-04-20
Peggy Cebe | Phy-31 Optics and Wave Motion | Physics

Review:
Cebe is extremely helpful and enthusiastic. The course material is fascinating (but difficult, especially if you haven't dealt with waves before). It is one of the best classes I've taken here. The labs are time consuming but incredibly interesting. Cebe gives great notes and cares about her students. If you come in with extra questions about optics she gets really excited for you. Its great.

Workload:
The assignments were straightforward if you go to class. The labs are a pain but very relevant. The material is generally pretty easy if you know some stuff about waves but but very difficult if you don't go in for


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 4477
Submitted: 2008-04-19
Vida Johnson | RUS 80 Russian Film: Art, Politics, and Society | Russian

Review:
Prof. Johnson is a wonderful lecturer and is truly passionate about what she is teaching. She made me appreciate every single film that we watched in class, even if some weren't really my style. There are a bunch of handouts/reading for the course, but you don't really have to read it all for the exam. I would suggest it though, because of the reading Prof. Johnson gives is very interesting and really helps you look at the films in a different way.

Workload:
a midterm, essay and a final exam. Plus film journals that are only a page each. The workload really isn't bad at all, and if you come to all the classes and take part in discussions, the exams are really easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 4405
Submitted: 2008-04-17
Marci Hershman | English - 61 - Creative Fiction Writing | English

Review:
She was a very enthusiastic good teacher, she always praised my writing during class and thought I was doing great. I received a B+ despite the fact have always received A's in these types of classes.
Hard grader, and you don't find out til the end, not for the weak of heart.

Workload:
Pretty easy. But there's really no way to improve your grade as far as I know.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4406
Submitted: 2008-04-17
Lisa Shin | PSY112 - Biology of Psychopathology | Psychology

Review:
Prof. Shin knows her stuff and expects her students to retain a lot of information. But the course is really interesting if you like the biology behind psychology. There is a lot of memorizing parts of the brain and what they do and how they pertain to different pathologies. It is really helpful if you are a psych major.

Workload:
There are usually two or three major assignments all semester but virtually no work outside of the classroom other than that. She also counts class participation for a large chunk of your grade, so that is a booster.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 4391
Submitted: 2008-04-16
David Walt | CHECM 94: Big Bang to Humankind | Chemistry

Review:
The course starts with the Big Bang theory and finishes with topics about humans. Every 4 to 6 week you get a different science lecturer: Astrophysics, Geology, Chemistry Part 1, Chemistry Part 2, Biology, and Anthropology. It's meant to be taught to First years and Sophomores who might not be science majors. Each new lecturer teaches differently and sometimes they can overload you with information. Take it if you are good with memorizing.

Workload:
You have readings every night and will have pop quizzes on the readings or lectures every time you move onto a new lecturer. At the end of each section you have an exam, which can range from 5 to 10 questions. Your grade can take a hard hit because of it. And you have to present a final poster on any issue you'd like to research that might have been mentioned in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 4326
Submitted: 2008-04-09
Aaron Boyden | Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
Professor Boyden has a brilliant, encyclopedic knowledge of philosophy (among other topics, like classics and psychology).

However, I had some issues with this class. He clearly proved how immense his knowledge is, and how useful he can be in explaining certain things. He also seemed to have a sense of humor. Unfortunately, he barely showed any of his personality for the entire semester.

The first work that comes to mind when describing his class is awkward. This was a tiny class, and the tension and awkwardness is so dense that I sometimes had trouble breathing. He sort of lectures, writing notes on the board. He has a very complex way of speaking (like all Philosophers), which makes it easy to occasionally miss a point simply due to poor communication (speaking in lamens terms a little more would have helped). Going along with this, he expects that you really understood everything in the reading. Given that the reading was written mainly by philosophers hundreds of years ago (with the exception of Nietzsche), it was difficult to always understand everything that was going on. A little recap/summary would have helped. That way, participating wouldn't have felt so daunting.

That leads me to my next point. He stands in the front of the room and lectures in a fairly straightforward, humorless demeanor for an hour and fifteen minutes. He occasionally shows blips of humor, but simply giggles to himself and stifles whatever he was laughing at. He is not very good at initiating discussion, as he pretty much just asks, "Does anyone have any thoughts on this?" With his lack of enthusiasm and given the complexity of the material, people in my class rarely participated (the same 3-4 kids spoke every time).

I'm pretty sure he is new here this year, so perhaps he needs time to adjust. He also mentioned that he came from a school that was different from Tufts (a state school, I believe), so perhaps he hasn't quite adapted to the small-class style that Tufts has. I fell asleep often in the class, depending on how much sleep I got the night before, and there were times when I felt pretty bored.

However, I still think there's hope for him. Anyone around him for two minutes can see that he's brilliant. If he becomes a little more enthusiastic and student-friendly, he might become a great Professor.

All of that aside, I do feel like I genuinely learned a lot in this course- It has made me a better, more analytical thinker.

Workload:
The workload wasn't too bad. Considering this is an English 2 course, he's required to give a lot of writing. You are required to send him weekly responses to the reading via e-mail (not too long- most of mine were half-a-page). Additionally, I believe there are 4-5 short papers, a term paper, and a take-home final exam.

Not a difficult grader. It seems to be easy to get a B, but very tough to get an A.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 4330
Submitted: 2008-04-09
David Denby | PHIL039 - Knowing & Being | Philosophy

Review:
Prof. Denby has a terribly charming and creative sense of humor. Sometimes he explains concepts so clearly that the subject becomes difficult to debate, and occasionally topics were drawn out. He is completely open to other views, so long as they are well defended. The course material is introductory, even if the readings are occasionally not.

Workload:
The readings can be a little abstract and will help students achieve a more solid understanding of the lectures, but are not entirely necessary to perform well in the course. The only assignments were three(3) papers each a maximum of 1500 words long and an optional fourth paper at the end of the semester. A list of topics are offered for each paper, and each paper is quite manageable if you attend the lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 4332
Submitted: 2008-04-09
Michael Wiklund | ENP0161 | Engineering Psychology

Review:
Prof. Wiklund is concerned about his student's comprehension of the methods and concepts presented in the course and he continually encourages and is open to class involvement. He demonstrates a quiet enthusiasm, but is always helpful. The course is taught with the aid of members of his companying and covers focus groups, affinity diagramming, usability testing and a bit of visual design.

Workload:
Assignments are generally week long design projects (or multi-week projects with deliverables due at weekly intervals). They can be extremely time-consuming and grading, done by the TA can be a little harsh, especially if you're just starting to learn how to use a particular design tool. Otherwise, a great way to force you to learn a design software like Adobe Fireworks and to develop or start a portfolio.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 4333
Submitted: 2008-04-09
Anne Taieb | French 21 | French

Review:
She's the nicest and the most pleasant professor I've had at Tufts. It is very easy to tell that she is a nice person in general. As a teacher she was concerned about the class's progress, and she was very flexible in changing or deciding the dates the assignments would be due when the majority of the class had big exams or tests that week or something like that. She encouraged class participations from everyone by picking different people to answer questions, so you don't really have to stress about the participation grade so much. She's easy to approach to and available to students. I have not sought to see her outside of the class in person, but she frequently and relatively quickly responded to my e-mails whenever I e-mailed her with questions. I really really enjoyed having her as my professor.

Workload:
Not much.. very doable. grammar excercises each night or compositions once in a while...


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 4317
Submitted: 2008-04-08
Mary Boyatt | Elementary Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Penelope was a warm and friendly professor who was genuinely concerned with her students' progress. Most of the grammar has to be done on your time, but that's the case with most Spanish classes. She'll help you practice in a comfortable environment, which is really valuable, even if you have to put in some of your own time. Definitely worth it if you have a strong enough desire to make yourself learn.

Workload:
Assignments were very reasonable, and she's a reasonable grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4318
Submitted: 2008-04-08
James Ennis | American Society | Sociology

Review:
I got a lot out of American Society, but that was almost entirely because of the readings. Ennis is not great at managing class time and isn't a thrilling lecturer, but he does assign really, really interesting readings if you choose to do them. Like a lot of sociology classes, you have to put in effort to get something out of it, but that's not a bad thing. I'm so glad I took this class, because I had to work at it to make it personally meaningful (and it was).

Workload:
The workload was not unmanageable, but definitely not easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4319
Submitted: 2008-04-08
Fulton Gonzalez | MATH006 | Mathematics

Review:
Gonzalez loved when people asked questions, because he really wanted to help students understand. A friendly guy and definitely available, clear, and direct. I would recommend Math 6 if you're trying to get rid of your math requirement.

Workload:
If you keep up with the daily assignments, the tests aren't too hard. You can always ask questions in class about problems he wasn't planning to go over, so it's not bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4320
Submitted: 2008-04-08
Matthew Gregory | SOC001 - Introduction to Sociology | Sociology

Review:
I really enjoyed Matt's class and his assignments were interesting and unusual. If you actually devote time to thinking about the material on your own, it can be really fulfilling. But if you only go to class, you won't get as much out of it as you could (class pretty much consists of freeform discussion). I would have liked the readings to be more tangibly connected to lecture, but they're both good for different reasons. You basically make this class what you want. Overall, I would definitely recommend it.

Workload:
If you work fairly hard at this, it should be no problem.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4321
Submitted: 2008-04-08
Raysa Mederos | SPN 003 - Intermediate Spanish I | Spanish

Review:
Raysa cared about her students and was more engaging than any Spanish professor I've had at Tufts. Although she doesn't devote much time to grammar or vocabulary, she creates a comfortable environment in which you actually learn how to TALK, which is so much more important than learning vocabulary or conjugations in a book. Raysa was the first professor who actually made me feel like I could become fluent outside of writing exercises. Take Spanish with her if you can!

Workload:
Not hard at all. She's an extremely easy grader because she just wants you to learn the language in an un-mechanical way. So worth it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4322
Submitted: 2008-04-08
Lee Edelman | ENG 81 - Postmodernism and Film | English

Review:
Without a doubt the most articulate person I have ever known. Postmodernism is a hard class to get an A in, but definitely worth it, if only because you get an opportunity analyze fairly popular movies through a completely new lens. Edelman is an amazingly engaging lecturer, although the content can be overwhelming at times. Overall, a fantastic course that I definitely recommend. A bit of a mindfuck, though.

Workload:
The readings were extremely dense, but Edelman's willing to clear up any questions (if you're brave enough to ask). The work, while difficult sometimes, was always genuinely thought-provoking.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 4323
Submitted: 2008-04-08
Kathy Pollakowski | SPN 0032 | American Studies

Review:
Class is boring and far too focused on history as opposed to literature and content. Tests are half history, half 2nd grade-style analysis of text. Sounds like it would be easy, but class is boring and it is impossible to pay attention. My abilities have regressed through this course. She is moderately nice. She takes attendance every day. DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS.

Workload:
Poorly designed course. Questions are in a scatterbrained course packet which must be purchased from gnomon copy in addition to reading textbook. Reading is not excessive, but far too complex for her analyses. Not much homework to hand in except for 2, 6-page compositions. DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 4314
Submitted: 2008-04-07
Cheryl Tano | SP002-Elementary Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Great Professor. She knows a lot about languages and not just about Spanish. She actually wants students to learn to speak the language and encourages student to be involved in the classes.

Workload:
Not a lot of work. Just the normal workbook stuff and 4 essays. It is pretty easy to do but make sure you keep up with the workbook because it is hard to complete a day before the exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 4298
Submitted: 2008-04-06
Anna Hardman | EC0091 - Economics of Public Policy | Economics

Review:
The worst professor I've ever taken at Tufts. I'm an econ major and her public policy class was terrible. She is unorganized, unprepared and incompetent. And this is coming from somebody who did well in the class. She never returns things on time and is terrible with keeping her own deadlines. She was so bad!

Workload:
Didn't need to do the readings. Midterm, optional final or project.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4299
Submitted: 2008-04-06
David Garman | EC0015 - Econometrics | Economics

Review:
An amazing professor. He has this nervous hiccup that he does every few sentences, but it makes him that much more endearing. A truly great professor who memorizes everybody's name and breaks down the subject into manageable chunks. Love him.

Workload:
Problem set and quiz a week. Couple of midterms and a final. But the problem sets are not extremely time consuming and the quiz is only 2 questions that should each be answered in 1 sentence each.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4275
Submitted: 2008-04-04
David Proctor | HIST011- Europe Since 1815 | History

Review:
Easily one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting here at Tufts. Very easy to talk to about material and will go out of his way to make sure that you feel comfortable with the material he presents and that you feel completely prepared for each exam. He knows exactly what he is talking about for each lecture and welcomes questions. Overall, he is a very very nice man who teaches a very interesting course. I am very happy that I have taken a course with him.

Workload:
The weekly 2-3 page essays can be annoying but they count for around 10 percent of your grade which is an awesome boost. Make sure you either read or take good notes in class, if you do both, you will be extrordinarily prepared although doing both is not required. As much as I love him as a professor, he does take too long getting exams back to you. Make sure you take good lecture notes because he moves very fast.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 4225
Submitted: 2008-03-31
Mingquan Wang | Intensive Chinese 1/2 | Chinese

Review:
Wang Laoshi is amazing! He is always super enthusiasic when teaching and always made the class a lot of fun. He an awesome teacher.

Workload:
The workload is more than a typical course because it is two credits. It is also harder to take this course if you do not already have a background in Chinese. His tests are pretty straightforward and are relatively easy considering the material that is presented.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chinese


Review ID: 4226
Submitted: 2008-03-31
John Straub | Ec 15 Basic Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Class:
As far as economics goes, this is the core class of my major. Econometrics gives you the tool, OLS regression, from which you can pursue research in whatever topic you would like. Very useful both in and outside of academic life.

Professor:
Professor Straub is a pretty agreeable guy but don't make the mistake of getting on his bad side. He is very available to students during office hours and is very concerned with students progress. Makes jokes during class that can be seen as sarcastic but I just found funny. Uses running examples to teach different methods and is very enthusiastic about the material. Overall a great teacher who can teach you a lot if you are willing to pay attention and do the work.

Workload:
This class was pretty straightforward. The syllabus spells out everything you need to do. This includes a statistics quiz in the beginning of the semester, a handful of empirical computer exercises, a midterm, a final, and an empirical paper (which can be done with a group). The midterm and final were very qualitative, lots of describing output from Stata that is displayed for you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 4164
Submitted: 2008-03-28
Dwight Fee | SOC040 - Media & Society | Sociology

Review:
First of all, let me emphasize that this is a review of Media & Society with Fee, not Sobieraj. I believe he was hired as a replacement during her leave, but in case he's still around DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH HIM. He was painfully boring, used 2 overhead projectors side-by-side when we were in a Tisch multimedia classroom, and did not allow enough time for groups to present their projects at the end of the semester (we took an extra class and 2 groups still didn't get to go!). This class could have been really interesting, but instead I absolutely dreaded going.

Workload:
Reading wasn't too bad. There were eleven 2-page reading response papers, a midterm & final, and a group project/presentation/paper. The TA (Amy Moff) graded everything extremely hard.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 4107
Submitted: 2008-03-24
Tracy Pearce | FR0031 - Readings in French Literature I | French

Review:
Very nice, helpful, interesting class discussion, knowledgeable and understanding/relates well to students. Switched around my schedule to make room for her class, completely worth it. Definitely the best French prof and one of the best profs overall that I have had at Tufts!

Workload:
Pretty standard for a mid-level lit class, four books/plays at a reasonable pace and some shorter readings (poetry, philosophy, fables) as well. A few papers with plenty of advance notice and chance for rewrites. Very fair grader and welcomes students to office hours for discussion.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 3993
Submitted: 2008-03-14
Yi, Hyunmin | Biotechnology process project laboratory (review request) | Chemical and Biological Engineering

Review:
Would like a review of this course. How is the professor? How was the workload? How much do you learn at the lab? Etc.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3994
Submitted: 2008-03-14
Yi, Hyunmin | Biotechnology process project laboratory (review request) | Chemical and Biological Engineering

Review:
Would like a review of this course. How is the professor? How was the workload? How much do you learn at the lab? Etc.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3995
Submitted: 2008-03-14
Yi, Hyunmin | Biotechnology process project laboratory (review request) | Chemical and Biological Engineering

Review:
Would like a review of this course. How is the professor? How was the workload? How much do you learn at the lab? Etc.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3990
Submitted: 2008-03-13
Wanda Lankenner MacDonald | English 1 | English

Review:
She was dedicated to get her students to write better. She did a great job helping me write well and she did it very effectively.

Workload:
There was very minimal reading, but the reading was difficult. There was a good amount of writing, but the assignments were no longer than 1000 words. Just essays, no tests. Participation counts towards grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3992
Submitted: 2008-03-13
Sergiy Kryatov | Chemistry 1 | Chemistry

Review:
He does very well preparing you for tests. He prints out lecture slides for you and does a lot of problems out in class. He's very knowledgeable about the class material. Practice tests really help you prepare for the tests.

Workload:
Online problem sets really help your grade and understanding. Paper problem sets, too. Homework is moderate for a science class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3971
Submitted: 2008-03-04
Blaine Pfeifer | CHBE-10: Thermodynamics and Process Calculations I | American Studies

Review:
I cannot believe how could this guy get PhD degree in standford university. He have no idea at all to the biotechnology. Very stupid professor. I cannot believe he is being a professor in Tufts.

Workload:
He himself have no idea to the homwork. Terrible class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 3966
Submitted: 2008-02-28
Roni Khardon | COMP80 - Programming Languages | Computer Science

Review:
Prof. Khardon is very dry. He also lacks the empathy many other professors in the department have--I, a CS major holding a 3.8 in the major--found myself feeling stupid any time I asked a question. I have never had an experience like that in a class at Tufts.

Net result--people don't raise their hands (at least in my class) and people slowly stop coming to class. Comp 80 is required for the major, so there aren't really any options, but know going in that it can be quite unpleasent

Workload:
A fair amount of reading, some relatively hard assignemnts--nothing compared to comp 15 (at least comp 15 with Professor Couch, I know it changes every year.)

NOTE: Prof. have a bit leeway with CS 80--if you take it with another professor, workload may be dramatically different.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Comparative Religion


Review ID: 3959
Submitted: 2008-02-25
Alex Frumosu | MATH013 | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Frumosu is the best math professor at Tufts. If you are debating whether or not to take the 8:30 on Fridays do it, it's well worth understanding fairly challenging material.

Workload:
Problem sets can be lengthy, but not too much work overall if you are used to normal college math workload.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 3955
Submitted: 2008-02-24
David Garman | EC 015 - Basic Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Professor Garman has great concern for the students, explains the material clearly and very accessible outside of class as well

Workload:
Workload is somewhat heavy but helps you learn the material better.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3930
Submitted: 2008-02-05
Eli Siegel | Genetics | Biology

Review:
I am an old grad student. Let me just chime in that Dr. Siegel has one of the finest, driest senses of humor you will ever find, and I miss it - and I was NOT a genetics major.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3926
Submitted: 2008-02-04
Lee Edelman | ENG081- Postmodernism & Film | English

Review:
Professor is incredibly intelligent and enthusiastic. The material is varied and really engaging. This was the best class I've ever taken at Tufts.

Workload:
Readings are short but difficult. Assignments are well-related to the course material; they're challenging, but you'll want to do well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 3922
Submitted: 2008-02-01
Jeremy Halpern | ELS 107 | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
I really enjoyed Prof. Halpern and ELS 107. He told us at the beginning that it would be a lot of work - and it was - but I found the class great and worth my time. Prof. Halpern taught me a lot about leadership, about entrepreneurship and about business and law. It's a shame we don't have a businsess school or major but this class comes close. He was also a really nice person. He was willing to talk on the phone or meet with my group almost any day of the week and offered to buy lunch to boot! He seems like he cares alot, even though he doesn't always do a great job of handing back homework.

Anyway - a definite must take at Tufts (even if you are not an ELS Minor)

Workload:
Lots and Lots. But all of the major work is exciting and there is almost no work that doesn't seem like it has a point. The class does take up lots of outside time - so be prepared!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3913
Submitted: 2008-01-30
Lecia Rosenthal | ENG0039-Death and Literature in the 20th Century | English

Review:
Lecia is a really unique person. She's incredibly smart, but I found that during class she would often discuss the books and readings in a way that only people on a certain, strange level can understand (and by that I mean English majors). She's hard to get a hold of via e-mail, but she's always willing to meet if you grab her after class or head to her office hours. The class itself wasn't very interesting to me; you'd read a book for the week, listen to her talk about it for an hour each class, then for the last 15 minutes students who think they know everything share their opinions.

Workload:
Work varied from week to week, but for the most part you have a book to read. You don't really have to do it though, as she'll just talk about without really asking the class much. There are 2 papers which aren't too hard. There is also a final that is pointless and goes over all the random articles from the reader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3914
Submitted: 2008-01-30
Steven Manos | EXP0114-INVESTING IN STOCKS | Experimental College

Review:
Horrible class. You're guaranteed to learn nothing useful, but you probably will get to catch up on your sleep. The class expects you to know about and inherently understand the stock market, which no one was. The teaching, which could be exciting and fun, was bland and boring, leaving me dreading a class I thought would be enjoyable.

Workload:
Three take home tests, including a final. They take an incredibly long time, although part of that reason is because you have to go back and teach yourself everything that he didn't. Which was everything.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3911
Submitted: 2008-01-29
Drusilla Brown | International Trade | Economics

Review:
Truly the worst professor i have ever had at tufts. As a senior econ major ive been taught by most of the department and i must warn you to steer clear of drusilla. she does not care about students, is very difficult to get a hold of, doesn't answer emails or open her door even though you can clearly tell she is sitting in her office.

Workload:
homework basically consisted of copying the example she did in class. theres no textbook and she teaches nearly entirely by example problems so exams were unclear and difficult.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3907
Submitted: 2008-01-27
Julia Genster | english | American Studies

Review:
she did really good ( :

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3905
Submitted: 2008-01-26
William Mosher | EC 0150 - Financial Economics | Economics

Review:
Mosher is one of the easiest professors at Tufts. Ec 150 had no problem sets, was primarily based upon current events in the financial markets. Mosher is good for skipping 3-4 classes a semester, is cool overall, and really makes you understand the forces that impact financial markets.

Workload:
No problem sets, one midterm, one final, and one 10-15 page paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3898
Submitted: 2008-01-25
David Denby | PS0043-Justice, Equality and Liberty | Philosophy

Review:
This professor was really funny and engaging in class. Pretty accessible outside of class and really helped guide me through my first semester at Tufts with useful advice for class writing assignments.
Amazing TA, Anthony DiClaudio, who met with us before and after papers were due to discuss the assignments. Also extremely interested in the student's progress.

Workload:
3 papers of 1500 words and an optional final paper that only counted if it helped your average


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3901
Submitted: 2008-01-25
Dora Older | Spanish 0003-Intermediate Spanish I | Spanish

Review:
This professor was a hard grader and pushed us hard. Exams were very difficult and she moved fairly quickly. She had mood swings depending on the day. Exams were pretty difficult and it was absolutely necessary to go to class prepared.

Workload:
There was a lot of work for this class, though pretty consistent with the Spanish Department.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3902
Submitted: 2008-01-25
Siddiq Abdullah | Ec0005-Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
I got nothing out of going to class. Half-way through the semester I just read the textbook instead of going. You have to learn the material on your own and not count on getting help from the professor or the TA's.

Workload:
The reading was really interesting but the exams were pretty tough. No problem sets. Quizzes during every Recitation.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3903
Submitted: 2008-01-25
Matthew Gregory | Soc 001 - Intro to Sociology | Sociology

Review:
Entered the class with an open mind. Dissapointed greatly. Lectures get boring. Recitations were awesome. Alternate views were welcomed. Probably wouldn't take another sociology class.

Workload:
Expected to read textbook chapter per class. Maybe 30 pages of text. After the first test, textbook was never needed again. Final Project of 21 pages of writing. Not fun


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3895
Submitted: 2008-01-21
James Glaser | Intro to American Politics | American Studies

Review:
Bad TA's, nice, but bad. Poor graders. Glaser is pompous, to the point that his self-deficacy is surely an attempt to loft his image.

Workload:
very doable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3896
Submitted: 2008-01-21
Peggy Hutaff | Archeological Studies Tel Dor Israel | American Studies

Review:
I think her infectious laugh is what I remember most of the person I know on a life transforming experience.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3891
Submitted: 2008-01-19
Eli Siegel | BIO-041 General Genetics | Biology

Review:
Avoid this class like the plague. Professor Siegel is so dry and their is no connection between his lectures. His organization is horrible and while he seems to have themes to his lectures (based on the syllabus) there isn't any. He presents inane details that have no baring, and while he suggests problems to do, he does not explain how to complete them, instead he merely presents the answers.

Workload:
Lots of reading and work if you complete all the suggested practice problems. Don't waste your time on going to class, study the textbook. And be prepared not to get through all the material.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3892
Submitted: 2008-01-19
Jennifer DiCorcia | PSY-031 Psych Stats | Psychology

Review:
Great class because if you attend class you should get it. Lab helps for carrying out the material. Her humor is just silly and strange and she sometimes talks too fast, but it all comes together in the end and she makes the patterns really obvious and gives equation sheets on exams so she makes it very easy for students to succeed.

Workload:
No book needed. Practice problems are extra credit (do them! it can be the easy difference of a letter grade) and she takes away a students lowest quiz grade. Lab never ran over, in fact until the end of the semester, most students had not stayed the full 2 1/2 hours. Good course, come out with a lot of knowledge.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3893
Submitted: 2008-01-19
jayanthi mistry | CD-062 Childhood Across Cultures | Child Development

Review:
Prof. Mistry seemed like she was constantly trying to reorganized the class, which made it feel like she did not know what she was doing. The readings were incredibly interesting and in class group work sometimes helped with understanding of these issues. The final paper (on childhood in a country of choice) was really interesting if you got into it, but it was not well organized in terms of what the professor required throughout the semester. A clearer indication of the paper and the requirements would make it easier to absorb class readings in terms of the work. Lectures were mostly pointless and only sometimes helped clarify the material.

Workload:
Some days there was lots of reading, but it was interesting. In class assigments meant you had to attend class. Outside small group meetings were kinda pointless and presented information that could easily have been presented to the whole class. The final paper, Mistry tried to give everyone a leave to cover any topic of interesting, but it made understanding the expectations for the paper very difficult.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3885
Submitted: 2008-01-17
David Proctor | HIST010 - Europe to 1815 | History

Review:
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Knows everything about his subject and more, and loves it. Loves to share what he knows, but is interested in the students' analyses as well. He is very available outside of class and makes sure that everyone has the opportunity to ask him questions, especially before the exams.
Plus, he is a super snappy dresser.

Workload:
Short (2-3 pages) essays every week that help with the understanding of the material. Long exams, but very straightforward. He really makes sure that you know exactly what is going to be on them and come prepared.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3886
Submitted: 2008-01-17
Pam Haltom | SPN001 Elementary Spanish | Spanish

Review:
Haltom is great. She speaks Spanish in the class and then repeats it in English, which really helps with comprehension. She often brings outside information/artifacts/books to supplement learning. She invited anyone in the class whose flight was cancelled to come to her house for Thanksgiving.

Workload:
Everything is straightforward. Some workbook work, some quizzes, a few tests, and some spanish compositions.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3883
Submitted: 2008-01-16
Nancy Bauer | Phil 91- Philosophy & Film | Philosophy

Review:
Fairly interesting and enthusiastic, but the readings and the films are not well connected. She spends too much time talking about the biographies of philsophers, etc., instead of how the material all links together. We did watch a good variety of films, and the choice of texts is interesting.

Workload:
1-2 readings per week plus a film. It's really not hard. 3 papers which were pretty straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3881
Submitted: 2008-01-15
Jay Shimshack | EC030 - Environmental Economics | Economics

Review:
Excellent professor, he explains everything in depth and answers any questions. He encourages class involvement and is helpful in office hours. The lectures were always engaging and occasionally supplemented by funny anecdotes. I will definitely be taking another class with Shimshack.

Workload:
Material was interesting for me as it is directly relevant to my major. Overall, readings are VERY manageable and with few exceptions were interesting. Shimshack goes over the main points in class anyway, making it easy to do well on the short problem sets and the straightforward tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3879
Submitted: 2008-01-14
Jack Derby | ELS105 - Entrepreneurial Leadership | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
ELS Marketing use to be known as one of the best classes of ELS Minor until Professor Derby began teaching. Now the class is just completely boring and filled with unhelpful and unnecessary lectures that go on and on with absolutely no point. I along with my other class mates learned absolutely nothing new about Marketing this semester. It is true that some people may have just not listened to Professor Derby since on average 25% class wouldn't be there, 25% would be playing on their computer, and the other 50% was sleeping. It appears to be a joke of a class but Professor Derby is very difficult to track down for grades and when he does, they seem to make no sense at all. The worst part is the fact that you need ELS Marketing as part of your ELS minor. My advice is to stay away from Professor Derby and only hope ELS department does the right thing and remove him from the ELS department before you need to take this class.

Workload:
The Workload includes reading a book (which you never go over), case studies (which you do as a team and present), and final presentation based on a company that is 50% of your grade. Most of the time you feel as though you should be paid for the work you are doing since it appears that you are doing everything that Professor Derby's Private Consulting firm has been paid to do. Overall the project is a lot of work with unatainable expectations.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3869
Submitted: 2008-01-11
Zbigniew Nitecki | Math 46 | Mathematics

Review:
Class is pretty much self-explanatory. Ziggy presents the material in a very clear manner. He also takes sufficient time at the beginning of class to address any homework/lesson related questions. However, he sometimes made it very evident that he thought the students' questions were stupid... probably not the best attitude for an instructor to have.

Workload:
Math 46 is probably the easiest math class you'll take in college. Pretty standard nightly assignments. Go to class, do the homework, take old exams from SIS and compare answers with a friend, and do Ziggy's review problems. You'll do splendldly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 3872
Submitted: 2008-01-11
Keith Maddox | PSY13 Social Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Pretty standard intro social psych class. Topics are very applicable to your everyday life, regardless of what your major is. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Lectures are interesting but for me, attending class was not essential to do well in class. But I encourage you to go to them, Professor Maddox is really nice and is very fun. He also is genuinely interested in getting to know every one of his students, even if the class consisted of about 60-70 of them.

Workload:
Easy A class. Two papers (3-5 pages each) and three exams (each covering 3-4 chapters), no final (!). Class attendance isn't necessary, he posts lectures online.

He will give you the subsections in the book that will/will not be covered in the exam, so just memorize the crap out of those sections and the lecture slides a few days beforehand.

The short answer questions (about 2 on each exams) usually come from charts (usually comparing two concepts) in the book or in the lectures.

If you have mastered the art of cramming and regurgitating, you'll ace this class, no problem.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3866
Submitted: 2008-01-10
Benjamin Hescott | COMP0011 - Introduction to Computer Science | Computer Science

Review:
Professor Hescott is one of the best teachers I have ever had. I always look forward to his lectures, they are so clear and funny. For example, he wrote out a script, like a play, to teach us about pointers. It was hilarious and I can't believe a teacher (let alone a college professor) would take the time to find an interesting, engaging way to teach what might otherwise have been not only boring, but confusing.

Of all his strengths, I think the greatest is how much he cares about his students. He is always friendly and willing to help. I've emailed him countless times and most of the time he responds back within 2 hours. He's just amazing. I highly recommend taking any course with him, you won't regret it!

Workload:
4-6 programming projects over the semester, usually around 200 lines of code, and you get around a week to do each one. Not bad if you don't procrastinate.

There's also a one-hour lab every week but Hescott and his TAs are always there to help and encourage you to ask questions if you're having trouble.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 3855
Submitted: 2008-01-03
Sam Sommers | Psych32 - Experimental Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Prof Sommers was amazing!!! he was so enthusiastic about a topic which would have otherwise been painfully boring. always available whenever you needed him and extremely helpful if you approached him before or after class. class isnt mandatory but he knows everyones name so its in your best interest to go to class.

Workload:
reading was managable, two exams, four papers (three real ones basically). the papers are graded hard so make sure you put a lot of effort into them. go to his office hours to meet so you get everything right.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3856
Submitted: 2008-01-03
Kathleen Camara | CD61 - Personal and Social Development of the Young Child | Child Development

Review:
professor says shes interested in peoples progress but doesnt really care except for her few favourite students. she is enthusiastic about the course but doesnt always tolerate others opinions all that much. she was rarely to never available by email, phone, or even in her office hours. i would never take another class with this professor unless required to.

Workload:
not bad. reading 4 or 5 chapters per exam (there were two) and two papers which were very easy. need to go to recitations for full credit and she takes attendance every day.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3851
Submitted: 2008-01-01
Gary Leupp | History 47 | History

Review:
"I signed up for Leupp's class to learn more about the history of Japan prior to the Meiji Restoration. I did NOT sign up to hear the weekly political screeds on contemporary politics."

The person writing that was not in Prof. Leupp's class. The official evaluations filed for the class were 70% excellent, 30% very good.

This posting in an example of the abuse of anonymity that TuftsReviews.com allows. It's unavoidable but unfortunate that anyone at all can, including people who maliciously want to attack professors for their out of classroom politics, can plant such misinformation online.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3843
Submitted: 2007-12-31
Fulton Gonzalez | MATH135 | Mathematics

Review:
This course starts out a little slow as some elementary topics are introduced but it gets a lot better after the first exam. I must say that the text ("elementary classical analysis" by Marsden and Hoffman) is absolutely terrible. The proofs are left until the end of the chapter which I find confusing and annoying. Also the proofs are extremely hard to follow and the examples arent helpful. Luckily Prof Gonzalez is there to save the day. He turns the gibberish of the textbook into meaningful mathematics. He knows the topics inside and out and has the best accent in all of Tufts.

Course turns out well,, as I felt I really understood the material at the end of the semester.

Workload:
Weekly problem sets, two midterms and a final. The HW can be challenging so there are optional sessions run by the profs to help out. Exams are easier as prof Gonzalez says they are a measure of how much you know, not how smart you are.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 3844
Submitted: 2007-12-31
David Etlin | PHIL0001 | Philosophy

Review:
We read a variety of philosophers from all time periods. Most of the readings are fairly interesting but some are truly terrible. There are four topics per paper so you can usually find one that corresponds to a reading you like.

Etlin is a pretty funny guy. Id definately suggest going to his office hours for help on your papers, Its really a huge help.

Workload:
13 one page assignments of which you must do eight. these are useless and all you do is try to copy the reading onto one typed page

3 six page essays. These are easy to write since about half your essay is just an exposition of the philosopher. Grading is lenient, a bad paper will probably get you a B.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 3845
Submitted: 2007-12-31
Ed Kutsoati | EC0018 Quant Macro | Economics

Review:
First of all do not buy the textbook. No readings were ever assigned and you get everything you need out of the notes. (BTW the notes and text do not coincide) Anyway, I feel that most of the class was spent going tediously slowly through math that wasnt too difficult. Ed makes a big deal about the diificulty of the math, but its just a bunch of partials and algebra. There is very little concept based learning, so I feel that everying I learned in this course could be condensed into about half the semester.

Workload:
Only 3 problem sets so make sure you do well on them. They are not too difficult. Two midterms and an exam. Ed tells you exactly what will be on each exam so you should do well on them. Unfortunately they are out of 30 points so each mistake is costly. Prepare well and take your time and you should do well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 3846
Submitted: 2007-12-31
Sabir Umarov | MATH161 Probability | Mathematics

Review:
Wierd course. Prof Hahn managed this course, so prof Umarov had to use lecture notes that he did not prepare. This made it hard to follow especially since they were in slide form. The entire class absolutely hated this arrangement, so hopefully there will be a change.

The material was really interesting and the text had some great examples in it. Also Prof Umarov is very willing to explain things in detail. (although he does not always succeed in his attempts)

Workload:
Eight HW assignments of which one was dropped. There are usually 2-3 problems on each assignment which are very hard, but you have about 3 classes per assignment. Also optional problem sessions help a lot.

five 30 minute quizzes, two of which are dropped. The first is very easy and the rest of moderate difficulty.

Midterm- Somewhat difficult. class average in the mid 80's not including a slight curve

Exam- very challenging. Some tough problems especially with time constraint. There was however a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE curve on the exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 3847
Submitted: 2007-12-31
Neil Miller | ENG0007 - ICreative Writing: Journalism | English

Review:
I really liked Prof. Miller. The class was relaxed, just a few students around a table discussing our articles and journalism techniques. He doesn't give the best feedback... mostly grammatical things, but you'll learn a lot just by doing the writing every week or so. Prof. Miller is awkward in a funny kind of way.

Workload:
I'm really not that great of a writer, but Prof. Miller knew I was pretty enthusiastic, so I did pretty well in the class. Basically the workload was a 3-4 page article every week (less often at the end of the semester) and one final long article. Not too bad


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering - Introductory


Review ID: 3848
Submitted: 2007-12-31
Anne de Laire Mulgrew | SPN003 - Intermediate Spanish 1 | Spanish

Review:
After reading reviews of Prof. Mulgrew, I thought she was going to be awful (and I was dreading the end of my spanish requirement too). The class really wasn't that bad. Class was kind of boring and her spanish games (ie. tic-tac-toe, etc) were lame, but she was understanding and didn't put anyone on the spot.

Workload:
There was a little test book reading and some assignments for every class, but be prepared when she assigns extra assignments in addition to the syllabus! Grading was really fair, if not a little easy, actually.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 3849
Submitted: 2007-12-31
Caroline Cao | ENP061 - Introduction to Human Factors | Engineering Psychology

Review:
Boring Powerpoint lectures for every class. Despite her reputation, she was prepared for class and if I wasn't struggling to scribble down every note in the slides (she doesn't post the Powerpoint slides online!), I would have gotten a lot out of her lectures (assuming I could pay attention). Group projects were unorganized though, it seems like she never read the instructions for them.

Overall, class wasn't as bad as everyone told me it was going to be, but a more exciting/interesting professor could have really made the class great. Perhaps if Prof. Cao wasn't managing the entire department/teaching multiple classes/doing research at the same time...

Workload:
Don't do the reading for class, the book is AWFUL. Skim it before exams, maybe. Otherwise, there are two group projects (with not enough time to finish them comfortably), a few problem sets, and two exams. Overall, workload wasn't too bad. Exams were straightforward, although group projects were graded harshly!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 3840
Submitted: 2007-12-30
Jonathan Strong | ENG 0009 - Creating Writing: Intermediate | English

Review:
Professor Strong is simply a great person. I like him very much. The way in which he teaches his creative writing classes is very laid back. He is always available during office hours.

This is the second creative writing class I've taken with Strong. I would absolutely take another with him.

Workload:
There are no required readings and no end of the semester cumulative portfolios. You simply write a total of 30 pages of fiction split into two pages the first time, then seven pages every two/three weeks.

This is not much at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3841
Submitted: 2007-12-30
Robert Guertin | PHY001 - Intro Physics W/ Lab | Physics

Review:
Guertin is perhaps the worst professor I've had at Tufts so far. His powerpoint slides are irrelevant, and he enjoys tripping students up by giving practice exams that have no similarity to the actual tests (which are also nothing like the impossible problem sets). He also refused to post written out solutions to the practice problems for the tests (he would only give out the solutions, not how he got them), was frequently wrong in these solutions, and cruelly decided to take all of the practice problems he had given for other tests offline a few weeks before the final. He also hates helping people - one of my friends in class swears that he "ran away and hid" when she asked to speak to him. Overall, I found his class imcomprehensible and his lectures useless. However, a word of caution. I'm pre-med (and so is the rest of this class), so everyone is obsessed with maintaining their grades. As a result, watch out for high test averages and not too much of a curve, etc despite the failings of the professor.

Workload:
The problem sets are insane (about 20 problems a week, many of them the hardest level available), the tests are mystifying, confusing weekly quizzes, and the professor is not helpful.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3837
Submitted: 2007-12-30
Sam Sommers | PSY 32 Experimental Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Professor Sommers is an excellent professor. His lectures are very straightforward and very well organized. He is a very enthusiastic lecturer and answers every question posed respectfully and thoroughly.

I would absolutely take another course with Professor Sommers.

Workload:
The chapter readings were rather substantive though I honestly did not complete all of it. Often times I felt the lecture notes were enough.

The exams were 2/3 multiple choice and 1/3 short answer. The MC was not easy but not hard. Another important part of the class are the four papers you learn to write in PSY 32. The grades of these papers are very dependent on the nature of the TA which is dependent on which day you have lab. Martin was my TA and he was very strict and critical. Thus, I received a B in this class but I learned how to write good research papers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3839
Submitted: 2007-12-30
Ayana Thomas | PSY 28 Cognitive Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Professor Thomas just transferred to Tufts Fall 2007. I felt her lectures were not very organized and could have been designed so that they could have been easier to digest. This may have been my own fault as I did not complete the readings before lecture which Thomas had instructed her class to do.

Professor Thomas is very nice and always willing to help out. I would prefer not to take another class with the professor

Workload:
The amount of reading may have been either average or a little more than average. However, if you are not interested, the material may feel very dry and difficult to read.

The exams were hard. Part multiple choice and part short answer. The multiple choice is difficult because it will test very specific parts of the material.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3830
Submitted: 2007-12-26
Paul Joseph | SOC120 - Sociology of War and Peace | Sociology

Review:
This class was a disappointment. While the readings assigned were thought provoking and interesting, in-class discussions digressed into subjective battles back and forth between students and Professor Joseph. The professor bases each class on a chicken-scratch handout he passes out each class that outline poorly thought-out frameworks that supposedly explain the different theories he is meant to be covering. Really, Professor Joseph's 'theories' don't appear to be any better thought out than most of the students in the class. I came into this class hoping to participate in thought-provoking discussions and maybe clarify some of my perceptions about different sociological aspects of war and peace, i.e. the military in society, genocides, rehabilitiation. The best thing I got out of this class were the assigned readings.

Workload:
Professor Joseph assigns a good deal of reading for each class, around say four articles per class, twice a week. You will also complete a number of interesting books throughout the semester (excluding Professor Joseph's own book, which he also assigns as required reading). Your grade is based on two mid-term and two final papers, each six pages in length. If you do take this class, keep in mind Professor Joseph's desire for breadth rather than depth in the papers you write. In the same vein of those loosely organized research papers you wrote in middle school, the Professor would prefer you list off a number of points without much analyzation rather than focusing on the most important few and carefully analyzing and examining them. If you haven't gotten it already, I'm not a fan and would not recommend this class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3831
Submitted: 2007-12-26
David Denby | PHIL43 - Justice, Equality, and Liberty | Philosophy

Review:
This class starts with a lot of promise- an analyzation of different theories about the extent of power governments should be allowed to obtain. However, much of the class is spent going over the basic of Hobbes and Locke, and only much later in the class do you really start to get into more relevant philosophers. Another issue I had with the class was the lack of real-world examples. Confirming my worst fears about taking a philosophy class, much of our in-class and recitation time was spent debating the most irrelevant, impossible situations and how theories would treat them. More than anything I was disappointed by this lack of real applications of the theories to situations policy-makers and government officials might encounter.

Workload:
There is a good deal of reading assigned each week, but none of it is necessary in the least for understanding the class, participating in the recitation, or even writing the papers. There are supposed to be four papers for the class, but we ran out of time and the fourth became optional to boost your grade. The key to success on the papers, sadly, is to type simply type up the Professor's class notes. Not a lot of room for critical thinking. One could probably take the risk and do a more interesting topic, but I would expect them to pay the price grade-wise for doing so.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3832
Submitted: 2007-12-26
Rana Abdul-Aziz | ARB001- Elementary Modern Standard Arabic | Arabic

Review:
If you are going to take Arabic, do yourself a favor and take it with Rana and no one else. She is very, very passionate about teaching the subject and as a native speaker of both English and Arabic, has a flawless command of both languages. The curriculum itself is extremely challenging and moves at a quick pace, however, as long as you stay on top of your work and make sure you stay prepared for each class, you will succeed with ease. If you have difficulty with the class, Rana made it clear to the class that she was always available to help outside of class and always offered extra office hours before tests. Rana gave me an excellent impression of the Arabic department, and, in sha allah, my professor next semester will be just as good.

Workload:
The arabic curriculum is definitely challenging, but also certainly should be manageable for most students. The first half of the semester is spent learning the alphabet, some vocab, and some basic grammar. After that, the class picks up in pace and you begin the main book (al-kitaab) and do the usual language class practice of learning vocab and a few grammar structures in each unit. If you are even moderately competent at language learning, you will have no problem spending about an hour a day reviewing the last class and preparing for the next. I got an A on every single test investing about that much time into it. You will learn a ton.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3825
Submitted: 2007-12-25
Margaret McMillan | EC0036 - Economic Development | Economics

Review:
Professor McMillan is very nice and entertaining in class. That being said, however, she is too smart to be teaching an undergraduate class and it often seems that she was thinking too much about complicated exceptions to rules she was trying to explain, which hindered her from explaining them in a clear way. It seems that she does recognize this, though, since she gives notes that she herself types out for the class before each class. She is an amazing writer and if you just read all of her notes and go in to ask her when you are not clear on something you will do fine in the class. She is very helpful and available outside of class. The class is also really interesting, but be prepared for sometimes sitting and waiting while McMillan figures out what she is trying to say!

Workload:
Not much outside work - 4 problem sets, but none took too much time. Just read the notes before the tests and study some and you'll be ok. She is not one of those teachers that is looking to trick you on tests, she will test you on the main concepts covered in class and on problem sets.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3826
Submitted: 2007-12-25
Jeremy Halpern | ELS107 - Entrepreneurial Leadership | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
This class has the MOST work of any class I have ever taken - and I haven't taken all easy classes. It's not so much that the work is hard as the fact that Halpern seems to think that you have nothing else to do with your time except spend time doing group projects and other things for his class. He is a very interesting guy, though, and if you are interested in business, he has a lot to teach and also has a lot of connections. If you are not interested in business but are taking this for the leadership aspect, you will learn some valuable skills, but be prepared to have to pick them out for yourself through the business-stuff of the class, as it is predominantly - no - almost completely focused on leadership in the business world. It still gives a valuable insight into that world, though.

Workload:
Insane, as said above. Be prepared to spend A LOT of time out of class working with other people, on your own, everything, and possibly without much feedback or direction from the professor.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3827
Submitted: 2007-12-25
Robert Stolow | Chem 0051: Organic Chemistry | Chemistry

Review:
Since most people are only taking this class because they have to, anyway, here's what you need to know about Prof. Stolow: Read. . .no. . .SCRUTINIZE the book. The course under Stolow is taken directly from the book, and IF you are familiar with the text, nothing should surprise you come test time. This is a big "if", however, as the chapters are extensive and he seemed to like to cull test material from the miscellanea in each chapter. This came as a shock, since the practice tests he provided focused solely on the crux of each chapter.

His lectures in this class and the lab component are a total waste of time.

Stolow rescheduled one test 2 days before it was to be administered in one case. The average was so low on this same test that the curve was approximately 30 points, and a bunch of people still failed. This came after a first test on which the average was an A-, so most of the class was pretty shellshocked.

Read the book. Then read it again. Read it again when studying for the test. Be prepared to get no credit for a question on an exam if one step of your mechanism is wrong. In many cases, this can be the difference of an entire letter grade.

Grades can take 3 weeks to come back after each exam.

Another important key to the class is the ability to take blows and keep going. You may get a terrible grade on each test, but with the curve you will maybe end up in ok shape.

In sum, forget Stolow as a reliable source of any relevant information, even when it comes to his own tests. The book is full of good stuff - the large quantity of material I learned this semester came solely from the book. If you want to have any shot at passing this class, you MUST do the problem sets. It is the only way you learn.



Workload:
3 exams, 1 final. The first exam was absurdly easy, the second was literally the worst test I have ever seen in my academic career.

There were 2 or 3 quizzes and 2 or 3 homework problems we handed in. I have no idea how I did on any of these, as grades were not returned and they were never to be seen again.

You need to do the homework assignments, which are only checked for completion when handed in at the start of each exam. There are literally 200-300 problems handed in, and I purposely skipped 3 of them once out of laziness - the TAs caught me.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 3822
Submitted: 2007-12-24
Don Weingust | DR-0093 Acting Shakespeare | Drama

Review:
Don was very intelligble and clear with his presentations. His facillitation of scene study was extemely helpful in teaching the students to give constructuive critism and developing talent.

Workload:
a scene, a monolouge and a cue script performance (which is one of the most intense exercises in acting i've ever exprinced)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 3824
Submitted: 2007-12-24
Leah Abraham | BME 175 | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
I have had taken some horrible courses in my life, but this one, by far, beats them all. I am sure if this class were taught by someone other than her, the course would actually have been much more useful. How they let Leah Abraham "teach" is beyond me. I leanred absolutely nothing in her class. Each class was very long (we frequently left at 10pm) and no one had a clue as to what we were doing. Luckily she did not make us submit lab reports (except 1, until the very end). The grading is very unfair.
Leah Abraham should not be allowed to teach at Tufts. She is not an educator. Yet, she is allowed to teach a course every semester.
TUFTS - LET HER GO!!!

Workload:
Paper every 2 weeks. Must reference every sentence. Takes off points for no reason. Can give you one grade, then changer her mind, cross it out, and give you another... Sad case!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3821
Submitted: 2007-12-23
Hosea Hirata | JPN 62-Modern Japanese Literature | Japanese

Review:
Don't let the low rating here discourage you from taking a course with Professor Hirata. He is an excellent lecturer and a brilliant academic. For JPN 62, weekly response papers and a final project (a 10-page paper or a creative project accompanied by a 5-page paper) are required. If you put effort into writing your responses, Professor Hirata will take time to read and comment on them; sometimes, he would give me two typed pages of comments on a response. He teaches you how to think about Japanese literature, and in doing so, he changes how you think about literature on the whole.

Workload:
The reading assignments were often huge (if you do the "suggested reading"), but nothing was unnecessary.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3812
Submitted: 2007-12-22
Henry (Sunghyun) Kim | EC016901-Quantitative International Finance | Economics

Review:
Professor Henry Kim, like Ed Kutsoati, should be spending his time doing research, not teaching. Not all great minds are meant to teach. First of all, it seems like Tufts can make some of its students take the TOEFL, but what happened to faculty? If you take this course, make sure you hire a translator. I, for one, couldn't understand 50% of the "worlds" (no pun intended) that came out of Kim's mouth and English is neither my nor my parents first language. So he makes these nice handouts, which are helpful for the most part. He wasn't that enthusiastic about the course, he spent time talking about Yale and how he was jealous of investment bankers.

Workload:
We had 2 exams, 3 homework assignments, and a paper. The first exam was fair and everyone tends to do well. The second exam was a joke, all math and proof based. The average score was 21/30 with a std.dev of 4. I don't know how the paper worked out because I never got mine with comments.

Anyway, seriously Kim is just an example of tufts outsourcing to foreign nations. Just like tech support in India.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3813
Submitted: 2007-12-22
Chip Gidney | CD 155 - Development of Language | Child Development

Review:
Chip is great! He is so enthusiastic about the course and is an engaging and encouraging professor. He made linguistics so interesting. One of the best classes I've taken at Tufts!

Workload:
A lot of reading, it's impossible to do it all, but you're ok if you just do the big most important readings. There was a midterm with a take-home essay and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3815
Submitted: 2007-12-22
Kathleen Camara | CD 61 - Personal and Social Development of the Young Child | Child Development

Review:
This was a poorly organized course, and I didn't feel that I learned much more beyond what I had covered in CD 1 and Psych 1. We got very off track from the syllabus and ended up having to rush through the material for the last exam. I was disappointed with this course.

Workload:
Readings for every class, one 6-page paper, two midterms, and a final 8 -12 page paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3816
Submitted: 2007-12-22
Elena Paolini | Italian 3 | Italian

Review:
Professor was really nice, especially about and turning in work a little late and rescheduling missed exams due to illness. Very enthusiastic and helpful!

Workload:
Assignments for each class, 5 tests, 4 compositions, a short oral presentation and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3817
Submitted: 2007-12-22
David Etlin | Philosophy 01 - Into to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
This was a great way to fill my English 2 requirement! There was a lot of reading a writing, but I felt like I was actually learning something interesting while doing it.

Workload:
Short readings for each class, 3 papers and no final. Very manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3818
Submitted: 2007-12-22
John McCann | Music 3 - Musicianship I | Music

Review:
This class was a good intro to music theory for someone who has never studied it before.

Workload:
Short assignments for each class, 5 tests, a big project that you design yourself, and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3819
Submitted: 2007-12-22
Alex Frumosu | Math 13 - Calculus 3 | Mathematics

Review:
I thought this class was much harder that math 12! But Professor Frumosu was so understanding and helpful I would not have passed the class without his extra help. He is a great math teacher and really explained the concepts well and did a really good job of preparing us for the exams. He is really concerned about his students and making sure that everyone is keeping up.

Workload:
Same as math 11 and math 12 - nightly homework problems, 3 exams, and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3810
Submitted: 2007-12-21
Leah Abraham | BME 175 - Tissue Engineering (yeah, right) | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
Both graduates and undergrads beware of this course. By far the worst course I've taken at Tufts. Grading Scale is from the bizarro world, quite misleading from the beginning. You will get a lower grade than what your raw score is. I.E an A- is a 92, a B is below a 92. Considering that a B is horrible in grad school, this professor shows no hint of compassion for her students. Not even a warning at the beginning. It's not a hard class, it's not an easy class. Harvard inflates their grades. What does this Tufts professor do? Descales the grades. Nothing was learned, the paper grades were random, and the useless lectures were recycled from the very start.

What a waste of money. Tufts, you can do better than her.

Workload:
See above


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3807
Submitted: 2007-12-18
Edward Kutsoati | EC01050 - Math For Economists | Economics

Review:
So first things first. Some people were meant to play in the World Cup, others were meant to play Division 3 soccer, and still others were meant to ride the pine pony. To relate this metaphor to math for economists is rather simple: Ed Kutsoati wasn't meant to play soccer whatsoever, nor was he meant to coach it. That doesn't mean that he's a bad guy at all. Just maybe teaching is not for him and instead of teaching a class that he obviously isn't that passionate for, he should continue his research on microfinance in Ghana.

The class was interesting and not too difficult. The only problem is that half the time the homework assignments and solutions had errors, which meant when it came to crunch time you weren't sure whether your answers were right because you got the same answer as everyone else, yet they still didn't match up with his solution guide.

If you're confident in your math skills and don't want to go to class, this class is for you. Otherwise, wait and see who teaches it next semester.

Workload:
The workload was fair, 3 problems sets. There was nothing on the exam that we were not taught in class. Unfortunately, he scales his exams out of 30 points. Obviously the implications of a small error become greater.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3805
Submitted: 2007-12-17
Lecia Rosenthal | ENG0039 - Death and Literature in the 20th Century | English

Review:
Professor Rosenthal is brilliantly intelligent--she speaks as if she is reading from a novel and her knowledge of literature is astounding. Although she can be a bit intimidating, don't hesitate to speak up in class--she very much appreciates student comments and often lets those comments (if they are made) shape the discussion. The reading for this class is phenomenal, but be prepared for some fairly dense stuff and an analytical approach that incorporates a large amount of literary criticism. Many times I left this class with my mind totally blown from what Professor Rosenthal had to say about the readings; taking a class with her will change (improve) the way you analyze and think critically.

Workload:
One response paper per week of about 300 words, two essays, and an in-class final. Very manageable workload as long as you keep up with the reading, which is usually around a novel a week at most. The response papers are basically a completion grade, but the papers are returned with VERY detailed comments and suggestions for further improvement.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 3801
Submitted: 2007-12-16
Dan Richards | EC 150 - Financial Economics | Economics

Review:
Dan Richards was a great professor when I took a class with him two years ago. This semester, he was downright awful. Whether he's getting old, getting lazy or whatever it is, he's teaching is low quality these days. I learned very little in this class and I was unhappy with how the course was laid out. Avoid taking this course with him, you will learn much more in better taught versions of the same course.

Workload:
2 midterms (the first in-class, the second take home) and a take-home final. The in-class exam was fair, the take-homes were difficult and a lot of the stuff on the tests he purposely does not teach you and you have to find out on your own. Bizarre testing, little learning. You really need to go to class, but just to figure out what parts of the book you need to read.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3802
Submitted: 2007-12-16
Jay Shimshack | EC 30 - Environmental Economics | Economics

Review:
Jay is a challenging, interesting and caring professor. You can't really ask for anything more from a professor. He is passionate about the material and keeps it interesting. He gives you the basics and then helps you begin to apply them. I recommend any course with Shimshack.

Workload:
The workload is quite manageable, especially if you've taken EC 11 or 17. There are readings about once a week and optional readings if you don't understand something. There are 5 problem sets that don't take too long. 1 midterm and a final, both very fair. 2 policy briefs that are not too difficult, but really difficult to do well on because Shimshack expects a little too much on them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3794
Submitted: 2007-12-15
Alex Frumosu | Math 11/ Math 12 | Mathematics

Review:
Prof Frumosu is an amazing teacher and he cares a lot for his students. Unlike some professors, his lectures are put together very well and you can actually follow them and not be bored. Any class with him is a joy.

Workload:
Same for any math course


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 3795
Submitted: 2007-12-15
Robert Stolow | Organic Chemistry 51 | Chemistry

Review:
Organic Chemistry is not supposed to be the worlds most enjoyable experience, but this class surpassed even that standard. The majority of the class did not follow lectures at all, as they were 50% of the time projections of the textbook, 25% of the time projections of handout outs that were put online at random times, 25% of the time random reactions written on the board. There was no structure or organization to the material presented (which is extensive) and the professor constantly told the class to refer to the textbook (which defeats the purpose of lecture - there was even a speech about how under appreciated the textbook is). Let me be frank, the textbook is wonderful in conveying everything you need to know reaction/mechanism wise (and won't learn in lecture) - but it cannot provide the problems you are expected to solve.

Concerning those problems, the last two exams and the final provided material that was much more difficult than both the old practice exams and textbook problems (there had to be a massive curve on the second exam due to this). Solutions to old exams were put up randomly to random problems. Problem sets also did not receive answers, making it impossible at times to tell if you solved something correctly (we were told not to use the solutions manual). The last two exams focused greatly on retro-synthetic analysis and mechanisms (that required transition structures drawn - also haphazardly covered in class), yet class lecture time was not devoted to solving these types of problems (nor were example problems outside of the practice exams provided). There are many other issues to deal with, a few highlights: exams ran over the time limit (and you often needed that time), one exam was rescheduled several days before the exam (making many people have two exams in a row), review sessions almost never finished actually reviewing practice exams.

It's probably possible to go on and on with this, but the main points here are simple (if you need to take the class with this professor: (1) Read the textbook religiously and know every mechanism in it (unless you are told NOT to know it - expect it to show up randomly at some point on an exam; like one mechanism did on the final!) (2) Solve the problem sets, try to solve all of the practice exams, go to TA office hours and ask the professor for help in solving questions, (3) Memorize every reaction and know how to apply them (i.e. when you can't use a certain type of reaction).

Workload:
Large amount of reading that required learning almost all of the reactions and mechanisms (many, many reactions that you need to know cold). Long problems sets for each chapter (12 in total, answers not provided. Problem sets were just checked at exams to see that you did them. Random quizzes and problems that are handed in, but not returned (~4/5 total). Three exams and a final - last two exams and final required much more work than first exam (see review). Be prepared for exams to go over allocated time or to be cut short - time is often not enough unless you can recite the material immediately AND solve problems with it - i.e. Know every reaction.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3796
Submitted: 2007-12-15
mary glaser | math 12 | Mathematics

Review:
Mary Glaser is an incredible teacher. She's so enthusiastic and is able to get through way too much material clearly and thoroughly. She is very concerned with student progress and extremely helpful if you're having trouble. If you have the opportunity to take a math course with her, I strongly recommend you do so.

Workload:
same as all math 12 classes


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3798
Submitted: 2007-12-15
Gary Leupp | History 47 Japan to 1868 | History

Review:
Gary Leupp is a fine professor. He is a bit dry at time, but very straight forward and systematic. His lectures can drag on, but they're bearable and if you go and see him during office hours, he is helpful. He is clearly enthusiastic about the subject and knows a lot about it.

Workload:
The workload is completely manageable. You can either do the readings or go to class. The midterm is very straightforward, just memorizing facts and reciting class notes. There is one research paper (15 pages) at the end of class, along with a take home final. Nothing too bad. He's very clear in his expectations and does not throw any curveballs.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3799
Submitted: 2007-12-15
ed Kusoati | ec018 quantitative macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
Kusoati is an incredibly nice man, but not a very good professor. His lectures are unbearable boring and not very helpful to understanding the material. The book is completely useless - don't even buy it. If you go see him during office hours he will talk you through problems on a problem set, but other than that he doesn't explain much. I strongly recommend you avoid him for ec18

Workload:
There are several problemsets, two midterms, and a final. The problemsets are a little overwhelming because he doesn't explain things very well and there are almost always typos in the problems or solutions. I feel as though the only thing i learned in this class was how to recopy his notes onto exams. I didn't take away anything significant or lasting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3790
Submitted: 2007-12-14
Leah Abraham | BME0175 | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
Leah Abraham IS the worst professor I have ever had. I have taken BME 175 with her. Now, know this - I actually did pretty well in her class, so I am not complaining about my grade. What upsets me the most is that I did not learn anything. I paid almost $4000 for the course and learned absolutely nothing.
Lab was chaotic to say the least. We never left on time. 10:30pm is the rule of thumb.
Her grading is very subjective. If she likes you, you'll do fine. She takes off points right and left for no reason.
Leah Abraham should not be allowed near Tufts. There are far better educators out there - both as professors and as people.

Workload:
Whole bunch of senseless homework sets and papers. You can spend 5 minutes on a paper and get a better grade then someone who spent 2 days.

AVOID HER CLASS.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3791
Submitted: 2007-12-14
Robert Stolow | CHEM0051 - Organic Chemistry I | Chemistry

Review:
Going into this class, I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but that's something of an understatement. Stolow made this course downright intolerable. Lectures were dull and completely useless. Half the time he simply projected a page from the textbook onto the screen and read it. I learned at least 99% of the material on my own from reading the book. I have to say the book was excellent, because it basically got me through the course on it's own.

Most people who need to take organic chemistry will not have a choice as to who their professor will be, but just be prepared. If you have Stolow, it will be a long semester. Don't get me wrong. Stolow is very knowledgable about organic chemistry and I think very enthusiastic about the material, but his method of teaching was just not one that inspired enthusiasm in me, or most of the class I believe.

One last thing. The TA's in this class were great. They helped me a lot too.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading. The reading was absolutely essential to doing well in the course. Weekly problem sets that took hours and hours, and needed to be handed it at each exam, but were not really graded, just checked. Three midterm exams and a final. Also two random quizzes that we were informed about one day before they were given, and a few random problems that had to be handed it, but were never returned.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3793
Submitted: 2007-12-14
Harry Bernheim | BIO0075 - Comparative Vertebrate Physiology | Biology

Review:
I think Bernheim's style of teaching is legendary around here. He really is a great professor's, but his lectures really tested patience and perserverance. He talked unbelievably fast, making it almost difficult to write down as much detail as he expects on exams. He also sometimes went off on random tangents that were difficult to follow. He taught using transparencies and an old school projector. He would post of ton of slides on Blackboard, that we had to print out and bring to class, and generally used about half of them in lecture.

The course itself was very interesting, and Bernheim definitely knows his stuff. The exams consisted of 10-11 short answer questions, and were for the most part pretty straightfoward with some hypothetical situation questions thrown in.

One important piece of advice, if you should decide to take this course... go to the review sessions! That's all I will say.

Workload:
Reading was actually somewhat less than other biology courses, but not very exciting. I actually only read the book in order to clarify the lecture material. The lecture material is the focus of the exams, so don't miss a class. Two midterm exams, and non-cumulative final (basically a third midterm).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3787
Submitted: 2007-12-13
Klaus Miczek | PSY103 Brain and Behavior | Psychology

Review:
This class was extremely infuriating. The power points make little to no sense. Information is given out of order. Random terms are included on the power points, but he speaks too fast to let you actually write down what he means by anything. I feel like the only way to do well on his tests is to just memorize his notes and spit them back out, even though they don't mean anything. I don't feel like I learned nearly as much as I could have.

Workload:
He expected people to memorize insane amounts of stuff. It would be fine if he presented the information in a logical way so we could understand what he was trying to tell us, but that's not the case.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3788
Submitted: 2007-12-13
colin orians | BIO0051A | Biology

Review:
This was one of the more frustrating courses I have taken at Tufts. The material is interesting, and it is great to learn in a lab setting, but the way the course was organized was ridiculous. The 5 professors leading the course did not communicate with each other at all about expectations, and every project and lab report expected something different. It is very difficult to learn this way. I would recommend not taking this course to fulfill a lab requirement.

Workload:
Much more work than other lab courses.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3789
Submitted: 2007-12-13
Joseph Auner | Music 25-20th Century Concert Music | Music

Review:
Prof. Auner is probably the best lecturer I've ever had. He could talk for hours and it would never not be enlightening and entertaining

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3784
Submitted: 2007-12-12
Angie Koban | PSY0026 Animal Learning and Cognition | Psychology

Review:
One of the worst teachers I have ever had at Tufts. Although she does seem enthusiastic about the topic, besides that and her good looks she has nothing going for her. She did not seem concerned with student's progress in the class. All her lectures involved powerpoint presentations where she would merely reiterate the information in the book. The sad (and frustrating) part was the book managed to explain the concepts in a more succinct and understandable way. Even the examples she used in class were taken from the text. She did not seem to know what she was talking about.

I would strongly urge anybody who is thinking about taking this class to not take the class with her, it is no ways worth it. While at times she can be funny, this is more often than not at a student's expense.


Workload:
The workload was manageable but not worth taking the class for.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 3779
Submitted: 2007-12-11
Stephen Bailey | ANTH0126 | Anthropology

Review:
This class was one of the best classes I've taken during my 3.5 years here at Tufts and I highly highly recommend it to everyone. The professor is very knowledgeable and his lectures were always informative - I always learned something new and interesting each class. I wish I'd discovered this course earlier!

Workload:
Two in-class hour exams, one film analysis, one term paper. There is a good amount of reading, typical of a course at Tufts; however, they're all very interesting


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3781
Submitted: 2007-12-11
Michael Reed | BIO007 - Environmental Biology | Biology

Review:
Professor Reed's lectures were interesting and he covered a lot of informative environmental topics that we should all be aware of. He is concerned with students' progress and tried to engage the class by asking questions.

Workload:
There are no textbooks in this class and no readings/assignments. There are 12 "breakouts" which you have to attend class for and you can miss 2. His lecture outlines are on Blackboard; however, he covers a lot more material during class, so going to class is highly recommended if you want to do well on his exams. Three exams, no final exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3782
Submitted: 2007-12-11
Mary Glaser | MATH009 | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Glaser is the best math instructor I have ever had and one of the best professors I've taken a course with at Tufts. I loved going to her class although math is far from my favorite subject. She is engaging, has a great sense of humor, and very much concerned with her students' progress. She learns all her students' names and is very enthusiastic about the material being taught. She is easy to reach outside of class and holds extra office hours if the students need them. The course could have been very boring had it not been for her - I very highly recommend her!

Workload:
Very little workload; homework and three exams, no final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3776
Submitted: 2007-12-10
Brian Jordan | ENGLISH 0002 | English

Review:
He was a really good teacher. It was nice how he went over all the essays with you. I highly recommend him!

Workload:
About an essay every week. Usually about 3 pages. It's doable, especially since he is flexible with timing.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 3773
Submitted: 2007-12-09
Leah Abraham | BME 175 Tissue Engineering | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
AVOID this course if Leah Abraham is the professor. She is the WORST professor of all time. Very disorganized class and there is no learning whatsoever. You can go to wikipedia and learn more than being in this class.

Of course, the fact that you don't learn much in this class doesn't mean it is a stress free class.

The professor doesn't know if the reagents are there and makes the TA do all of the work at the last minute. She makes simple mistakes in the lab. For example, she'll give you the wrong molarity to the point that when you supersaturate a solution now resembling snow, you wonder how she got into MIT.

GRADING IS VERY SUBJECTIVE. She doesn't have a criteria. She grades mostly during lab time and rushes through her grading. If you tell her you went to MIT you'll do well in class.

This 6-9 or sometimes 6-10:30 pm course is a huge waste of time.

Workload:
Very little and useless. You can spend 5 minutes on an assignment and get a better grade than someone who wrote a better answer. Questions are very ambiguous.

Lab time are stressful. You don't know what you are doing and she'll never go into detail as to how to perform techniques (the reason why anyone takes lab courses!)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biomedical Engineering


Review ID: 3771
Submitted: 2007-12-08
Richard Eichenberg | public opinion and foreign policy | Political Science

Review:
Professor Eichenberg is able to carefully toe the line between presenting an academically challenging course while grading in a way where anyone can do well if they put in enough effort. I have taken three courses with him, and I loved all of them but I thought this one was the best. It's great when you leave a class feeling that it actually changed your perceptions, which is what this one did for me. The readings are a lot to keep up with, but if you learn to read in an intelligent way to isolate the major points, you can do well. One thing I think is great about Eichenberg is that his classes require both mastering the material and some degree of originality, because he usually assigns a paper along with a midterm and a final. You have to be willing to put in the work, but an A is definitely possible, and really rewarding. He also does a great job of making the lecture material interesting, and going to lecture will really help you pick up on what the exams will focus on.

Workload:
The readings are labor intensive but don't take that long if you figure out the method. Almost all the findings are summed up in the into and conclusion.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3769
Submitted: 2007-12-07
Benjamin Hescott | COMP 11 | Computer Science

Review:
This guy is great! He is incredibly nice, will speak to you about anything at all possible times, and is incredibly passionate not only about his subject but about TEACHING his subject. This is the class to take for anyone interested in computer science.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 3770
Submitted: 2007-12-07
Wayne Chudyk | ES0056 - Probabliity and Stats | Engineering Science

Review:
W. Chudyk is the worst professor I have ever had. He talks with random pauses in the middle of his sentences so that no matter how hard you try to pay attention, you can't. He also teaches will little enthusiasm or concern for his students progress. I got nearly nothing from this course, and neither did my peers.

He inherited this probability & statistics class from LC Brown, and he does not know how to teach this subject. When students asked him questions he rarely gave a straight answer because of his incompetence with the material. A good teacher does the homework problems before assigning it. Evidence showed that he did not do this.

The tests were hardly representative of the material. They usually consisted of one or two topics from the notebook provided at the beginning of the course, and some random thing from the text that we did not study.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3766
Submitted: 2007-12-05
anne marie desmorais | Public Health | Civil Engineering

Review:
You should take this class if you don't want to learn anything ten minutes on Wikipedia can't tell you.

I have come to expect a certain quality of teaching at Tufts. Not all the professors here have done groundbreaking research or are famous in their field, but most of them are pretty good teachers, and are able to put together a decent syllabus. Not Desmorais.

I think that the fact that Desmorais worked in municipal public health for many years is why she has the job, but honestly, all it means that most of her teaching is completely allegorical, and is in many respects not really teaching. I appreciate that in many cases having a teacher who has worked in the field is a huge asset as they have real life experience, but as I mentioned, if you take this class you're not going to find anything you couldn't learn from a basic google search. I don't mind that there is absolutely zero actual science involved, but I would assume it would involve some kind of semi-sophisticated social or political discussion. I think I've learned more about her cats than anything else.

Honestly, Desmorais doesn't belong at Tufts. She's an old lady who seems to have lost whatever ability she had to describe something without launching into a quasi-related ramble which is generally boring and doesn't actually prove any point. I also took her environment and technology class which was similarly but not quite as useless. She rambles endlessly in class, you can literally see everyone zoning out, and having three hours of that twice a week was awful, I think a part of my brain probably died. She provides readings that are painfully straightforward, really just CDC fact sheets for various diseases, and the entire class is incredibly unstructured and lacking in coherency. The worst part is, I made a habit of skimming the wikipedia's because I couldn't pay attention to her during class, and she's teaching really interesting material but in an embarassingly boring way.

If you want to be taught on an 8th grade level, Desmorais is your girl. If you want nonsensical stories about cats and about the crazy time e-coli was detected in some town's water supply for a day and nothing happened, run, don't walk, to sis and register. Otherwise, you'll be wasting your time.

Workload:
pretty mild until the very end. her tests are a joke but she assigns some homework. there's a presentation AND a final AND a research paper at the end of the semester. oh, and apparently 15 page research papers should be done in 1.5 space. news to me.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Environmental Studies


Review ID: 3753
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Gary McKissick | CH187- Aging Populations | Community Health

Review:
This is a policy class. Your class will be small because no one wants to sign up to go to a weekly discussion of the details of medicare. Not difficult, but seriously boring.

Workload:
Lots of reading, a few short papers, a final 25 page paper substitutes for a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3755
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Marla Williams | SP4- Intermediate Spanish | Spanish

Review:
Williams is ok..she hardly ever speaks spanish in class, and doesn't correct other students when they're reading outloud and make horrible mistakes. Tests are made by the department, but she grades them as she sees fit. A really laid back class, minimal workload.

Workload:
A few tests, short essays (with rewrites on every one), a final, a presentation with a partner. Not difficult.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3756
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Daniel Richards | EC5- Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
This is the first econ class I've ever taken, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Richards is amusing in class, and tries to make the material more interesting than it is. He goes over every concept multiple times. There are TA's but recitations are POINTLESS. No one goes and you're not graded on attending them.

Workload:
Five problem sets, two midterms (the second one, I might add, was significantly harder than the first), and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3757
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Richard Eichenberg | PS61- Intro to IR | International Relations

Review:
Professor Eichenberg is fantastic. He's energetic, loves his subject, and tries to engage everyone in the class. He tries to learn all of his students' names, and is approachable and entertaining. The material is interesting, though there is a lot of reading, and is enjoyable. I would highly recommend this class.

Workload:
A midtem, 7 page paper, and final. No tricks...study and you'll be fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3758
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Jeffrey McConnell | PHIL0001- Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
The fact that I had to go to this class twice a week was pretty depressing. This class is based on the discussion of the most basic aspects of philosophy, and most of the time class participation is minimal, so it turns out to be 16 students staring at McConnnell while he draws strange figures on the board. An easy class for sure. He doesn't take attendance, and you can walk out in the middle of it and he doesn't stop his teaching. Also it counts for English 2 credit, so it may be worth taking advantage of that.

Workload:
A few short (5 page) papers, some one page responses as well. Very easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3759
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Patrick Carter | FAM 0026 | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
While Patrick could be a bit disorganized at times, he was very caring and understanding. This class was more about growing on your own than from the advice of others; while he might occasionally ask for student opinions on work or offer advice during class, he mostly allowed students to work out their own problems, which, in the case of drawing, is probably a good thing. Class consisted of working from objects and nude models; if you feel like being creative, this may not be the course for you. While you could be creative with the materials used, you are expected to work from life in a very realistic manner, drawing exactly what you see.

Workload:
The workload was almost entirely in-class. While he asked that everyone keep a sketchbook outside of class, this wasn't checked. But since the class meets for 3 hours twice a week, this time was definitely adequate for artistic improvement.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 3760
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Raysa Mederos | SPN0003 - Intermediate Spanish I | Spanish

Review:
Se?ora Mederos was a wonderful, enthusiastic professor who really cared about her students and the topic. She was good at explaining the material if anyone was confused. The only problems were the class were due to the syllabus, which she didn't follow that strictly -- she was totally willing to put things off if a lot of members of the class didn't feel prepared or if we hadn't covered adequate material in class. The class was small, so she got to know everyone's name. I'd definitely take another class with her; I'm actually sad that I probably won't be able to because I don't think I'm continuing with Spanish.

Workload:
The workload was light but adequate for actually learning. Assignments consisted of 3 tests (easy if you studied from the book and actually did all of the workbook activities instead of copying them from the online answer key), a final, 3 compositions (one of which was in class, all of which were about 450 words), 5 short diary entries (150 words or so each), a small group presentation, and a final group skit. The workload was definitely manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 3761
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Haline Schendan | PSY0001 - Introduction to Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Of the three professors who taught this course, Schendan was my least favorite. Her material was almost all straight out of the book, except for demonstrations that seemed pretty pointless. She used powerpoints in class, which were helpful for taking notes but didn't offer anything incredible. I often found myself bored during her portion of the course. The bright side is that she teaches the first section, and Nathanson and Urry, who taught the other two thirds of the course, were both very interesting.

Workload:
The course itself consists of three midterm exams, each related to one professor's section of the course, as well as a final, which is optional and can be used to replace one of the midterm grades if you didn't do well. Schendan assigned a lot of reading compared to Nathanson and Urry, and you sort of had to do it all to do well on the exam. It wasn't all that important to attend her lectures because they were all straight from the book.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 3763
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Sinaia Nathanson | PSY0001 - Introduction to Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Professor Nathanson was both witty and interesting. Her lectures were accompanied by powerpoints, and she always made sure that it was clear what we should actually take note of. Her accent was cute and didn't interfere at all with her teaching. I'd definitely take a class with her in the future, she was enthusiastic, caring, and an overall awesome professor.

Workload:
The class itself consisted of three exams and an optional final that could be substituted for any of the three previous exams. The reading load varied between the three professors who taught the course (Urry, Schendan and Nathanson) but Nathanson's was definitely manageable, relevant, and intriguing.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 3764
Submitted: 2007-12-03
Heather Urry | PSY0001 - Introduction to Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Urry was a clear, concise professor who explained the concepts from the reading well. The only odd part of her portion of this course was the fact that she showed a ton of youtube videos, which were funny and definitely a welcome diversion from lecture sometimes, but also didn't really add that much to the class in terms of what was learned. Regardless, I liked Urry a lot. I'd take a class with her in the future.

Workload:
The class itself consisted of three exams and an optional final that could be substituted for any of the three previous exams. The reading load varied between the three professors who taught the course (Urry, Schendan and Nathanson). Urry's was probably the smallest of the three, but it was definitely relevant and she covered almost all of it in the lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 3750
Submitted: 2007-12-01
Robert Guertin | PHY 001 -Physics 01 | Physics

Review:
I can honestly say that Professor Guertin is one of the worst professors I have had at Tufts. He enjoys giving problem sets that involve a large amount of "three-dotters" (the hardest problems in the physics book), mumbles and stumbles all over the classroom, gives practice problems that he is not willing to post solved solutions for because he is, quote, "too busy" (he gives an answer key which is frequently wrong), makes frequent mistakes while lecturing, and is overall a terrible, terrible professor. He is also incredibly rude to students - many of my classmates have complained that he is not willing to sit down and talk with them and will actually run awau. I do not recommend this class - stay far away and take Physics 11 instead.

Workload:
weekly psets, 3 tests, a final
tests were very strange and hard to prepare for


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3751
Submitted: 2007-12-01
Virginia Anderson | Intro to drama | Drama

Review:
She has the potential of being a great professor, unfortunaly she is emotionally unstable.

Workload:
This course is a breeze.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 3745
Submitted: 2007-11-29
Adam Hoyt | Principles of hotness | Anthropology

Review:
H-O-T HOT

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3748
Submitted: 2007-11-29
W. George Scarlett | cd157/cr157 - theories of spiritual development | Child Development

Review:
This was a terrible professor. he really likes to hear himself talk and often talks about studies and data without clarifying which studies done by who (a student asked him which studies and he had trouble recalling). he thinks it's better to be religious than not religious so skeptics beware! he shouldn't be allowed to teach his opinion especially without sound evidence to back him up.

Workload:
10 page papers with no clear structure. assigns excerpts of other writers as well as his own writings which is painful if you disagree with him.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3742
Submitted: 2007-11-22
Matthew Gregory | Soc0001 - Intro to Sociology | Sociology

Review:
Do yourself a favor and DO NOT take this class. Gregory's pompous tone gets very annoying to listen to when you shortly realize that everything he has to say is ridiculously obvious. For example, we spent an entire class discussing the family and why they influence us... really just mind-numbingly obvious topics. It's not just the course material, class is taught as if we are fourth graders but the essays require actual sociological thought that we're supposed to pick up on our own, I guess.

Workload:
Three huge papers and a multiple choice test, the last paper is 21 pages. Readings for each class that you'll stop doing once you realize it's a waste of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3736
Submitted: 2007-11-19
Leslie Lawrence | ENG0002-Differences | English

Review:
If you want to talk all about sexuality and gender, and read really graphic sex scenes, take this class. Also, if you want to learn correct uses of hyphens, dashes, and semicolons, take this class. Seriously, my writing did not improve at all this semester. The only thing I learned is "to focus better." So when I heard "differences" I was thinking we'd discuss ethnic, political, racial, social, and class differences. Boy was I wrong. Apparently "differences" mostly refers to "sexuality and gender." If I wanted to talk about homosexuality, I would have taken Queer Studies or talked to one of my several gay friends.

Workload:
We had to write a total of five papers (one of which includes the final term paper). It wasn't overwhelming, but a lot of times, the topics did not evoke passion (aka were boring). Also, she does not give direction or any kind of hints for the topics; it's more of a "do whatever you want" thing, which does not bode well for someone who likes structure and organization.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3733
Submitted: 2007-11-18
David Art | PS002101 | Political Science

Review:
I think that Professor Art is an excellent lecturer. He encourages people to contribute to his own thoughts. He is always open to new ideas and is easy to approach. His TAs especially Carly are great and generally are willing to help you. I really enjoyed the material we learned in this class and have learned so much. I'm planning to take more classes with him in the future.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading some nights but most of the time its manageable. There are two quizes a midterm and a paper. Recitation is required and is part of your participation grade. Most of the readings can be skimmed because you go over it in class. Also if you don't understand a reading, Professor Art breaks it down really well in class or you can always ask your TA.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3730
Submitted: 2007-11-17
Neil Miller | ENG007 -Creative Writing: Journalism Intro | English

Review:
Great, fun class with lots of participation, writing, critiquing. The professor is so nice and laid back. Would recommend the class to English majors or anyone interested in journalism

Workload:
About a 2-3 page paper a week, one longer paper at end of semester. They are easily graded and you get to revise them each week


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3731
Submitted: 2007-11-17
Alan Solomont | PS183 - Sem: Decision '08 | Political Science

Review:
Hate the professor, love the guest speakers. He is an egocentric rich mean man but he brings really famous politicians to the class. Interesting coursework, fun reading, etc.

Workload:
Don't really have to do the reading, there is one big presentation and one big paper. Week to week workload is minimal


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3732
Submitted: 2007-11-17
Janis Freedman-Bellow | ENG163 - Philip Roth and Company | English

Review:
Great discussion course, can be a little boring but professor is very interested in student's thoughts and comments. Low stress environment but lots of theoretical boring discussions

Workload:
About a book a week, so lots of reading. One short paper and presentation, one long paper. Not too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3725
Submitted: 2007-11-15
Mila Thigpen | Art of Salsa | Dance

Review:
Professor Thigpen is so enthusiastic and fun when it comes to dancing salsa. We learned new moves every time we had a class and were really encouraged just to have a good time. Its a pretty cool class to lay back and just enjoy yourself.

Workload:
You just have two 2-pg-papers to do one on an article of salsa and one on self-reflection after going to a low key club.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3722
Submitted: 2007-11-14
Anna Wegel-Hajj | SPN 003 | Spanish

Review:
this lady was strange. but she is a pretty good professor and cares about student progress. Encourages students to talk to her during office hours. Very, very enthusiastic, to the point where everyone in class would just look at each other with "wtf" looks on their faces.

Workload:
assigns a lot of homework through email, much of it busy-work. i loathed checking my inbox and seeing 'tarea-spanish 3.' sometimes she randomly asks for certain homework assignments, which sucks if you chose to do one assignment and didn't do the one being picked up. tests were kind of hard but they're the same for all Spanish 3 classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3716
Submitted: 2007-11-13
Priscilla Sneff | English 1 | English

Review:
She's not 'all there'. She comes to class with the intent of having productive discussions or constructive criticism writing workshops but that never quite works out. We always end up staring at her as she talks endlessly and without purpose or as she tears up papers.

Workload:
Random readings; spent most classes discussing them. A couple of papers...not too much work at all actually.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3719
Submitted: 2007-11-13
Joseph McGrath | Math22 - Discrete Mathematics | Mathematics

Review:
McGrath was the worst teacher I've ever had. He always runs over class time, and always fails to teach everything he needs to for a given class. He doesn't listen when you ask questions, but babbles on about whatever he is thinking about. He frequently makes mistakes in class (my favorite: refering to light-years as a unit of time). I got an 84 on the first test, despite having every answer correct, because I didn't "show all my work". He is usually available to answer questions, but you're better off teaching yourself from the book.

Workload:
Assignments were definitely straightforward, but the added time needed to teach yourself the material was a hassle.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Physics


Review ID: 3720
Submitted: 2007-11-13
Mike Mendel | FAM0064: Photo:Foundation | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
Mike Mendel is an amazing professor. He has a wealth of experience in taking photos and is more than willing to help you figure out what kind of photos you want to shoot. I would definitely take another class with him...if he taught anything other than basic photo.

Also, he doesn't really care if you skip lab days, which is SO NICE when you have class twice a week for 3 hours.

Workload:
3 main assignments and a final project. This class is expensive--expect to spend about 200 dollars if you are actually interested in photo (money on film, photo paper, special photo paper, etc.)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 3711
Submitted: 2007-11-10
Adam Piggott | Math 13 CALC III | Mathematics

Review:
Piggott is the man, he is hilarious and really knows the material. he comes up with creative ways to demonstrate concepts that are otherwise hard to visualize. he is always willing to help, and is really helpful in office hours. definitely take his class if you can.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3701
Submitted: 2007-11-08
David Proctor | HIST001801 - History of the Byzantines | History

Review:
Great professor. He really does know his stuff. The only problem I would say would be that he grades really slowly, but at the same time it is comforting to know that he does take a lot of time to assign grades rather than only reading your paper once. Plus, since he extends his own deadlines for handing things back, he is really flexible with allowing you to turn in things much later than the original deadline.

Workload:
Good amount of reading, but if you go to the lectures you don't need to do all the reading. Two papers and a take home midterm and in class final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3703
Submitted: 2007-11-08
Felipe Martin | Intermediate Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
It was not the bomb AT ALL!! Although he is one of the nicest teachers I have ever met here on Tufts campus, a true sweetheart, he really does not know how to explain things well. He explains everything as if you have already taken the class before and he just goes through the examples while blocking the bored so by the end of his explanation you are totally confused and ready to jump out of the window. He is a really nice go though and always ready to help you and answer all your questions, all 550 of them!

Workload:
Nope not a lot of reading, really hard tests, pretty hard problem sets but just talk to him about it, he sometimes assigns extra credit work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3705
Submitted: 2007-11-08
Elizabeth Leavell | 0002 Other Worlds | English

Review:
GREAT TEACHER! She is very nice and helpful. No complaints except I wish she taught more classes.

Workload:
fair amount. typical english class with reading and a few papers. nothing crazy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3706
Submitted: 2007-11-08
David Henry Feldman | 51 intellectual development of the child | Child Development

Review:
I didn't really like this professor or the class. Lectures were boring.

Workload:
Lots of readings. The readings in the packets were short but dense. The final paper was SO hard. The assignment was really ambiguous.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3707
Submitted: 2007-11-08
Sarah Pinto | 148 medical anthropology | Anthropology

Review:
Group discussions were interesting. The professor was a little boring during lectures, but a completely different person in office hours. She was very willing to talk about your ideas and very open to interpretation. The course ideas were also very interesting.

Workload:
TONS of reading. Dense reading. Papers were fun but the reading was just so horrible!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 3700
Submitted: 2007-11-07
Gary McKissick | CH000201 | Community Health

Review:
Professor McKissick is one of the best professors at Tufts. He is incredibly dedicated to all of his classes. From taking his class you can really tell that he spends a lot of time choosing the reading so that it is all very interesting and informative. His lectures are very straightforwad and explain things very well. McKissick is one of the best professors at Tufts and is often not appreciated for his efforts.

Workload:
This course does have a lot of reading but they are all really good and if you do the reading the tests will not be a problem.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3697
Submitted: 2007-11-06
Elizabeth Lemons | CR041-Contemporary Religion in America | Comparative Religion

Review:
This site just proves to me that the only people who bother posting are the people who don't like a course/professor. Professor Lemons was very professional and had clear expectations. I'm guessing that those people who thought she graded on personality did not get the best grades because they didn't do the work, which as most said, was very manageable. I thought her grading was fair and reasonable, and I certainly knew what my grade was based on. At times she did seem a little nervous, but I certainly didn't think that others in the class knew more than she did.

Workload:
Very reasonable, but some of the reading was challenging.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 3694
Submitted: 2007-11-05
Elizabeth Ammons | ENG0153 - American Realism | English

Review:
This class is one that I enjoyed coming to time and time again - Prof. Ammons always made class interesting and was sure to engage all her students in discussions on a daily basis.

She rarely just lectures, and wants to hear our feedback on the material. She always shows genuine concern for our understanding and encourages meeting with her to discuss papers, class, your major, etc.

Workload:
Weekly response papers - very informal and not a chore at all, and a guided research/analysis paper have so far been fairly straightforward. I highly recommend this class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 3692
Submitted: 2007-11-04
benjamin hescott | comp 11 | Computer Science

Review:
i love ben! he is an amazing professor. very clear in his lectures, goes over things if you don't understand, loves questions. always thinks of creative ways to explain concepts to us. he is always willing to help with homework via email or staying in the lab with us into the night. definitely recommend taking his class even if you know nothing about computer programming

Workload:
there is a midterm and a final, no other tests. there are about 5 or 6 homeworks in the semester. those are challenging but they use exactly what we're learning in class at the time and he is very helpful if you're stuck. also the TA's help a lot with the homework. there's also lab once a week for an hour which isn't bad at all, i always get it done within the hour.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3688
Submitted: 2007-11-03
Shiori Koizumi | Japanese 001 | Japanese

Review:
Koizumi-sensei is, without question, the best teacher ever. She is funny, energetic, and extremely helpful. I feel perfectly at ease asking her to meet with me sometimes outside of class just to practice. She is also extremely friendly and shows personal interest in her students.

Workload:
Reasonable. There is homework every night, but it never takes too long to do and is usually pretty fun.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Physics


Review ID: 3690
Submitted: 2007-11-03
Patricia Smith | SPN004- Spanish 4 | Spanish

Review:
Patricia Smith is a wonderful Spanish teacher! Her classes are a joy to attend--many times we have class conversations for half the class to help learn the grammatical concepts (instead of just doing bookwork). The class is taught completely in Spanish, but she will always explain concepts in English if they are confusing. She is open-minded and really kind. I would definitely take another course w/ her.

Workload:
Just like every other Spanish 4 class-- 3 compositions, 5 tests, workbook. Profesora Smith grades fair and easy. Suggestion: take her writing workshop--it's really helpful!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 3682
Submitted: 2007-11-02
Michael Fenollosa | EC 012 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory | Economics

Review:
Professor Fenollosa is the worst professor I have had at Tufts. He has no idea how to lead an engaging lecture, is constantly confusing himself and his students, and gives hard and way-too-long exams. Also, he often has trouble answering questions, and must repeatedly consult his notes during lectures. Although he is constantly apologizing for how badly he is doing at giving lectures, he assumes no responsibility when a majority of his students do badly on the first exam.

Workload:
The workload, admittedly isn't bad: problem sets and three exams. The final exam is cumulative.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3684
Submitted: 2007-11-02
Mark Richard | PHIL-103 LOGIC | Philosophy

Review:
Those without experience in logic should be aware that this class is a graduate student class. I didn't realize this and took the class as a freshman. I was completely overwhelmed and ended up dropping halfway through. It seemed that about half the class understood the subject matter and did very well on problem sets, while the other half did not understand and did poorly (guess which half I was in).

Oftentimes I would ask the Prof. a question and end up being more confused than I was before. I would then ask a student the same question and the answer would turn out to be fairly simple. In short I felt he made the material more complicated than it had to be. He is very intelligent and has an obvious natural ability for logic, but it seemed that this natural ability made it difficult for him to slow down and explain the process. He is helpful during office hours but gets frustrated if you don't understand.

The class is extremely accelerated. The material is presented very fast and he never goes back to review. Philosophy and math majors may enjoy the class and excell. However, those with a passing interest in logic should be sure to take the other logic course offered.

Workload:
Problem sets were assigned every week or so. These problem sets take hours and it is important to start early and to form a good study group. I talked to one grad-student who said that he and some other students spent two hours discussing one part of one problem.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3685
Submitted: 2007-11-02
Margaret Lynch | Bio0046 | Biology

Review:
Her lectures moved way too fast to actually be able to understand everything. She did explain things relatively well but her hand writing was terrible and it was impossible to read her overheads.

Workload:
Her tests were incredibly nit-picky. She would ask incredibly detaild questions and then penalize you for not knowing every detail of everything discuessed in the class. If you want to do well in the class memorize every detail in the book.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3677
Submitted: 2007-11-01
Jay Shimshack | EC030 Environmental Economics | Economics

Review:
I think if Jay Shimshack asked me to marry him I would have to say yes. He is that amazing of a professor.

Workload:
Hard but interesting. Take this class if you know whats good for you!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3679
Submitted: 2007-11-01
Jeff Gardner | Nature and Writing | English

Review:
This class involves a lot of nature and a lot of writing. That said, it is a great class and the teacher is a very laid back guy with tons of knowledge about the environment. Also, he is very helpful and he edits each major paper of yours before the final draft is due. I highly reccomend this class if you need an English 2 class, if you work hard on the papers and make a few comments in the class you're golden.

Workload:
6 two page ungraded personal essays, three 6 page papers, random reading handouts you don't need to read, and the following books:
The Future of Life, Little House on the Prarie, My Antonia, parts of Walden, Where The River Flows North, and Prodigal Summer


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3680
Submitted: 2007-11-01
Julie Strand | African American Music | Music

Review:
Two words- Horrible Professor.

Expects you to be on time for her class, but makes you late for your next one

Her exams our of poor quality, almost everyone raised their hand at least once, (large class) to ask her to clarify different questions that were to broad.

Treats you as if you are still in highschool

Leaves all the important material until the end of class.

Honeslty she is better fit to teach Highschool Students than college students.

She is unorganized and the notes on the bored mean gibberish.

(Its an easy class though) I never thought a professor at Tufts could annoy me the way she has.

Workload:
a couple papers (3 pages) and a cd compilation of your favorite songs, and 3 exams. ( Not hard tough, she gives you like a month to do an assignment)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3681
Submitted: 2007-11-01
Daniel Mulholland | HIST0028 - Reolutionary Russia | History

Review:
I set my alarm clock while stoned to make sure I would wake up for this class. Not because it was mandatory to show up, but because it was awesome. This guy knows what he's talking about and is passionate and often funny about it. If you have any interest in history, this class is well worth your while.

Workload:
Not bad, three papers, 6-8 pages.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3676
Submitted: 2007-10-31
Venky Krishnan | MATH 13 | Mathematics

Review:
Venky is not a good teacher. We were severely disappointed in the class, and the lectures were very confusing. There were several memorable lectures in which the teacher did not know how to do problems, completed problems incorrectly, spent over 20 minutes on a problem, or had to ask the class for assistance.

He spends too much time doing proofs, and very little time actually completing problems while other teachers will do the exact opposite. Sometimes, we wondered whether going to class was detrimental to our education.

One time, a student called a 3-D graph a "cheese." Venky could not remember what the shape was called, so he deferred to the student's suggestion, and announced to the class it was a cheese.

We highly recommend not taking a class he teaches. Please.

Workload:
There was not an insane amount of work assigned. I learned more from the textbook than ever before because there were holes in the lecture that did not adequately cover homework material.

Homework is assigned for every class, and there are three tests and a final. Good Luck!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 3673
Submitted: 2007-10-30
Sol Gittleman | JS065- Intro to Yiddish Culture | Judaic Studies

Review:
Sol Gittleman is one of the most gifted (if not the most gifted) educators at Tufts. Not only is he genuinely interested in both the students' progress and the material itself, but he relates his knowledge in a way that is both entertaining and informative. He is the kind of professor who can make you learn without realizing that you are learning. The class is simply a joy-- whether you are playing the Sol Gittleman Game with your friends (each of you tries to finish his sentences first-- he gives you plenty of opportunities to do so) or actually trying to learn something about Yiddish culture, you will love this class. Also, seek him out outside of class-- he loves talking to students about anything at all.

Workload:
Hardly any work-- I only read a few of the stories and still managed to participate in conversations in class and get an A in the class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3674
Submitted: 2007-10-30
Valerie Anishchenkova | ARB003 - Intermediate Standard Arabic | Arabic

Review:
Arabic is tough, and Valerie expects you to keep up and know your stuff. If you don't (and sometimes even if you do), the class can be just shy of frightening. But, Valerie is wonderful, especially if you have a good relationship outside of class, which shouldn't be a problem since she's very accessible and approachable. She also happens to be a great teacher. But intimidating. Very intimidating.

Workload:
Homework due for just about every class (sometimes even on test days...), and tests/quizzes generally once a week. While some of it can be tedious, it does help to hammer in the language.
(NOTE: All of this information applies to Arabic 1-3 with Valerie)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 3668
Submitted: 2007-10-29
Annie Geoghegan | fr-0003 | American Studies

Review:
She is a bit crazy and is always full of energy. She expects her students to work and study and is very approachable with questions outside of class. She wants to see her students learn French well. She is overall a good teacher, though she does have her quirks.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3670
Submitted: 2007-10-29
Wei Zhang | math 12 | Mathematics

Review:
This class is great if you're having trouble falling asleep, but if you want to learn in class,I suggest finding another professor. Her teaching style consists of putting notes from the book on the board and racing through them,often skipping simple yet important steps. I would leave class always wondering what we just did, only to look in the book and find it was nowhere near as complicated as Zhang had made it seem to me.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3653
Submitted: 2007-10-21
Priscilla Sneff | Eng00129-ExpositoryWrting | English

Review:
She is absolutely crazy. She rambles on about things that don't make sense and she wants to write basically, what she wants. She gives off the impression that she doesn't like when people don't agree with her, which happens a lot. She is a hard grader and her assignments are not straight forward. She'll assign an essay, but give you a sheet with guideline after the essay is due. Certain people think she comes to class high.To her credit however, she allows reviews and papers to be work shopped in class.

Workload:
The work was not straightforward. I was always confused as to what I was doing.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3656
Submitted: 2007-10-21
David O'Leary | CR 0192-08 History of Religious Dialogue | Comparative Religion

Review:
This was one of my best courses at Tufts.

Professor O'Leary allowed the students to lead mock panels on religious dialogue issues among the major faith groups/spiritual paths.

He is very available Y willing to write letters of recomendation.

Workload:
This course did have a large amount of reading and preparation time for the panels.

But is was conducted as a seminar.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3641
Submitted: 2007-10-17
Phil Primack | Media, Law and Ethics | Experimental College

Review:
Despite what the previous reviewer said, Phil Primack is not a good professor. Not only did I learn next to nothing in this class, but his grades were arbitrary and capricious. Even if you study ten hours a week it is still possible to do poorly. Watch out; I would not, under any circumstance recommend this class!

Workload:
The course load is hefty, and includes the dessicated writing of my college career.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 3622
Submitted: 2007-10-09
Phillip Mu?oz | POS106 - Civil Liberties | Political Science

Review:
Professor Munoz was very enthusiastic about class participation, and the class was organized circularly. Generally, Professor would start the discussion and then moderate it, but everyone was expected to bring their own opinions to class.

Buyer Beware: In the context of this class, "Civil Liberties" specifically refers to civil liberties as interpreted by the U.S. Supereme Court regarding the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments.

Workload:
Professor Munoz claims to be a tough grader, but the class was not unreasonable at all. Solid preparation and good attendance ensure grades that reflect the effort put in. Quizzes tended to be based on the readings such that you would generally either get a 100 or a 0 based on whether you had done your homework.

Naturally, this class lends itself to dense readings, though they are not often lengthy. Readings for each class consist of the opinions of Supreme Court justices. We analyzed trends in thought from cases heard soon after the Bill of Rights was created up through the 21st century, covering a broad range of topics. Thus, though there were a lot of names to keep track of, but a main focus on the methods of interpretation they employed.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3613
Submitted: 2007-10-05
Ian Lekus | HIST0179 | History

Review:
This is his first semester teaching at Tufts, but hopefully not his last; he is a great asset to the History Department and makes material approachable by coming up with interactive ways to learn otherwise difficult things. I actually have him for two classes, US Foreign Policy and The Sixties, and I highly recommend both courses. In the past I rarely went to office hours or participated in my classes, but since he is very friendly I am comfortable doing both. He even stayed half an hour late during office hours just to make sure he answered all my questions, something that demonstrates his devotion to the students. Overall, the course has a lot of information and facts, but since it is more recent history it probably isn't as unfamiliar to most students as some other courses in the Department. He makes class interesting, I highly recommend this course!

Workload:
Professor Lekus is very reasonable when it comes to work. It is a bit intense but if you don't fall too far behind it isn't a problem to catch up. Plus he is very understanding.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 3602
Submitted: 2007-10-02
Halin Schendan | PSY000101- Introduction to Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Halin Schendan was a miserable professor. Her lectures were dull and confusing. She based her instruction around cluttered power points and useless demonstrations. I would understand the reading for the most part but attend class and leave absolutely lost as a result of Schendan's poor explanations. The light at the end of the tunnel: she only teaches one of the three course units.

Workload:
The workload consisted of reading assignments too large to take notes on outside of class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3582
Submitted: 2007-09-25
Mohammed Alwan | Egyptian spken, Modern Standard | American Studies

Review:
The best prefessor i had in four years, great guy.

Workload:
enough


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3564
Submitted: 2007-09-17
William Mosher | EC 0011 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
If you want an easy class with an absolutely minimal workload, take this class. There are almost no readings, no syllabus, and no book. If you want to continue taking higher level economics, say, quantitative economics, do not take this class. This guy does not teach you anything worthwhile and he does not even have proper office hours. He doesnt care about the students at all

Workload:
Hardly any whatsoever. About three exams, and believe it or not, the final was take home with only one in class exam. You can get the deadlines extended if you try hard. I dont understand how this guy can grade our papers and tests when the papers are summaries of economics articles and the exams ask simple questions such as "describe the PPC"


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3565
Submitted: 2007-09-17
Rana Abdul-Aziz | Arabic 001 and Arabic 002 | Arabic

Review:
I totally agree with the other comment. She is one of the best professors at Tufts and as a bonus she also cares for the students. If you can't come to her office hours, she will make additional time for you.

Workload:
Quizes, tests, midterms, papers, plays, and anything else possible. Not an easy class at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3558
Submitted: 2007-09-15
Charles Dietrick | SPN0021 | Spanish

Review:
Don Carlos was able to make the course fun and interesting despite the fact that it was a three times weekly night course in the summer! He is fair and interested.

Workload:
Normal for a Spanish class. Nothing too outrageous.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Urban & Environmental Policy


Review ID: 3553
Submitted: 2007-09-13
Andrew Clark | MU083 - Chorale | Music

Review:
The Chorale has greatly improved over the past four years since Andy started at Tufts. He's really built up the program to the point where the average singer is quite skilled.

His organizational skills are not the best, although much improved, and the Chorale Board and Music Dept. staff help him compensate.

Andy is one of the best directors I have sung with. He doesn't take himself too seriously, but still expects a lot from the group, which is as it should be. I highly recommend Chorale to any singer looking for a group.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 3540
Submitted: 2007-09-10
Jennifer, Burtner | Growing Up Latino | Anthropology

Review:
Possibly the worse professor I have ever had at Tufts. She taught at a manic pace, cramming way too much end and never covered the reading in her class. This was like a research seminar, even though it was not listed as one. DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH HER. She was incredibly cold to the students, never was at her posted office hours, just a miserable experience.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 3542
Submitted: 2007-09-10
Jay Shimshack | Environmental Econ | Economics

Review:
One of the best professors I have ever had. I would suggest this class to anyone who cares about the environment. I am not an econ major, but after taking this class, i actually considered becoming one.

Workload:
The problems sets can be long and hard, but go to office hours and study hard for the exams. It is very possible to get a good grade in this class if you are prepared. I also suggest going to ALL lectures because he covers everything methodically, plus he is funny as hell.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3543
Submitted: 2007-09-10
Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir | Testimonial Latin American Literature | Spanish

Review:
She is hands down the best professor I have ever had at Tufts. She is incredibly bright and knows so much about Latin America. She is very liberal and not afraid to say so. I would recommend this course to anyone.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3539
Submitted: 2007-09-09
David O'Leary | CR 0192-08 History of Religious Dialogue | Comparative Religion

Review:
An excellent course!

Professor O'Leary out did himself with this new course.

It was a shame not more than ten students signed up for it.

Workload:
The small group panels made the course for me, everyone presenting their research.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Arabic


Review ID: 3527
Submitted: 2007-09-05
Susan Ostrander | SOC013001 | Peace & Justice Studies

Review:
Ostrander is one of the most frustrating teachers I have ever met and I'm not even sure if she is well-versed enough in the material to be able to teach this class. She has extraordinarily particular expectations for her midterms and class discussions. She is a bulldog about making everyone see things her way; she even singles out students to argue with them. The only saving grace about this class is her TA Amy Moff. If you have to take this class...just learn how to regurgitate everything this woman says keeping in mind her lifelong hero is Roseanne.

Workload:
Readings, response papers, long take home exams, and an end of semester 15-20pg paper that can be fun to write if you choose an interesting topic.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 3524
Submitted: 2007-09-04
Linda Bamber | ENG171 - Women and Fiction | English

Review:
It would be unfair and untrue of me to say that Professor Bamber had no concern for the progress of her students. However, she was not satisfied that students were learning unless they were absolutely agreeing with what she said, which never ceased to irritate me. Our class, which once, according to her, enrolled 35+ students, had 12, which was actually a really good number. There was always time to make your voice heard, and class involvement was rather higher than many classes I've taken at Tufts. Professor Bamber displayed little tolerance for alternate views. You may voice a viewpoint separate from hers, but be prepared to be told that you are wrong, which is unusual in such a subjective subject as English. I might have learned more had Professor Bamber displayed a greater depth in her teaching, even if I disagreed with her, but we approached each work from the same angle, and it got old, fast. I have learned a vast deal more in almost all other classes taken at Tufts. Professor Bamber was available whenever I went looking for her outside of class (which, albeit, was seldom), and she even gave out her home phone number in case students needed to contact her outside of office hours. I would not recommend taking any class with this professor, but that is because I vehemently disagree with her views. Go to a few classes, and see if you can agree with/get along with her. If so, go ahead and take the class.

Workload:
The reading was reasonable. There were a few "response papers" required over the course of the semester, a group teaching project, and one final paper. Watch out- she doesn't give any grades until it shows up on your transcript, and it won't be an A unless the papers you've handed in have mirrored the statements she been saying all semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 3511
Submitted: 2007-08-30
Keith Maddox | PSY 36: Experimental Social Psychology | Psychology

Review:
This class was very disorganized. We were told how much assignments, tests, and group work would be worth at the beginning of the semester, but by the end of the semester everything had changed. We were always told to speak to the TA regarding our grades because she was the one grading everything. Our grades weren't posted on blackboard until the semester had ended, so it was difficult to track our progress. We were required to plan and conduct an experiment as a group. We also had to write the final paper as a group. In group work, there is always the risk of disagreement, and the tendency for some people to do more work than others. The professor was aware of this, and claimed that we would be able to evaluate our group members. Not the case... and much of our final grade was based on the group project.If you want consistency and organization, and you don't want your grade to be largely dependent upon group work, this is probably not the course for you.

Workload:
The assignments were straightfoward. The work level was manageable, but you will have to spend a lot of time meeting outside of class with your group members. It's hard finding a time to meet that is convenient for 5 different people.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 3495
Submitted: 2007-08-23
John Straub | EC005- Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
Straub will tell you on the first day that if you don't get an A in EC11 than forget about getting into a great business school. Having said that he does, in my opinion, try his best to help his students understand the material- unfortunately he uses a terrible book and his lectures were very math heavy. Overall, good guy who gets a bad rep for being hard, but if you're determined enough and study you'll know micro better than people in other classes.

Workload:
Be aware: in my opinion Straub doesn't want to give A's to people who can memorize the material and the math- he wants to give A's to the people who can manipulate what he taught in his lectures to answer challenging exam questions (usually 2 or 3 per exam, parts a-n and the final was parts a through x or something)It sorta scares you into learning the material inside and out so you can apply it to anything.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 3488
Submitted: 2007-08-20
David Proctor | women in Byzantium | Classics

Review:
A lot of reading but a very nice and dedicated professor. Dont expect that he'll let you out early or even on time for that matter. Sometimes talks a lot.

Workload:
insane amounts of reading.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 3469
Submitted: 2007-08-15
Janet Schmalfeldt | MUS46 - Principles of Tonal Theory II | Music

Review:
This course was basically a continuation of Tonal Theory I but with much more work load. Schmalfeldt is a wonderful and energetic professor with a tremendous amount of passion for music theory. She often runs out of time because she has so much to say. I enjoyed feeding off her energy because even though I'd go into class tired. I learned a lot in this class on species counterpoint, harmonizing, and chord progessions, a lots more.

Workload:
Work load in the beginning wasn't that bad, but got heavy towards the end, with 1 assignment due per class. The assignments were pretty time consuming, but she's very lax on grading and will give you 2 extensions.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3471
Submitted: 2007-08-15
Paul Lehrman | MUS51 - Music for Multimedia I | Music

Review:
Paul Lehrman really knows his stuff. The beginning of the course was a little dull because it was all technical aspect of music and sounds, etc. But then you get to fool around with the equipment and make projects. Sometimes the class was stressful because it takes so long to figure out how to get the equipment to work properly before y ou can even record anything. Paul Lehrman is usually very helpful though.

Workload:
Work load is standard to pretty light. We have reading assignments every week and sometimes projects every week. There were maybe about 8-9 projects. 1 take home mid-term. 1 final project which he gives you about a month to do, and it was very rewarding at the end to get the final product.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3473
Submitted: 2007-08-15
Austin Napier | PHYS 2 - Intro Physics | Physics

Review:
Going to lecture was absolutely worthless, except for the surprise quizzes. Napier needs to brush up on his teaching style. He is a very very nice man, but does not come across as a good professor. He is very lenient on grading, and you can even get half of the points back that you lost by doing well on the final exam. Basically, this class was all self-study- just read the book and you will do well.

Workload:
The exams were okay, open book and open notes which was ridiculous because noone ever came to class or studies for exams. 3 exams and 1 final, homework every week and lab every other week. (The lab was pointless too and often took less than 1 hour).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3474
Submitted: 2007-08-15
George Ellmore | BIO 14 - Organisms and Populations | Biology

Review:
Ellmore is a great professor and very funny (unintentionally). I like to just hear him ramble on about plants. He has a lot of enthusiasm for his material and coming to class wasn't bad for a huge lecture class.

Workload:
Some reading, but Ellmore goes way more detailed than the reading. Make sure to read, though, because some parts of the exam he does not mention in lecture. The podcasts were useful. 3 exams, 1 final for bio 14


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 3456
Submitted: 2007-08-08
Astier Almedom | BIO189 - Social Capital and Mental Health | Biology

Review:
The course offered a competent introduction to both the theory and research behind social capital and mental health. Emphasis was placed on deconstructing each of the concepts to figure out the "nuts and bolts," so to speak, of how they operate as well as to critically assess the relevant literature. Professor Almedom began each seminar with a lesson related to the readings for that day, which was followed by student questions, comments, and discussion. As you would expect in a seminar, the bulk of each class period was used for student-driven discussion. Professor Almedom welcomed and respected all student perspectives and offered to spend extra time with any student who wanted additional guidance on papers. This is a great course for students who recognize that learning is about actively engaging with the material but not good for those who just want to take lecture notes.

Workload:
Worlkload was very manageable. Readings for each class were generally interesting and not excessively lengthy. There was some confusion surrounding the expectations for papers, but the professor was always willing to answer questions and meet with individual students.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 3444
Submitted: 2007-08-06
Kim Hebert | Writting II - The Urban Space | English

Review:
Kim was by far one of the best prof's I have ever had. She was connected with each student and strived to be a part of their lives. She deeply cares about each of the students under her- and has no problem allowing the wall of prof/student to drop so you can really get to know her. Her teaching style is very sparatic and different, but you actualy get a true grasp of the passion she has for each subject

Workload:
Workload was moderate and fair. She did not scold for misunderstandings of the readings and went thru each subject on a speed based on how passionate the class was each day. Some topics spent weeks on, others, only a day or two.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Studio Art - Museum Day School


Review ID: 3397
Submitted: 2007-08-01
Felipe Fernandez Armesto | History of the World 1500-the present | History

Review:
Everyone should take atleast one class with Felipe before graduating. He is the most knowledgeable professor I have ever had, not to mention interesting and surprisingly hilarious.

Workload:
One paper about any subject relating to the course. Very broad. Encourages a rough draft which i recomend as his comments are extremely helpful and will improve your grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3364
Submitted: 2007-07-30
Mark Woodin | CE 54 - Fundamental Epidemiology | Civil Engineering

Review:
Prof. Woodin is definitely the best lecturer I've every had at Tufts. His powerpoint presentations are interesting and he makes a class of 75 seem like 12. By the second week he knows everyone's name. He is most easily reached on email but you can go to office hours too. I would definitely take a class with him if you can.

Workload:
4 take home assignments (he encourages you to work in groups and you really should! they're hard to do by yourself). No exams. Readings were straightforward and interesting, although I'd say if this is the only class you take in epi, you probably don't need to do the readings in the main textbook.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 3307
Submitted: 2007-07-27
Astier Almedom | Bio 189 Social Capital and Mental Health | Community Health

Review:
Professor Almedom's course is the best course I have taken at Tufts. This is a truly interdisciplinary, highly inteliigent and yet caring and down-to-earth Professor. She will engage you in thinking differently from the usual textbook wisdom until you find your own mind and what you are capable of. Professor Almedom's openess to different views makes this seminar uniquely rewarding. I would take another course with her. This is the African "Angelina Jolie" only more real and grounded in incredible range of fieldwork experience and accessible academic writing. You will need to prove your seriousness to learn though: Professor Almedom will see through you if you show up without reading at least the assigned papers (and they are not easy) and lose interest right there and then. Second chances are rarely offered!

Workload:
Workload is on the high side, particularly if you want to really work on your research essay topic.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 3199
Submitted: 2007-07-18
Winifred Rothenberg | Economics of the British Industrial Revolution | Economics

Review:
Professor undoubtedly has a great deal of interest in the subject matter. However her lectures are painfully long (class always runs late) and the professor speaks in a very quiet, slow, and monotonous voice. You must pay very careful attention to details she gives in her lectures because something you probably don't even recall will end up as one of the essay questions...bringing a laptop is a great idea. Tends to be a bit racist. Took the class as an IR requirement; although still ended up with a decent grade, it definitely wasn't worth the pain.

Workload:
Five 8-10 page papers on topic/question of her choice


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 3091
Submitted: 2007-07-11
Daniel Hannon | ENP0161 | Engineering Psychology

Review:
Professor Hannon is an extremely nice guy. He is very knowledgable about the field of Engineering Psych/Human Factors, often bringing in examples from work his done outside the classroom to supplement the material. He is VERY flexible about due dates; basically if you can't get something in on time, let him know and he will most likely give you another week to do it.

Workload:
In terms of assignments, the workload is not bad at all. 4 somewhat in-depth assignments total that he gives you about 2-3 weeks to do for each. These are usually 8-10 page papers.

HOWEVER, the point of the class is to complete the giant project that is given at the very beginning. Basically your group has all semester to complete a human factors project addressing a request for some design. Prof Hannon acts as a client and your group must go through the entire design process to ultimately create a prototype and present it to the class at the end of the semester. Deliverables are required along the way as well (Initial Proposal, Interim Report, Final Report, and 2 Milestone Reports).

The project is definitely a very big commitment, but in the end taught our group a lot about the design process from the human factors point of view.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2848
Submitted: 2007-06-27
Adam Hoyt | Beginner's Swimming | Physical Education

Review:
Amazing!

Workload:
There was a lot of bobbing involved.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 2793
Submitted: 2007-06-07
Sinai Nathanson | PSY0013 | Psychology

Review:
Her accent makes her almost impossible to understand, which shouldn't matter, but if I can't understand what you're saying... I can't learn. Her powerpoints were not very clear and she only offered some of them online, and the ones she didnt she rushed through so it was very frustrating taking notes.... she's a nice person but her teaching skills lack.

Workload:
Tons of boring readings. Only 4 tests (3 of which count), and 4 one-page homework assignments.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2795
Submitted: 2007-06-07
Linfield Brown | CE 102 Advanced Probability and Statistics | Civil Engineering

Review:
Brown is a great professor. He really tries to connect with his students, no matter how big the class. He also makes an 830am class somewhat interesting. However, this course was murder, the content is somewhat interesting but the concepts are very hard and it's almost impossible to do well on the exams and problem sets. Felt the grading was pretty harsh although I think there was curving at the end of the semester.

Workload:
Weekly problem sets...they take a pretty long time though. 3 or 4 tests, can't remember. The book wasn't that great, the course notes are more helpful. GO TO LECTURE OR YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2796
Submitted: 2007-06-07
Heather Urry | PSY 32 Experimental Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Urry is great. She's really nice and approachable and she makes this insanely boring class bareable. I learned a lot in this class and it was just the right amount of difficulty so that it challenged you, but not so much that you couldn't do well. I would definitely take a class with her.

Workload:
4 papers, which start short but get pretty long by the end. 1 group project. poster session at the end (similar to psy 31). Two exams (pretty hard, study a lot), no final exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2797
Submitted: 2007-06-07
Hal Miller-Jacobs | PSY 17 Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Psychology

Review:
I think anyone who plans on working in any type of organization NEEDS to take this class. It has vital information about real-work situations (e.g. solving problems in the workplace, proper interviewing techniques, how to be a good manager, how to prosper in a team environment). It was a great class. Hal is great, very funny and helpful with coursework.

Workload:
Not a ton of work. Group project and final paper. Also small assignments here and there. There is a bit of reading but the class only meets once a week so you have a lot of time. Midterm and Final exams were not extremely difficult.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2761
Submitted: 2007-05-24
Marc D'Alarcao | Chem0052 | Chemistry

Review:
d'Alarao usually teaches this course every five years, so he probably won't be teaching it again any time soon. But if he is you should take this course with him. As said before, he just might be the smartest guy in town, and his knowledge of chemistry and his organized and concise lectures reveal that. The material is vast and interesting; the only downfall of the course are your classmates.

Workload:
There is no work whatsoever. Your entire grade consists of three exams and a final for each semester. There are no makeups and you can't drop the lowest grade. The tests are very straightforward but the scale is not generous at all. Expect to spend at least 10 hours a week doing his optional problem sets and reading the book. Before second semester exams expect to spend considerably more time studying. You'll do more work than you've done in any class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2764
Submitted: 2007-05-24
Stephen Bailey | Antho0149 | Anthropology

Review:
This course is almost falsely advertised. Even though a book on Darwinian medicine supplies the ideas and concepts for this course, this course is really an anthropology class about epidemics through the use of culture and social constructs. It's really a strange pairing and is not done very well. The professor is frequently late about 5 to 10 minutes but doesn't hold us over, namely because there's nothing more to talk about. He's arrogant and out of his academic field which does not make for a pleasant lecture. Despite this he makes some great connections at times resulting in a few gems thrown into class even if the reading already told you what he's going to say.

Workload:
The workload is extremely minimal. There are three exams and one final paper (10-15 pages). There are readings every week, which are short and interesting. But the professor usually doesn't post readings that aren't in the required books, so some weeks there is literally zero work for class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2755
Submitted: 2007-05-23
Rana Abdul-Aziz | ARB-0002 | Arabic

Review:
The second semester of Arabic gets much harder, with more grammar and (much) more vocab to memorize. Rana was much more demanding during this semester, so if you want to continue with Arabic, you'd better get ready to spend much more effort in learning it. Her enthusiasm is, as usual, hard to keep up with and pretty infectious. She does lose track of the fact that students have other classes as well, as she sometimes expects a huge amount of dedication to the course. Her teaching skills however are unparalleled as she is extremely diligent about making review sheets, going over homework, sending helpful emails etc.

Workload:
Continuing Arabic is not for those who aren't serious about the language. Rana expects a lot of effort to be put in to doing the homework, as she herself puts in a lot in teaching the class. She mentioned that she expects at least 4-5 hours outside class every week to be spent on Arabic. This isn't necessary for each student, however it helps a lot to know new material very well. Doing the work is more for the student's benefit as you won't be able to follow most of the class if you don't keep up with the work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2758
Submitted: 2007-05-23
Gary McKissick | CH0002- Healthcare in America | Community Health

Review:
It seems that most are either willing to outright dislike Professor Mckissick or to love him with almost fanatical adoration. I believe that that his rating as a professor is far more central and mediocre. Like he points out at the beginning of his class he is not Dr. Balbach and his class is not like hers. His style of teaching is neither completely boring nor is it in any way excellent. Often times his comments and "witty" attempts at humor were neither appreciated nor necessary. Furthermore, while the readings were in general excellent introductions to the healthcare system, his powerpoints are about as general conceptually as it comes. He expects the readings to be an expansion of extremely general principles covered in class.

This is essentially the principle fault of the class. Lectures are devoted to material that could be covered in 10 minutes and often do not go in depth into the nature of the readings and cases presented. You will very likely learn more from readings than from the class, which will serve as a very basic skeletal framework for the readings. This is probably the only class on the healthcare system that many people will take before graduate/medical school and as I will emphasize again if only for the extremely high quality readings you should take it to better understand our convoluted, complicated, and somewhat insane system of healthcare.

Workload:
Readings range from excellent to somewhat boring, though every week had interesting readings to supplement worse ones. The readings form the crux of the material in the course and are really what salvages this courses appeal. There are two papers and two exams (midterm and final). Studying the class lectures slides is critical and many times charts from the readings came up on the exams. An extensive review guide is given before the exams, but it is NOT the only source of material covered. The final is comprehensive and requires a good understanding of healthcare history and basics. The papers are graded by the teaching assistants and therefore it is really impossible to comment on that front - it all depends on who you have. Recitations range from somewhat useful to much less so.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2753
Submitted: 2007-05-22
Boris Hasselblatt | MATH038 - Differential Equations | Mathematics

Review:
I'll address the course itself first. It had an interesting structure. First, we learned methods of solving differential equations (e.g. you're given dx/dt and you have to find x) without matrices, and then we learned how those methods were applied to matrices ("systems of differential equations" - you'll have no clue what I'm talking about with this phrase if you haven't taken this course). I was talking to a friend of mine over at Cornell who was taking an introductory D.E. class, though, and he learned about Fourier series... so I was wondering why our textbook didn't cover those. In any case, it was an interesting course.

Prof. Hasselblatt presented the material fairly well, but he spoke rather quietly and his writing was really small on the board. So you have to put in a little effort into paying attention at 8:30 AM, which isn't good. It doesn't matter, though, since he's an awesome teacher who makes awesome jokes. And he's really, really smart.

Workload:
Some long assignments, but overall a manageable workload; fairly standard for a math class. However, the linear-algebra/matrix stuff goes by really quickly so watch out, especially if you aren't taking or haven't taken Math 46 (Linear Algebra) before. It definitely helps to enroll in both classes at the same time or to have taken Math 46...

3 tests and a final. The final was kind of annoying but wasn't too hard. The third test was a killer because there was so much linear algebra in it-- you had to be really used to reducing matrices and finding eigenvalues. I found it a little unfair to people who weren't taking or hadn't taken Math 46 before... All the sections of Math 38 get the same test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2754
Submitted: 2007-05-22
Hosea Hirata | JPN110 - Major Japanese Writers | Japanese

Review:
This is a class that you really should be awake for; otherwise you're going to be finding yourself falling asleep or unable to follow the discussions. We spent a little too long on one book, so that part of the course was fairly boring. Also, the class was really quiet and relaxed. He's okay, though. I really wish he actually graded the journal assignments in addition to providing comments... you don't get a single grade in this class until you get your final grade. That's it! Still, the course was enjoyable and a relatively easy way to fulfill the World Civ requirement.

Workload:
A lot of reading (which I know some people didn't do) but it was all Murakami (which won't happen the next time this course is taught) so it was all awesome and fun. A few journals, generally for each book finished, and a 10-15 (?) page final paper, which was just as much of a pain as any paper of that length. You could substitute the paper for a creative project, which is often the better choice; however, you should probably start something like that well in advance, as opposed to the paper, which I'm sure you could do in a few days.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 2746
Submitted: 2007-05-21
Jianping Feng | CHNS0004 - Intermediate Chinese | Chinese

Review:
I like the way this class was structured. For a Chinese professor (the department is not very strong), I would say she was pretty decent. She can be a little inflexible with deadlines, but I would still take another class with her.

Workload:
The workload is pretty doable, especially the way she divides it up. The lesson assignments are spread over each day of the lesson, which takes about 4 days. Since you have to pass in the assignments daily, you really can't fall behind. Other assignments include a test and some kind of oral presentation every two lessons and a dictation quiz every lesson. The final focuses on the last two lessons.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2747
Submitted: 2007-05-21
Jonathan Wilson | ENG163 - Speak, Memory: Contemporary Memoir | English

Review:
This class was entirely discussion-based, but not talking in class doesn't count against your grade. He sometimes argued if he didn't agree with your opinion, but he would let you speak your mind anyway (about absolutely ANYTHING). This class was my favorite of the semester; it was so laid-back, and Prof. Wilson (now my advisor) is hysterical.

Workload:
A book a week--even if you've never heard of them (or even memoir in general), the memoirs are really good. We only had one assignment the whole semester, which was to write a memoir. It was completely unrelated to the course as we had not really discussed how to write a memoir, but I did fine on it anyway.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2748
Submitted: 2007-05-21
Marcie Hershman | ENG0007 - Creative Writing: Journalism | English

Review:
As a half workshop-style class, she was very concerned and enthusiastic students' progress and understanding. Alternate opinions that arose in discussion were always welcome. I learned an immense amount about newspaper writing that would come in handy even in writing for on-campus publications. At first, she seemed a little intimidating, but once I got used to her, she was great.

Workload:
The workload is not bad at all. The first half of the course involves reading a few pages per class of a coursepack filled with mostly interesting articles. The second half is a workshop, and you write and revise three short articles.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2749
Submitted: 2007-05-21
Heather Urry | PSY0032 - Experimental Psychology | Psychology

Review:
She was nice and concerned about the students. She was also pretty enthusiastic about the course material, which is the most boring stuff ever, especially since it's highly redundant from Psy 31. I learned very little in this class, and it was the worst class I've ever taken at Tufts. No one would sign up if it wasn't required for the psych major. Also, Prof. Urry treated us like kindergartners at times. For example, she made up a stupid ice-breaker that involved making animal sounds on the first day of class to get us to meet other students.

As for the lab portion, make sure you never, ever, ever have Matt Murphy for a TA--he was such a hard grader that our grades had to be raised at the end of the semester in order to match the other sections. He also did not care about helping us at all. He was completely useless.

Workload:
The reading is not bad, but the four APA-format papers are such a pain to write because the American Psychology Association guidelines are so strict. The papers are pretty long, as well. My final paper was 14 pages. The last paper is based on a study that we design and conduct on our own in groups--while interesting, this study can be really difficult and annoying.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2736
Submitted: 2007-05-20
Zbigniew Nitecki | MATH046 - Linear Algebra | Mathematics

Review:
If you're using Gilbert Strang's textbook, well, that book is going to cause you pain. Strang's explanations skip over steps that are essential to understanding how everything works. His problems are immediately difficult but get easier as you get to the higher-numbered problems, as opposed to most math textbooks, which would use the earlier problems to give you the practice you need to solve the later ones. Why? Ugh.

As for Professor Nitecki: his explanations are thorough but complicated, and his simplifications sometimes don't suffice or don't make sense. I thought he could've lectured more efficiently than he did. He definitely tries, though, and makes sure to go over all the homework problems that people want him to do out on the board. Also, I should note that the lectures did help for doing the homework.

But... it also worries me that Chapter 6 was listed on the course syllabus despite the fact that none of the Math 46 classes ever got to it. Yes, this was the first semester that the textbook had been used, but since Math 46 is an important intro class (required for all math majors), you'd think that whoever organized the class would've been more careful and would've ensured that we were learning precisely what we needed to learn.

Overall, a mixed bag.

Workload:
The workload each night was pretty much completely random. Some assignments were especially painful (27 problems, I think, from that horrible textbook in one night?), and some were short (8 problems). But expect to experience some difficulty here.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2740
Submitted: 2007-05-20
Gary McKissick | CH0002- Healthcare in America | Community Health

Review:
Professor McKissick is a wonderful professor who truly cares about his students. He is more than willing to meet with students and will gladly schedule a time outside of his office hours if they don't work for you. He is also very enthusiastic about the class!

Workload:
There is a lot of reading but it is interesting and as long as you keep up with the reading, you will be fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 2741
Submitted: 2007-05-20
Robert Dewald | Chem 000201-Chem Principles w/ lab | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Dewald is one of the worst professors I have ever had at Tufts. He doesn't care when his students do poorly on tests and never thinks it is his fault. Class is hard to follow and it isn't always clear what information will be on his tests. His tests are extremely hard and he does not care when his students fail. If you can take this class with another professor, I highly recommend it as it would be fine otherwise.

Workload:
Professor Dewald's problem sets are extremely long and typically cover information that hasn't been taught yet. This makes students learn the information on their own and makes the problem sets hard to do.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 2732
Submitted: 2007-05-18
Marcy Goldsmith | PSY0011 | Psychology

Review:
If you've covered Kohlberg and Piaget and other developmental psychologists in any of your other psych classes, this course will be a waste of your time. I was hoping to delve deeper into childhood psychology, but this class was not much more than an overview. Professor Goldsmith's lectures were nothing more than PowerPoint's of textbook definitions. If you read the book, you definitely wouldn't get anything new out of going to class. She put very little effort into engaging the class in discussion, grading papers, or developing tests. Video clips were sometimes interesting, but more often than not, she couldn't get them to play. If you know anything about developmental psych, don't bother to take this class.

Workload:
The readings aren't too bad if you keep up, but watch out for weeks with multiple chapters assigned. Two manageable papers, a midterm, and a final. The big tests were pretty easy if you'd done the reading.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2727
Submitted: 2007-05-17
David Cochrane | BIO116 - General Physiology II | Biology

Review:
Cochrane is quite simply the man. He's a great professor, and his lectures are quite detailed and thorough. He's a really funny guy (listening to Cochrane and Bernheim make fun of each other never gets old), and obviously is very interested in making sure students understand material - if you don't get something in class, he's fantastic during his office hours. One of my favorite professors at Tufts, definitely.

Workload:
The class itself technically has no workload, it's just three tests. However, Cochrane writes the hardest multiple choice questions I have ever come across. Honestly, I don't get how such a nice guy is able to write such vicious questions. Anyway, although the class is curved in the end, you need to study very hard for exams, since even with a deep understanding of the material he'll ask questions that catch you off guard. However, despite the difficulty of exams, it's not at all unfair, since again, the class does get curved in the end.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 2728
Submitted: 2007-05-17
Harry Bernheim | BIO115 - General Physiology I | Biology

Review:
Bernheim is the greatest professor of all time. I don't even know where to begin. He is slightly crazed and hilarious, extraordinarily knowledgable, and so much fun to either watch in lecture or to talk to afterwards. His lectures flow perfectly - when he covers a system, you're left feeling like you have a great understanding of it. While he flies through lecture (you'll be writing for 75 minutes nonstop), he repeats things that are really important several times, and as a result, you'll know what to focus on. I can't imagine a better professor than Bernheim - he's extraordinarily engaging, a fantastic teacher, and his random and wrong sense of humor has made every lecture of his from either physio I or II an absolute pleasure to be in. I would have Bernheim teach every class of mine if I could.

Workload:
Both Physio I and II have 3 exams, with no technical homework. However, since Bernheim covers a lot of material, you'll have to understand a lot of material. His questions aren't as hard as Cochrane's (at least not over 06-07), but you still need a full understanding of whatever processes or systems he's covered, so expect some significant study time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 2729
Submitted: 2007-05-17
Charles Dietrick | Spanish 4 | Spanish

Review:
Nice and understanding professor. Always available for extra help and willing to accomodate. Pretty boring and monotonous though. Don't take the class in the morning...you don't want him to jump start your day...its your average language class...the book Mosen Millan is TERRIBLE...everything else is fine

Workload:
surprisingly more work than you would expect....4 tests, 3 1.5 page compositions, at least 5 diarios (personal 150 word compositions, homework and optional ones he collects. He'


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 2709
Submitted: 2007-05-16
David Rivard | Creative Poetry: Beginner 0006 | English

Review:
This was possibly the best course I have ever taken at Tufts. Rivard is a laid-back professor who really cares about his students. He sees the positive aspects of mediocre work (I don't think there is a student in my class who was not complimented on some aspect of each poem they wrote.) I took it as a 2.5 hour seminar and it was still amazing

Workload:
You write a poem a week. Essays and poetry are assigned as reading, but you can get by with reading one poem from each author and skimming the essays. I stopped reading them after the first week. Work for this class never took me more than an hour per work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2712
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Ted Weesner | ENG005 - Creative Writing: Fiction | English

Review:
Bottom line: Ted rules. He's the kind of professor that you want to hang out after class and talk to, or maybe meet at a coffee shop just to talk life. He's also a brilliantly talented writer, and his comments really help on assignments. I didn't really think that I'd learn too much going into the class because I've always been a creative writer, but I definitely learned a lot about descriptive writing and story structure. The class is writing at home and discussing stories you read prior to class, but mostly workshopping of other peoples' stories. You write two stories and essentially workshop the entire semester. The workshopping gets tiring because you sort of want to focus on your own writing, but you figure out in the end that it's actually really helpful for your own development as a writer.

Workload:
Two stories with theoreticaly eight and ten page requirements, though they naturally end up being longer anyway. You choose one story and revise it as a final assignment. You must read and critique three stories a week, as well as read a couple of short stories in a collection. It's all work you end up looking forward to.

I'd recommend taking this class in a three hour block if possible. You end up looking forward to it, and can get more done that way.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2713
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Ray Jackendoff | PHIL121 - Syntactic Theory | Philosophy

Review:
The Linguistics department at Tufts is jsut developing and needs a bit of work. Jackendoff is fabulous; he's always available and is a great teacher. You can tell through his instruction that he's very accomplished.

That said, the class is by FAR the most difficult class I've ever taken at Tufts, and was mostly grad students, which was very daunting. Syntax is really dry and mundane and exceedingly challenging, so an entire semester on it was awful. Bottom line, though, is if you're interested in Linguistics, it's kind of necessary to take. I did learn a lot, albeit painfully.

Workload:
Insanely rigorous problem sets basically every week which you have to end up redoing anyway if you want a decent grade. No final, just final problem set with essay. It's easy to work with other people ont he problem sets, in fact they encourage it and realize you'll fail if you do it alone. You'll never look at syntax trees the same again...


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2714
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Holly Taylor | PSY133 - Psychology of Language | Psychology

Review:
Holly Taylor is the only reason a three hour block class didn't feel so long. She's a wonderful teacher with a great sense of humor and makes the subject matter really interesting. The class is pretty interactive, along with a lot of videos and audio mixed into the Powerpoints. If you've taken a lot of Cog Sci and lower level Psych or Intro to Linguistics, you'll find that a lot of the material is repetition, which sort of sucks. That being said, all of the material is pretty interesting, and it ends up being a class that you'll probably really enjoy if the subject is up your alley.

Workload:
Weekly readings in a book, as well as Blackboard articles (which I never read). Three "thought papers" which are opinion papers, really easy, a debate (this is basically a 100 point giveaway), and a super short take home final at the end. The worst part is the "online discussions" which are required before every class. They're pretty laborious and pointless.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2716
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Mark Richard | PHIL133 - Philosophy of Language | Philosophy

Review:
Holy crap, this class is hard. Filled with primarily grad students, the material is intangible, the readings are basically in Swahili, and as an undergrad, I felt lucky to understand ten percent of what was happening in class. It's difficult to say I didn't like the class, because the subject matter was actually super interesting, it was just presented in an incredibly inaccessible way, and I didn't even really figure out until the last week of class that I was actually interested in what Richard was talking about because writing my final paper was the first time I understood what the hell I was studying.

I took this as my first upper level Phil class as a Phil major. Do NOT make the same mistake.

Richard is the kind of guy you want to hang out with and is really entertaining in class, but it's hard to understand his points when he teaches. You feel like an odd man out if you're an undergrad he doesn't know, and it also feels like he teaches to the grad students.

Workload:
One 5 page paper (which he put off assigning for two months and then gave us a week to write) about an assigned topic and a final paper between 12-15 pages on a topic of your choice. Sort of difficult when you didn't understand anything in class.

We literally had no idea how we were doing until AFTER the LAST class - he gave back the first paper then.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2718
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Margo Caddell | DR0025 - Stage Management | Drama

Review:
Margo was straightforward about what we were learning as it pertains to stage managing at Tufts and outside theater companies. She was great about answering questions and helpingwith specific problems people were running into for the shows that they were working on.

Workload:
Only big assignment was the binder, which you could do at your own pace, as long as it was done by the final due date. Relatively easy workload overall.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2719
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Phillip Brown | WS0091 - Rape, Crisis, and Recovery | Women's Studies

Review:
Phillip doesn't teach the class so much as facilitate the numerous speakers that lecture each class. Every class takcles a different subject and sometimes it seems as though you don't spend enough time with one theme. But, you learn an incredible amount, although the subject matter can get quite heavy. Overall: A fantastic class that, if I could go back, would definitely take again.

Workload:
Weekly one page journal entry reflecting on the previous class and the assigned readings, a mid term project/paper, and a 10 page research paper for a final. Work was relatively easy and the readings are not entirely neccesary for the assignments, although many are really interesting in and of themselves.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2720
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Xueping Zhong | CH78 - Youth and Culture in Modern China | Chinese

Review:
Prof. Zhong seems to know what she is talking about but has a hard time getting it across. She expects a more than basic knowledge of Chinese history and literature and seems frustrated when students don't have it. Although listed as a literature course, she combines a large amount of history and film into the syllabus. This can be really frustrating, as it's easy to lose focus.

Workload:
Lots of reading. She tests if you've read by randomly assigning in-class writings on the previous night's readings. There is one presentation on the assigned readings/movies, two 5-page papers, a relatively easy midterm test, and a 3 3 page essays for a final. Overall, it was more work than it was worth.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2721
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Roberta Rubin | UEP181 - Homelessness in America | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
This class can be summed up pretty easily. Lectures consisted of lists and readings of statistics. Although the subject seems interesting, the class is boring. readings aren't really necessary for class but very neccessary for papers. The only really great component is the community service requirement, but you have to start early.

Workload:
4 assignments which are all pretty straightforward.
Two 5-page papers (and one is analyzing your experience volunteering with the homeless)
The midterm and final are much longer than stated on the syllabus, around 17 pages each - with around 7 short answers and two 5-page essays.

LOTS AND LOTS of reading, which is very dry and mostly statistics.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2722
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Zbigniew Nitecki | Math 46 | American Studies

Review:
His lectures sound like he's trying to convince himself about what he's teaching but he really does know what he's talking about. Its best if you go to his office hours if you don't understand anything. He usually talks in a condescending manner in class and sometimes does not understand the way Tufts students think. He rarely comes across a question he can't answer. He just can't really explain it very well. Oh and taking math 38 before taking this course doesn't really help all that much.

Workload:
Its the typical workload in math. Some of the problems were tricky however but he usually has time to go over them during the next class time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Science


Review ID: 2723
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Rich Wlezien | ME 0001 | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
He tends to stutter in class but he tries his best to teach the course. He incorporates his past work experience into the course and talks about interesting stuff. As he's still new, he tends to assume you know a lot of things but he doesn't get too annoyed if you honestly tell him you don't know. He loves it when people speak up in class and puts a lot of effort into teaching the course. Its not too difficult to do well in the course. Just listen to his lectures and print out the slides for the open-note exams.

Workload:
Sometimes the homeworks to a LONG time to finish. The labs were not too interesting but doable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2724
Submitted: 2007-05-16
Luis Dorfmann | ES0009-Strength of Materials | Civil Engineering

Review:
He's pretty good at teaching and tries his best to get the students to understand the material. No matter how many times you ask a question about something you don't understand, he would calmly try to clarify it and not get angry. He tends to grade a little generously on the exam and sometime has no idea what goes on in recitation and doesn't seem to talk to the TAs for the class.

Workload:
Not bad at all. If ES 5 was manageable, so is ES 9


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2690
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Chorng Hwa Chang | EE026 - Digital Logic Systems | Electrical Engineering

Review:
This was a good class. Whats interesting to note is that the second half of the class deals with material that borders computer science/computer engineering. A lot of algorithms are explored that involve the simplification and optimization of machines designed in ES4. Also, Professor Chang is awesome and absolutely hilarious.

Workload:
The workload isn't terrible. The homework assignments take some time to complete but they are assigned weekly so its not too bad. Biweekly labs also take some time but they are pretty interesting. Its important to learn how to use an FPGA and you will walk out of the class knowing how to.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2691
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Ron Lasser | EE102 - Linear Systems | Electrical Engineering

Review:
The class was good. Professor Lasser really tries to get the most important points across and does so pretty well. The material is really interesting and is an important foundation class for higher level EE classes. Don't take this pass-fail, you'll only hurt yourself because you need to know this stuff. Professor Lasser is also unbelievably helpful outside of class.

Workload:
There are labs every other week. The labs are somewhat lengthy, so work with a partner and try to keep to the deadlines. My year homeworks didn't have concrete due dates but you should really try to stay on top of the material, otherwise things can get ugly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2692
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Douglas Preis | EE018 - Electricity & Magnetism | Electrical Engineering

Review:
The class material is fascinating. The lectures are a little dry but if you stay engaged you can take a lot away from the class. Professor Preis really tries to make sure the fundamental concepts of E&M are understood.

Workload:
Not bad at all. Homeworks due each class but the homeworks are always doable and not really difficult. There are also two labs in the class - one on electrostatics and one on magnetostatics. Both labs are actually really good, although the writeups are a bit long.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2693
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Dennis Fermental | EE11 - Introduction to Analog Electronics | Electrical Engineering

Review:
EE11 is a really good class. The material provides an important bridge between ES3 and EE12. Professor Fermental is great at explaining material in a really receptive way. You will also get the privilege of hearing the same three stories a number of times.

Workload:
Weekly homework assignments. Biweekly labs. All manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2694
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Karen Panetta | EE014 - Microprocessor Architecture | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Great extension of es4. Panetta is really great. She really explains the material in a great way and is always willing to help. The class is never boring and the material can really be applied. Great final project for the class (Pong, yes, pong!)

Workload:
Manageable


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2695
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Karen Panetta | ES004 - Introduction to Digital Logic Circuits | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Great class. Really interesting material that provides a strong foundation for all digital electronics and somewhat of a cultural appreciation for the digital world we live in. Panettas the best!

Workload:
The workload is pretty manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2696
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Gary McKissick | CH002 - HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA | Community Health

Review:
There are a lot of positive reviews here and that's because there are a lot of people who enjoy CH2. I was not one of them. The course is more your cup of tea if you like politics than if you're really a CH person. I was actually considering the community health program before this semester but his class turned me off to it. McKissick fills powerpoints with common sense information and then expects you to get something out of the class. The first day his powerpoint included the line "I was a freak as a student." He thought this was cute and hilarious but it actually is true- his personality slowly drove me insane as the semester went on. The only way you might like him is if you have an extremely open mind and get used to his weird personality, but even then it's pretty easy to see though the BS and realize there's no substance to his lectures. The recitations were ok since I had a good TA.

Workload:
The assigned articles are really great and eye-opening, and I would recommend them to anyone who wants a basic understanding of the problems in health care today. They're not what's on the exams though. I started doing every reading assignment and quickly discovered I was wasting my time because the exams are only on the basic concepts he discusses in class. Go to class, do well on the exams. For the 2 papers, you can just go through the readings and look for quotes to use. In other words, the assigned workload for the class is pretty rough, but to do well you barely have to do anything at all. I stopped doing readings after 2 weeks and I got an A-/B+.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2698
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Cheryl Tano | SPN0002 - Elem Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Profesora Tano is an incredible teacher. Her enthusiasm is excellent and she is very helpful inside and outside of class. She knows at least 4 languages fluently, and can offer advice and shortcuts that allow students to learn Spanish more rapidly. She also likes to have class outside when the weather is nice. If I could take more Spanish with her, I definitely would.

Workload:
Standard for Spanish 2.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2700
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Sybil Johnson | English 005 | English

Review:
The class was ok. Professor Johnson offers some good insights and really helps inprove your writing but you only write one story all semester and spend every week workshopping 3 or 4 people's stories so it can get really boring at times.

Workload:
the workload isn't bad at tall. You write one 10-15 short story all semester. You get three workshops for which you need to present some part of your story or some revisions. You also have to read the stories of the 3 people presenting each week, which usually amounts to about 15 pages a week. At the end you're supposed to pass in a free-writing and dream journal, but this like 20 minutes a week if you do it throughout the semester


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2703
Submitted: 2007-05-15
William Mosher | Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
If you are geniunely interested in Macro, this is a great class, if you just need to fulfill the requirement, take the class with someone else. Prof. Mosher is a great teacher, but he is tough. He doesn't use a text book, so you really have to attend every class because you will be tested on just his notes. You also have to pay attention because he goes fast in class, but he is always willing to stop and repeat himself if someone is confused. He really cares that the students understand and he's a pretty entertaining lecturer, but he has high standards for his students, so getting an A is really hard.

Workload:
we were supposed to have 2 midterms and a final and a portfolio of homework assignments but we fell behind so we ended up having an inclass midterm, take home final, and portfolio. The tests are hard but fair, they basically consist of very indepth essay questions where you end up having to explain the major concepts you learned.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2704
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Fulton Gonzalez | MATH006 | Mathematics

Review:
Really clear in class and pretty understanding if you need to turn in a homework or two a little late. He's helpful in office hours and made a pretty boring class tolerable

Workload:
nothing out of the ordinary for a math course


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2705
Submitted: 2007-05-15
John Straub | EC011 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
You will leave this class with a very strong understanding of microeconomics...but that is if you make it through. 30% of students drop the class and it is only then that his grade distribution matches the other EC 11 profs. He's a nice guy who does care about student's understanding- you should be ready to really work though

Workload:
a quiz, 2 midterms and a final, online graded hw problems for each class- mostly the workload depends on how much you want to study for the exams


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2706
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Suzanne Young | CHEM42 - Analytical Chemistry | Chemistry

Review:
This class was absolutely awful, by far the worst I've taken in thernchem department. We quite literally learned absolutely nothing, everyrnclass was a waste of time. Half of the class time was spent either discussing the time frames for the "fun" projects that we would be doing or hearing useless stories that vaguely related to class material, and the other half was usually an extremely general overview of a topic that was already covered in gen. chem or orgo. Labs were OK, but went overtime too often, and having 2 labs a week plus a regularly scheduled plus block class is awful. Professor Young, while she seems to be an awesome person, just didn't teach this class well. There is no doubt in my mind that she could be a great teacher,she seems to know what she's talking about very well and is EXTREMELY enthusiastic about just about everything (just ask someone about her personification of ions in a mass spec), but she quite simply didn't teach us, and the class was therefore one big, frustrating waste of time.

Workload:
The bulk of work for this class wasn't particularly hard, but that won't stop it from eating up all of your free time. Having 2 labs a week means a lot of time spent doing lab writeups, and the lab grade actually means a lot so it's not like past chem classes where you can be lazy about them - expect to spend at least one very late night a week doing an annoying lab writeup. We had 3 papers/projects throughout the semester, which were totally useless. While they were relatively easy, they served absolutely no purpose and did nothing to reinforce anything learned in class (not that we learned anything in class). The 2 exams we got were both take home and went way beyond the detail we covered in class. I think I'm safe to say that about everyone in the class had no idea what was going on with them, and everyone was pretty much just forced to try to look things up because much of what we needed to know we didn't learn in class and wasn't in the text. Perhaps the worst part, though, is that we got a full, separate workload for each the lab and the class, despite the fact that we had a combined 8.5 hours of class time a week. The combination of lab writeups, projects, and two days/nights a week of lab consumed enough time to make this class a huge drain of time compared even to other lab classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 2707
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Alva Couch | COMP 150 WEB | Computer Science

Review:
Professor Couch was insane this semester, as usual. He's one of the smartest professors I've had at Tufts; he can solve any problem and knows everything about everything computers. Really caters what he teaches to what the students want to learn (at least in the elective courses that he teaches), but has a tendency to lecture way over the heads of everyone in the room when he gets excited. I probably spent more time confused than otherwise this term in that class, but he's very available to help students understand and is willing to walk you through concepts that aren't clicking.

Workload:
One assignment about every 2 weeks (often pushed back when the whole class was behind), could take anywhere from 4-20 hours, depending on web development experience.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 2708
Submitted: 2007-05-15
Vincent Pollina | IT-55 The Rinascimento | Italian

Review:
Professor Pollina knows A LOT about the subject. He basically wants to share his knowledge as much as possible. He's very particular about anything and although others say he is intolerant of other views, he definitely got better throughout the semester!

Workload:
Gradually increases, started off being about 50 pages per class then from half way through, it became 100 pages per class which was quite overwhelming especially towards the final weeks. Otherwise, 2 midterms and in-class final at the end.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Italian


Review ID: 2683
Submitted: 2007-05-13
Mitchel Rose | psy-12 -- ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | Psychology

Review:
Worst class I've ever taken; professor is absolutely horrible and has no idea what's going on, nor shows any apparent interest in students' progress. No teaching abilities, completely disorganized!

I can't believe he teaches at tufts.

Workload:
Three tests... completely unrelated to both the notes and the readings.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2672
Submitted: 2007-05-08
Ina Baghdiantz-McCabe | HIST006601 - Modern Armenia | History

Review:
The profesor is very nice and upbeat. She is somewhat enthusiastic and cares about how students do in her course. However, while the lectures she gave were good, there were only a few. Most of the classes were spent either on educational films (every other class) or student presentations (which accounted for the entire class after spring break). As a result, my knowledge of the topics "covered" is very patchy, and I am unsatisfied with how time was spent in class. Many of the days she let us out early (between 10-20 minutes before class ended).

Workload:
The disorganized nature of the class carried over into the assignments--reading the course packet was almost unneccesary until the take-home midterm, which could be completed easily in a few days. There was virtually no discussion of the reading. The final paper (for those not choosing to do a presentation) was also very straightfoward, and based on the best reading of the class: "A Problem From Hell" by Samantha Power. If you want to learn something about genocide, I suggest reading this book on your own, and choosing a class that more effectively uses class time. I will end on a positive note by saying IF the profesor lectured more often, I think that this could be a good class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2673
Submitted: 2007-05-08
Ted Weesner | ENG0005- Creative Writing: Fiction | English

Review:
This was the best class I've ever taken at Tufts. Its small class size provided a close knit, "church confessional" style approach. Although it was a two and a half hour class the time flew by. Ted is such a nice guy and his suggestions on the craft of writing greatly improved my work.

Workload:
Two stories for workshop and then one of them has to be revised along with some reading and reading your classmates stories. Not bad at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2665
Submitted: 2007-05-07
Keith Maddox | PSY 136 | Psychology

Review:
Professor Maddox is a great person, but not a great professor. He assigned WAY too much course work that was completely pointless. The discussion was great because we discussed important topics. However, the readings were very difficult to get through and he didn't do a great job at explaining it. I would suggest taking another one-hundred level class if possible.

Workload:
Three psych articles to read each week (each one was about 20 pages) and then post three discussion questions on Blackboard. Five experiment proposals based on the readings. A presentation that is expected to last the entire class period (2 hours). A 15-20 page paper at the end of the semester. Again, not worth it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2663
Submitted: 2007-05-06
Anne Mahoney | CLS 32 - Classics of Rome | Classics

Review:
She is one of the smartest people I've ever met. She is intimidating because she knows SO MUCH. She knows so many languages it's insane. She is really entertaining and has an offbeat sense of humor. She is very enthusiastic. This class was MUCH harder than other similar classes by different professors, but I love her so much I would take another class with her if I could.

Workload:
SO much reading. Light weeks were about 100 pages of reading, but there were a few weeks when we had to read 400+ pages. Average of probably 200 pages a week.
There are 6 short papers (500 words) every other week. There is also a final. She grades fairly and does not give out many A's.
I would only recommend her to people who loved Classics or were willing to work very hard.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Classics


Review ID: 2650
Submitted: 2007-05-04
Joe Hurka | ENG05-Creative Writing | English

Review:
Uncle "Joe" as he likes to be called sometimes or just Joe is the best Professor you'll ever have in English. The guy is FUN!! I love Joe Hurka! He makes his classes so interesting and wonderful!

Workload:
3 stories--2 long stories, 1 short short. Everything is great. Do your work over the course of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2651
Submitted: 2007-05-04
Kent Portney | PS119-Judicial Politics | Political Science

Review:
Professor Portney is probably the best lecturer I've ever had in Political Science. I had all but given up on the major until this course and now I'm glad that I've stuck with it. The course is very interesting and if you have any future thoughts of entering law school or dealing with governmental law, you should take it!

Workload:
2 Papers--Midterm and Final.
Must attend all classes and participate


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2652
Submitted: 2007-05-04
John Julian | SPN0001 | Spanish

Review:
Julian was an OK guy. He's pretty nice and relaxed and knows his stuff but has a tendency to go off on tangents.

Workload:
Workbook assignments that review class lessons are collected with each test. Occasional short essays and a final skit. Several tests, none of them were too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2655
Submitted: 2007-05-04
Gregory Carleton | WL 092- Representing War | World Literature

Review:
Carleton was simply AMAZING! By far one of the best classes I have taken at Tufts so far. He was always engaging, understanding and funny! My writing definitely imrpoved over the course of the semester. This class was amazing. Provacative, fun, and informative. TAKE THIS CLASS!!!

Workload:
Counts for an English 2 credit so there's a bit of writing. About 3 six-page papers, a ten page final and you have to do at least one re-write. We read about 4 or 5 books, which was done at a pretty good pace. One of the books was pretty awful but the rest were excellent, quick


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2648
Submitted: 2007-05-03
Saskia Stoessel | Intensive Elementary German | German

Review:
Can't say enough good things about Frau Stoessel. She made the class enjoyable even at 8:30-9:30 every morning and was always enthusiastic and helpful. I recommend this course to any beginning language student--its the most sucessful language course I've ever taken.

Workload:
A lot of assignments, but nothing unbearable. The tests were relatively simple.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2640
Submitted: 2007-05-02
David Proctor | CLS 86: Women of Byzantium | Classics

Review:
PROFESSOR PROCTOR IS AMAZING. everyone should be so lucky to take a course with him. he genuinely cares about the subject of byzantium and cares that his students understand the material. There was a lot of reading, but because of the small-group discussions and Professor Proctor's overwhelming depth and breadth of knowledge, the class was very manageable without losing its comprehensiveness.

Workload:
three papers, 7+ pages each (most papers ran much longer, but that was because there was so much history we knew by the time we had to write that we needed the extra pages to expand our arguments)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2641
Submitted: 2007-05-02
Phillip Starks | BIO0130 - Animal Behavior | Biology

Review:
I have been disappointed overall with the biology department here at Tufts, but this course was the best of the courses I have taken. The material is interesting, and Professor Starks is very enthusiastic about teaching it. I found the tests to be fair, but nitpicky. In order to do well you have to memorize all the details of the material he gives you, but the questions weren't generally tricky.

The lectures are presented as powerpoint presentations, and Starks goes through the slides very quickly, too fast to write down notes that make sense. Fortunately, he puts the slides online, but many slides are often lacking detail, and need to be clarified by the class TA. There were about 8 movies shown throughout the semester, which were pretty entertaining and informative. A few points on each test were questions about the movies, so you should attend them.

Overall, this course was pretty good. I would probably take another course with this professor.

Workload:
The workload was comparable to other high-level biology courses. A lot of reading and 3 tests throughout the semester. Professor Starks also had us create test questions and hand them in, which we got full credit for as long as we submitted them. Those counted for 10% of our final grade. I found the reading to be more interesting than other biology courses, but there is still a ton of it, and it's difficult to keep up with at times.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2643
Submitted: 2007-05-02
Robert Devigne | PS46 - Western Political Thought II | Political Science

Review:
Devigne is fantastic. He provides guiding questions for the readings to help with understanding of dense texts. In class he supplements edifying lectures with humorous stories that enrich our understanding. Rousseau?s take on free will, for example, became a question of chasing after a girl at a party or staying in the library on a Thursday night. He has promptly responded to all of my emails, was friendly and helpful during office hours, and even sought me out to discuss the class and my interest in political philosophy. Just be forewarned: you?ll impress him by asking text-based questions, not by rattling off what you learned in PHIL01. Don?t be intimated by him ? if you seek him out and are open minded, he is really helpful! He is great and the class is worth taking if only for his modern art-like outlines on the blackboard.

Workload:
Even if you do the readings, don?t expect to understand everything on your own. Use the reading questions to distinguish the most important aspects of the text, then come to class and absorb like a sponge. Additionally, if you attend the TA?s optional review sessions, you?ll be able to digest the big ideas better and be able to hone in on the important nuances. The workload is reasonable so long as it?s not left to the last minute and you actively read the texts. There are only two papers but both on salient, synthesizing themes within the course. If you go to class and highlight the sections he reads out loud, you should be fine. Definitely take it with a friend so you can bounce ideas off of someone else.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2636
Submitted: 2007-05-01
Eglal Henein | French 192 | French

Review:
I had very high expectations for this professor after reading all the reviews and hearing such positive things about her. Prof. Henein has her favorites in the class and will only be helpful to them. She is an extremely unfair grader and likes to make assumptions about people and apply that to her grading scheme. Even though she is retiring, I felt inclined to post this review just because I am so frustrated with this woman and her methods. I have found most professors at Tufts to go out of their way to be helpful- this woman goes out of her way to criticize people and seems to take pleasure in the fact that she's the professor and we are students.

Workload:
Extremely unreasonable workload, even for an upper level French course. 3 6-page compositions that require EXTENSIVE research, 2 presentations, Final Exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2626
Submitted: 2007-04-27
Darren Weisse | Rape Aggression Defense | Experimental College

Review:
I remember attending a self-defense class when I was younger and being frustrated because I couldn?t kick very high and feeling lost because they taught the moves so quickly. Here, at Tufts, the RAD class is stretched to fit a semester so you learn moves at a comfortable pace and have lots of practice. At the end of the semester, you have the opportunity to defend yourself using the moves (they will come naturally) and newfound confidence in an assault simulation. In light of recent events, I strongly urge all girls to consider taking this class as soon as possible. No matter how fit or interested you are in learning self-defense, this class will prepare you for life (and you will actually be surprised at how fun it is!) The class is taught by high-spirited Tufts policemen/women. This class is a fun study break; I was never tempted to use an excused absence. It only lasts about 1.5 hours per week and you get a ? credit.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2609
Submitted: 2007-04-25
Dora Older | SPN003C - Intermediate Spanish 1 | Spanish

Review:
Profesora Older is a fantastic teacher. She made every effort to connect with each of her students and to make sure that we were all keeping up and understanding the course material. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in her classroom. While she is fun and friendly, she is also very serious about learning Spanish, and does not allow conversations in English. Spanish was easier to wrap my mind around in Profesora Older's class than ever before. What a fantastic, engaging, thorough, and wonderful teacher!

Workload:
Assignments were spaced out nicely. No busy work, but she supplemented difficult sections with reasonable amounts of exercises. Sometimes they were not even mandatory, just for your benefit if you decided to do them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2610
Submitted: 2007-04-25
E. Todd Quinto | MATH0005 - Intro to Calculus | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Quinto is a great teacher. Having never enjoyed math before, I found myself signing up for Math 11 after taking Math 5 with Professor Quinto. He makes a real effort to get to know everybody in his class (he takes a picture of each of his classes at the beginning of the semester), and is very accessible after class. His explanations are clear and his examples are abundant and helpful. Overall, the best experience I've ever had with math.

Workload:
Ten or fewer problems per class. Very manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2611
Submitted: 2007-04-25
Elizabeth Lemons | Philosophy of Religion | Comparative Religion

Review:
Prof. Lemons almost managed to make this subject matter bland and uninteresting. The student moderated discussions we have in class are way more interesting. She generally knows very little more than the students and is not eloquent in her synopses. While kind and good intentioned, she is genuinely useless.

Workload:
The readings for this course are great, they really make you question the way you think about things. I wish she didn't take attendance so I could just do the readings and skip the professor. The papers were easy but graded on fairly arbitrary standards.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2612
Submitted: 2007-04-25
Kathrin Koslicki | Advanced Metaphysics | Philosophy

Review:
Prof. Koslicki is great to look at and good to listen to. She tends to cater more to a grad student level of comprehension which often leaves a lot fo the undergraduates scratching their heads or at a minimum, hesitant to raise their hands. That being said, the discussions are interesting and I learned a huge amount this semester.

Workload:
The assignments were difficult but rewarding. All the papers were doable and graded pretty easily. The presentation you have to do is a waste of time but no biggie either. Tough material in general but she helps you through it


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2604
Submitted: 2007-04-24
John Straub | EC0011- Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
I really enjoyed his class. Very math based. He makes an effort ot break down difficult to understand material and is easily accessible outside the classroom. Very willing ot help students whenever he can.

Workload:
Heavy. But in the end, it worked out so that if you did the work, you wouldn't have to study very hard for the mid-terms and finasl because the work was so consistent.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2598
Submitted: 2007-04-23
Irina Pavlova | 166-Soviet Union | Political Science

Review:
Prof Pavlova is insightful, brilliant, and clear. She is extremely welcoming of student input (both in and out of the class), and gives the sense that she wants you to learn the material for educational purposes and insight, not for the grade or via a strict course structure. Her class however is dry, bordering on boring at times due to her accent and her impressively in-depth knowledge of the subject matter.

Workload:
The workload is near non-existent. The course is 2 exams and 1 paper, for whicdh she is very willing to meet to discuss and help prepare.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2600
Submitted: 2007-04-23
Siddiq Abdullah | EC005-Introduction to Economics | Economics

Review:
"Sid" is lousy! He is funny and nice (I had meal with him during Take-your-prof...week), but he does not know his subject, is hard to understand, and does not answer questions. His lectures are impossible to follow diatribes. If you like a course you teach yourself from the textbook, this is the man for you. IF you want to get your money's worth, take Econ from anyone else!!

Workload:
4 plus or minus tests


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2601
Submitted: 2007-04-23
Anne de Laire Mulgrew | SPN0004 | American Studies

Review:
Professor Mulgrew is by far the worst foreign language teacher I have ever had. Her classes are disorganized and unhelpful. While she herself understands it, she is unable to explain the grammar that she teaches, and she tends to contradict herself and get incomprehensible when students ask questions for clarification. She nitpicks to an extent on written assignments that my friend from Spain says that her "corrections" are absurd and beyond the capabilities of some almost-fluent speakers, much less intermediate Spanish speakers. Overall, a dismal experience with an inept professor.

Workload:
Assignments were clustered. Too many on one day and then nothing for a week.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2585
Submitted: 2007-04-20
Terrell Clark | CDL124 - American Sign Language | Child Development

Review:
Terrell teaches the Deaf community culture portion of ASL I. She is a very nice, helpful, easygoing professor. The class is very easy but also very interesting.

Jim Lipsky teaches the sign language portion of the course, so look him up, too.

Workload:
One final test on important information, one short book reaction, one short deaf event write-up, a few very short homework assignments. Everything is quick, simple, and straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2586
Submitted: 2007-04-20
Jim Lipsky | CD124 - American Sign Language | Child Development

Review:
Professor Lipsky is a very enthused, interesting professor. He is patient and always willing to help and the course is fun and interesting. Part of me wishes the class met more often so that I could learn more while another part of me is glad the class is not as intensive as other languages.

Workload:
The class is pretty easy as languages go. The hardest part is learning how to fluently manipulate your hands, but it really just takes practice. Since ASL is not a written language, there are no homework assignments, just a short video as part of the final exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2587
Submitted: 2007-04-20
Sheryl Read | ELS101 - Entrepreneurship and Business Planning | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
I enjoyed going to this class, but I wish I had taken it pass/fail because the grading is very subjective. Professor Read is very approachable and a variety of guest speakers make the class very interesting.

Workload:
Professor Read relies heavily on the textbook, which is often pretty boring, but learning from the textbook frees up class time for interesting speakers and discussions. She often gives simple quizzes on the material, but they're not too difficult. The major assignment is a group business plan project which is pretty interesting. Case studies every week add up to quite a bit of work, though they're well guided and interesting. An entrepreneur interview paper and a few other assignments are given as well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2581
Submitted: 2007-04-19
W. George Scarlett | CD166- children's play | Child Development

Review:
George Scarlett is very enthusiastic about this course. He understands that students in the class may be at different levels of understanding and takes that into account (grad and undergrad). His lectures are interesting and the book is great!

Workload:
The reading was manageable. The course packet readings were not as good as the main text. There were 2 pretty long papers assigned. That's it!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 2583
Submitted: 2007-04-19
Sarah Pinto | ANTH148- medical anthropology | Anthropology

Review:
Professor Pinto is a very nice woman she cares a lot about her subject matter and is very accessible outside of class. I really recommend taking advantage of this! The lectures are mostly boring, but she is much more interesting one-on-one.

Workload:
INSANE amounts of reading assigned as well as 2 papers and a short response. 5 required books, AND a giant course packet.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 2569
Submitted: 2007-04-15
Robert Jampel | Psych 71 - Clinical Methods | Psychology

Review:
Dr. Jampel is a great professor. He's interesting, entertaining, and very helpful for those thinking of becoming clinical psychologists. His class is based on discussions, participation, and role-playing, and he gives you excellent feedback on your own style and your strengths and weaknesses as a "therapist." You get a great deal of real experience in this class, instead of learning theories and vocabulary.

Workload:
Barely anything - one final paper, class participation, and role-playing as both the patient and the therapist.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2571
Submitted: 2007-04-15
Kevin Dunn | ENG029 - Literary Studies | English

Review:
If my understanding of the English department is correct, Lit Studies is not offered every semester, and it's never the same class twice-- more of a "special topics" deal. When I took it in Fall 2006, it was a class Kevin Dunn designed for freshman who'd passed out of the Freshman Writing requirement (ie, incoming freshmen with a 5 on AP Lit/Lang). It was absolutely my favorite class of the semester. The 20 or so of us met in one of the nice library classrooms, sat in a circle, and talked about poetry/Shakespeare/Joyce/pop culture/puns/grammar...basically everything. All of the students were really into the subject and weren't at all shy about sharing this enthusiasm, which is something I think can be attributed at least in part to the professor. Kevin Dunn was super enthusiastic, insightful, friendly, helpful, accessible... really smart and knew how to get his knowledge across to the class clearly without being pompous or annoying. The class was very discussion-based, but he always guided the discussion in a way that made the most of the class time. All in all, amazing class, amazing professor-- I am absolutely taking whatever class Prof. Dunn decides to offer next.

Workload:
Fair amount of work for an English class-- three 6-8 page papers, no exams. Reading load was not intense (ranged from a handful of poems to 3-4 short stories/week). Papers were not scary at all. Making an appointment with the prof. to pick a topic was at first mandatory and then just highly encouraged (and extremely helpful).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2572
Submitted: 2007-04-15
Janet Schmalfeldt | MUS045 - Principles of Tonal Theory I | Music

Review:
Coming into this class after a year of AP Theory in HS, I found it to be mostly review except for counterpoint. Course material can be dry unless you're really into music theory. Prof. Schmalfeldt is kind of a genius, and if you are able to pick up even half the things she notices about counterpoint exercises and chorale harmonizations, you'll be more than fine. She's a very fair grader, and though her grading policy is already very functional, she's always open to suggestions. She has an unbelievable amount of enthusiasm for the subject, which her students can always appreciate even if they may not share in it.

Course is required for majors, and I took it as part of a music minor.

Workload:
Weekly (sometimes biweekly) assignments. Definitely a commitment but not overwhelming. She always used class time to go over assingment instructions in detail. "Midterm quiz" that counted as much as one assignment and "final quiz" that counted as two assingments.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2573
Submitted: 2007-04-15
Christiane Romero | GER085 - German Film | German

Review:
Taken as a freshman advising class, German Film was intimidating at first, but I grew to love it. Half the class was freshman who had no idea what they were doing, and the other half were intense German speakers. I loved that film screenings were done as part of scheduled class time (only 1 or 2 films were assigned to be watched outside of class, unless you missed a film and had to make it up). Films were subtitled and there were two sections of the lecture-- German (185) and English (85).

Prof Romero is very kind and understanding. It was sometimes unclear what she wanted on assignments, but she wasn't too hard a grader. The films we watched were really interesting, and if you're really committed to the subject, you can learn an incredible amount in this class. If you're not, it's possible to skate by, but you won't enjoy it.

Workload:
One 8-10 pg research paper, weekly 1pg film responses (usually written in class after the film, if time allowed), one scene analysis assignment, intense final. Fair grading. Weekly readings for each film were usually pretty long and sometimes incredibly dense.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2566
Submitted: 2007-04-13
Vincent Phillip Munoz | PS 106 - Civil Liberties | Political Science

Review:
Amazing class, Munoz is a great teacher and he really makes you think about whats going on. Brought in a great guest speaker, and really does a great job of brining constitutional law into an interesting arena.

Workload:
Quite heavy, alot of reading for "mandatory" class discussion. If you don't talk in class, dont take the class. Papers are graded hard, but the class is oh so worth it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2554
Submitted: 2007-04-10
Ildefonso Manso | SPAN0021 | Spanish

Review:
Manso is the best Spanish professor I have ever had. He makes class interested without putting too much emphasis on the syllabus--if you are learning Spanish, he's happy.

Workload:
Low to moderate, but every 21 class has the same syllabus, so no more than anyone else.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2555
Submitted: 2007-04-10
Feng Lao Shi | Chinese 4 | Chinese

Review:
She's a very dull teacher-however, she is a very fair grader who does manage to teach you a few things about Chinese. Just be warned that the class is boring, but you will learn!

Workload:
Not much at all
3 tests, 3 orals, and a final (as well as homework). Pretty avg for a language class...


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2557
Submitted: 2007-04-10
Siddiq Abdullah | EC005-Introduction to Economics | Economics

Review:
Abdullah is an absolutely terrible professor. Though he occasionally cracks an amusing joke or two, he says nothing worthwhile in class. I have skipped every single lecture since the first test (we're about to take our third) and have taught myself from the textbook. However, I seem to be doing fine, as I have a 96% average-no thanks to Abdullah. Take econ with Norman or Richards-you'll be better off.

Workload:
Reading the textbook and doing problems sets (don't have to turn them in, but useful for the tests)
4 tests, 5 quizzes


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2558
Submitted: 2007-04-10
Elliot McEldowney | PE006D-Power Yoga | Physical Education

Review:
Great class! Elliot likes to show off a little, but it makes class amusing when we get to watch him stand on his head. It's pretty fun!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2548
Submitted: 2007-04-09
E. Todd Quinto | Honors Calc | Mathematics

Review:
Amazing teacher, deserves to be #1 on this site as far as I'm concerned. The man is always available to help you out. He volunteers at the local hospital etc...
Can't recommend him enough

Workload:
Workload is typical, but Todd guides you through it easily enough.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2550
Submitted: 2007-04-09
L. Michael Romero | Biology and the American Social Contract | Biology

Review:
Dr. Romero is the man. He is so incredibly knowledgable, and does a perfect job explaining concepts in class. The best part is that Dr. Romero always has really interesting stories or bits of information about the lecture. The class was interesting and easy too!

Workload:
One 9 page outline, 3 tests, no final. There's a fair amount of reading, but nothing overbearing.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2540
Submitted: 2007-04-08
Gina Kuperberg | PSY0012 - Abnormal Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Dr. Kuperberg is an excellent teacher who really knows her material and is enthusiastic about the course. Her lectures are based on very thorough powerpoint lectures that tend to end early. In between slides, if the material should merit, Kuperberg shows a video of a particular disorder. She entertains most questions that are asked during class. She seems very willing to help out. I personally have learned a lot through this class.

The material is really interesting. We've went over the basics of abnormal psychology, the DSM-IV, Etiology and Pathogenesis, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, and Cognitive Disorders. In the next month we should cover Substance related disorders and Eating disorders, Personality disorders, Somatoform disorders, and Dissociative disorders.

Workload:
I feel most people would find the material interesting. If one does, then the lecture notes should not be a problem (she provides them through blackboard). We do have a textbook, but one only needs to reference it on occasion. Kuperberg's lecture notes should suffice for the exams

There are two midterms and one final. Participation in class and on blackboard are encouraged.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2541
Submitted: 2007-04-08
George Ellmore | | Biology

Review:
This was my favorite class I've taken at Tufts. Professor Ellmore is amazing, and goes to great lengths to indulge in his love for plants, which unavoidably is passed onto the students. Once he brought us seaweed snacks when we were learning about algae. I love this man, and this class.

Workload:
Workload was basically nonexistant, but you absolutely have to go to class to do well on exams. They are difficult compared to most student's expectations, but are scaled.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2544
Submitted: 2007-04-08
Deborah Lewittes | FAH 92/192 | History of Art

Review:
This was a great class. It met at 8 in the morning but she always kept my interest. A lecture class, but she always was open to us speaking. Really interesting material but a lot, very nice person.

Workload:
Not too much - decent amount of reading and some essays. Managable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2545
Submitted: 2007-04-08
Richard Jankowsky | Music 002-Introduction to World Music | Music

Review:
Professor Jankowsky isn't the best lecturer-he tends to jump around from place to place and shows a lot of videos, but he's a nice guy and an easy grader. He also knows a good amount about his area of expertise and could contribute personal stories (he even knew how to play some of the instruments described in the class). You learned a little about world music and some interesting stuff. Overall, grading was also quite easy-if you studied what he told you to for the tests, it was not too difficult to score above 100.

Workload:
The workload wasn't too bad, but the listening journals, which were due weekly, could take up a good portion of time. To score highly, I had to invest 5-6 hours a week writing them (and they could go up to 6 pages....)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2536
Submitted: 2007-04-07
Deborah Schildkraut | PS11 - Intro to American Politics | American Studies

Review:
Very nice, pretty easy grader, fairly interesting if you like political science.

Workload:
Not a whole lot of work, a good amount of reading, extremely boring though if you are already well-versed in American politics, and consequentially difficult to be motivated.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2531
Submitted: 2007-04-06
margaret mcmillan | EC136 - Topics in Development | Economics

Review:
This was definitely the best class I've ever taken at Tufts. We read hard papers but Prof explained them well. It is really cool that we got to talk about her research in class.

Workload:
Normal workload. We learned how to write policy memos - defintely good training for the real world.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2532
Submitted: 2007-04-06
Michael Goldman | PS 112--Media, Politics, and the law | Political Science

Review:
Professor Goldman is one of my--if not singularly--favorite professors at Tufts. His class is simply fabulous. Goldman is intelligent and inspiring, teaching a new way of thinking about media and politics. All the readings for the class deal with current events, and Goldman uses his first hand experience in the world of politics and communications to supplement the materials. His lectures are extraordinarily dynamic and Goldman?a true MA liberal?isn?t afraid to speak his mind. (I can?t tell you how refreshing it is to have a professor speak so candidly!) A big class (about 40) it?s very participatory and Goldman makes a great effort to get to know his students.

Of all the polisci classes at Tufts, this is a must take. It?s current, it?s useful, and, quite honestly, it?s fun.

Workload:
The workload is that of a typical polisci class. (However, it really doesn?t feel like much since you?re reading great books and current events.) There is a midterm and final, both of which are manageable. They require that you?ve done the reading and gone too class, but I don?t think that?s a lot to ask.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2526
Submitted: 2007-04-05
Julian Agyeman | UEP 284: Developing Sustainable Communities | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
Best class I ever took at Tufts. A very comprehensive look at what sustainability is, its global and then local implications, and then pretty much everything else related to the field. There's a lot of flexibility and you can definitely focus on the topic you have interest in. Not only important for today's society, but also insanely interesting. Oh, and Prof. J is awesome. So knowledgeable, so interesting, and while he does repeat himself a lot, you just don't mind.

Also, you'll share the class with grad students and adults experienced in the field with good stories to share.

Workload:
Journal entry due for every class (a current event///so easy), and two papers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 2529
Submitted: 2007-04-05
Drusilla Brown | EC 16 - Quant Microeconomic Theory | Economics

Review:
Drusilla Brown has a terrible reputation but its not deserved. She is so nice in class it gets a bit ridiculous (today she brought us tea and read us a story... no joke). The problem is that she doesn't write her tests very well and sometimes they are much harder than she thinks. If this happens she'll try to compensate by making the next test easier or giving a second test on the same material or something. Just keep this in mind and you'll be fine.

Workload:
If you want an A you need to do the reading, otherwise the reading isn't too vital. Problem sets are occasionally a pain but you always go over them in class before turning anything in. Very manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2514
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Heather Urry | Psych 32 | Psychology

Review:
She is overly concerned with students progress, and very enthusiastic. The class is ridiculously easy and students generally learn nothing new from Psych 31. She is nice, but the class is just straight terrible.

Workload:
Super easy workload for tests. Book chapters are long but completely unnecessary. Lab TA's grade papers harshly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2515
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Jonathan Strong | ENG0005 - Creative Writing | English

Review:
I loved this class; Professor Strong introduces the idea of having a story organically evolving from the characters and the tone of the story, rather from plot. The results depended much on willingness to experiment and contribute to your own work, as well as others. He's available during his office hours, or by phone. No e-mail address though_ which was inconvenient sometimes. I had to write him by snail mail... but it's somewhat charming, in a quirky way.

Workload:
The workload was fairly light-a two page story, followed by four 7 page pieces for a total of 30 pages of writing. The class is split into three groups, so you only have to have work when your group presents... that was pretty sweet. Participation is valued by professor and students a like.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Studio Art - Museum School


Review ID: 2517
Submitted: 2007-04-04
suzanne young | Chem042 | Chemistry

Review:
The class is extremely disorganized. She promised not to give a final then half way through decided that she wanted to have final. She is very random in grading and in class. During class make sure you brink a Daily or need a nap because the class is very boring and she does really cover the material on the labs which are very time consuming. By the way if you do nap during the class expect to be startled every so often as Young makes lots of crazy sounds and movements pretending to be electrons or sometype of instrument. However she does tell some interesting stories every once in a while.

Workload:
Labs take for ever. Her tests are random.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 2518
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Shinju Fujihira | PS21 - Comparitive Politics | American Studies

Review:
The prof. was good-natured and funny in a unique, self-deprecating way. He knew his stuff, and he put a lot of effort into the lectures and answering questions. He'll help you out if you ask, the TAs were pretty cool, but the topic was fairly boring. He puts all lectures online (powerpoint), but I'd go to class more often than not. Fujihira's an odd dude, but not a bad guy. I don't love the class, but I did learn a few things.

Workload:
There were a few readings assigned for each class...I never did them, there doesn't seem to be a reason to. Usually the lectures will talk about the readings, or you can ask the TAs during recitations. Grading was weird, he didn't believe in full credit (if 1 test question was worth 5 pts, you could get 4.5 max) but not a big problem.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2519
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Ronna Johnson | ENG 64 - American Fiction 1950-present | English

Review:
Don't take a class with Ronna Johnson. Let me say out front, I'm a hardcore liberal, I'm in the Tufts Dems...but I couldn't handle the prof. spending all her time degrading any conservative idea she could think of. Even during topical lectures (few and far between), she tossed in comments just dripping with condescension and prejudice.

Again: do not take a class with this woman. She is by far the most intolerable professor I have met thus far, and I would avoid her at all costs. She pretends to encourage class involvement, but only if you agree with her.

Workload:
We had to read a book a week, no problem if you don't do it. 1 paper and a mid-term and a final during class. The books were fairly interesting, I'd recommend reading as many as possible, but each assignment was on one book only...basically, I could have gotten through all the way until April only reading one or two books. To do well, just regurgitate her own sentiments (which are universally either incorrect or obviously biased).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 2520
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Steven Cohen | ED 001 - School & Society | Education

Review:
I highly recommend this course and the prof., Steve is a great guy and he has a real passion for education. The class was structured usually with brief lectures at the beginning, followed by group discussion. I learned a ton in this class, both about myself and society and some valuable history.

Take any class you can with Steve, this class especially was fascinating and really a valuable experience. He was really interested in getting to know students in a meaningful way, and his compassion was evident in every aspect of the course.

Workload:
The workload was very fair, a few books over the semester (all of which were fantastic), journals usually once a week, a few papers, and a big final project. I loved doing it, the class and the last project especially helped me a lot.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 2521
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Beatrice Manz | HIST 068 - World of Islam | History

Review:
I'd like to pretty much echo the other reviews, Prof. Manz is sort of boring, not terribly exciting lectures. I found the course pretty interesting as a whole, but nothing special.

Overall, I have no strong opinion either way on this class and the prof. It was totally mediocre. Beatrice is a nice, well-intentioned lady, just a bit dry though.

Workload:
Pretty heavy readings, but you don't have to do them. I got more out of the lectures than the readings (which I did pretty rarely). Readings are only important for the exams - take home midterm and exam, like 8 pages, not too hard. She's a fair grader, maybe a bit on the strict side.

Other than that, we had a map test early in the semester, a book review that I found interesting, it lets you do more in-depth research on a topic of your choice.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2522
Submitted: 2007-04-04
Felipe Martin | Ec0012- Intermediate Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
He is hands down the worst professor I hope to ever have. His lectures are boring, he concentrates on doing math problems without teaching his studenst the basics, he mispronounces words, speaks extremely slowly, and on top of it all his mid-terms are difficult (note: he'll call your midterm a quiz)

Workload:
Work was pretty easy. Not too much reading, and a few take-hope tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2511
Submitted: 2007-04-03
Sarah Pinto | Anth 120 - Culture and Intimacy in South Asia | Anthropology

Review:
Sarah Pinto is excellent! She is a new professor and tends to read from her notes, but as each lecture progresses she gets away from reading. She is very available to meet outside of class and clearly cares about her students progress. The class is a mixture of lecture and discussion which is great because Prof. Pinto often throws in anecdotes from her own research in India.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading, and it's helpful to have done it. However, it's really not necessary for success in the class. It will help for enjoying the class though. There are three papers 5-7 pages and a final paper 10-12 pages. All are assigned on interesting, open ended topics, well in advance to give plenty of time to complete them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2505
Submitted: 2007-04-02
Jonathon Strong | Eng 5 - Creative Writing | English

Review:
This was probably my favorite class at Tufts so far. The class is basically a workshop in which each class is designed to help a particular student by discussing a seven-page section of their work. Professor Strong provides very helpful advice and I would recommend taking advantage of his office hours.

Workload:
7 pages every two weeks or so. If you enjoy writing, then it's a breese.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2501
Submitted: 2007-04-01
Tawanda Gwena | Math0011 | Mathematics

Review:
While enthusiastic about math, Tawanda cannot teach concepts or help with understanding. If it weren't for other professors to ask questions, I don't know what our class would have done. Steer clear of this professor if you can help it.

Workload:
Textbook problems like other Math 11 classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 2502
Submitted: 2007-04-01
Robert Burdick | UEP 230 Conflict Resolution and Negotiation | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
One of the best classes I've taken at Tufts....It is so applicable to any future career. Every class is a negotiation. Professor Burdick, who is currently a lawyer, prepares various scenarios and assigns each person a different role. For homework, you have to prepare your negotiation role-by answering various questions. You come to class play out the scenario...examples: Job Interview, School Board discussions, Iraq scenario with Bush, UN, NATO, Iraqis, etc.....Only critique is that I wish it was more internationally focused (I am an IR/PJS major), but I have noticed that the basic skills learned in this class are applicable to international negotiation settings.
Professor Burdick is totally available outside of class...He'll even take you out to lunch in downtown Boston if you ask to meet with him.
Simply put, take this class!

Workload:
Assigns various books...but there are NO tests, NO quiz, No Final...Just a journal which is the pre-negotiation prep and post-negotiation critique. They are collected periodically during the semester. Final is to write a 10 page paper based on the books read during the semester or a your own creative idea (I analyzed the movie 13 days as an example of negotiation in action).
You put in as much time as you feel necesary, but will still do well in the class grade wise


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 2495
Submitted: 2007-03-30
Shiori Koizumi | 001,002 | Japanese

Review:
Koizumi sensei is probably the most understanding and caring teacher i have had at tufts. while she pushes her students to work hard she gives 120% of her effort to help her students in any way possible. She is understanding, kind and a easy teacher to understand.

Workload:
the workload for both classes is standard for japanese, with vocab tests kanji tests, and different homework worksheets.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2496
Submitted: 2007-03-30
Alex Frumosu | Math 13 | Mathematics

Review:
I had Prof. Frumosu for Math 12 and Math 13. He's a great math teacher. He explains everything very thoroughly and is very clear in his presentations. He's easy to ask questions to and cares about everybody's progress. Definitely the best teacher I've had at Tufts--would take him again.

Workload:
Normal. 3 short problem sets a week, 3 midterms and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 2497
Submitted: 2007-03-30
Joseph McGrath | Math 38 | Mathematics

Review:
I have mixed feelings about Professor McGrath. His lectures are often confusing and seemingly disjointed with how it relates to everything else you have learned in the course. It may be a result of the material or his lecture style. After the first test which the class average was below a 70, he began to have after class office hours. Good chance to go over the homework if you didnt get it because he does not address the homework at all during lecture. Interested in student's progress as long as you make yourself known. Take advantage of office hours.

Workload:
Typical for a math class. Problem sets assigned every class, 3 tests, final


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 2487
Submitted: 2007-03-29
Aeysha Jalal | History of South Asia | History

Review:
Jalal is an engaging professor. She makes the class interesting and has great indepth knowledge of her subject. I enjoyed this class very much

Workload:
Manageable, provided you keep up with the readings. The main book (written by her) is essential to read, but is quite light and easy. The other readings could be skimmed through.
One mid-term, a lit review and a final. Fairly graded. Class participation helps


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2481
Submitted: 2007-03-27
Abby Zanger | HIST105 | History

Review:
I LOVE ABBY ZANGER. I've taken two classes with her and she is amazing. Don't expect an A by any means, but this class is worth it.

Workload:
Tons of reading but you truly learn something. Expect to be knowledgeable when you leave her class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2482
Submitted: 2007-03-27
Marc D'Alarcao | 0051Chem 51 | Chemistry

Review:
Prof. D'Alarcao is excellent. He has good teaching skills, TA was so helpful and very cute.
One of the best science courses I've taken at TUFTS.

Workload:
Fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2472
Submitted: 2007-03-25
Teresa Marcelin | SP0022-Comp/Conv II | Spanish

Review:
Professor Marcelin involves the class well and is very helpful and intelligent. I would definitely take a class taught by her again. She is funny and creates a great relationship with the class.

Workload:
Not too heavy, consistent amount of work but not too time consuming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2453
Submitted: 2007-03-22
Emma Blake | CLS 27 - Intro to Classical Archaeology | Classics

Review:
She is obviously very enthusiastic about the material. She really knows her stuff. The downside is that she speaks insanely quickly and it is necessary to write down every detail she says in order to do well on the exams. On the exams, you must write everything you've ever heard her say about any particular topic.

Workload:
The exams are hard, but based on what she teaches. You must memorize everything she ever said in class and regurgitate it. The image IDs are straighforward enough, but there are tons of them to memorize (maybe a similar workload to other art history courses? I'm not sure...)
Reading wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't take another class with her unless I took along a tape recorder to lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Classics


Review ID: 2454
Submitted: 2007-03-22
Robert Jampel | Psy12 - Abnormal Psychology | Psychology

Review:
Dr. Jampel is my favorite professor so far at Tufts. His personal experience working as a clinician really brought the textbook to life. His large (60 person) class was run like a smaller class, with frequent participation from the students. It is not a lecture but a discussion. He knows his stuff and is very inspiring. He is honest about what he knows and what he doesn't know. He also has a lot of hilarious and sometimes sad stories about patients he's met during his long career.
I love him, and am very excited to take another class with him next year.

Workload:
50ish pages of textbook readings a week. I went to all the lectures, which were very engaging, but I think that if you missed even 1 class you would be way behind. Do not take this class if you are not going to go to it 99% of the time. The semester I took this class with him, there were only 2 exams each worth 50% of the grade. This was not ideal, but I think he said he would revise this for future semesters.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2455
Submitted: 2007-03-22
Peter Reid | CLS 31 - Classics of Greece | Classics

Review:
Reid always seemed startled when someone raised a hand or said anything in his class. This was alarming because the class had a max of 40, and usually 20 attended each class meeting. I got an A in the class by listening to his soothing Scottish accents and doodling. He is very detached, never got to know any of the students.

Workload:
Easy grader, if you do the reading. You do have to read at least 80% of the course material to do well. If you read most the the assignments you do not have to go to class at all. 2 (3pp) papers, 2 essay exams. You do not have to be a great writer or an original thinker to do alright.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Classics


Review ID: 2456
Submitted: 2007-03-22
Jeff McConnell | Phil001 - Intro to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
He is totally nuts. I never missed a class. He is really out there... It was always satisfying when he would shoot down the stupid loudmouths in the class who had no clue what they were talking about. People complain he is intolerant to other people's points of view, but that is only true when the other person has nothing to support his/her argument. Don't speak up in this class if you didn't do the reading and haven't thought about what you want to say. If you've done those 2 things, speak up, and he will help you flesh out your ideas.
He is insanely hard to get a hold of. He is never in his office during office hours and he doesn't answer his phone. (He doesn't believe in email...) Basically he can reach you, you can't reach him.

Workload:
4 papers, 4-6 pages each. 6-8 shorter response papers (1-2 pages each). Not a lot of reading at all, maybe 20 pages per week. Don't worry if you don't get something while reading it, you will go over everything extensively in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Classics


Review ID: 2451
Submitted: 2007-03-21
Astier Almedom | Bio 107 Humanitarian Policy and Public Health | Biology

Review:
The best course I ever took. Professor Almedom cares deeply about the subject matter and about how you respond to the materials she presents in class, and will expect you to have read in advance. She is open to different points of view and non-judgemental of gross misreadings. I would take more classes with her if I had the chance.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 2428
Submitted: 2007-03-15
Lionel McPherson | Phil141 | Philosophy

Review:
If you're interested in taking Lionel McPherson's opinions 101, this course is definitely for you. If you want to be able to have some opinions of your own you might want to try something else.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2423
Submitted: 2007-03-14
Sol Gittleman | JS065-Intro to Yiddish Culture | Judaic Studies

Review:
After all the hype, I was somewhat disappointed with this class. Yes, it was fun, and Gittleman has a lot of enthusiasm, but overall class usually just involved meticulously going over the reading. Gittleman places a lot of emphasis on the importance of having a well balanced education, staying on top of current events, etc, but in his actual class I did not feel challenged or even expected to use my brain.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2425
Submitted: 2007-03-14
Dale Peterson | English 101 expository writing | English

Review:
Don't take his 8am class. Seriously, do not. He's an ok guy, very boring, VERY VERY meticulous. essays need to be incredibly clear and by-the-book structured for him to understand.
the newsweek subscription is cool, but the other readings are pretty painful.
really not TOO bad, but difficult at 8 in the morning, and i personally disagreed with his ideal writing standards.

it might also be that english 1 is a really dumb, dry unexciting course.

Workload:
not much. drafts of papers due once every other week, the final due the following class.
i think every other week. maybe occaisionally every week.

and a couple of really awful excerpts to read once a week.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2427
Submitted: 2007-03-14
Dora Older | Sp 003 Intermediate Spanish | Spanish

Review:
Dora really is fantastic. She came into our 8:30 class every class singining and dancing to the spanish music she blased from her little stereo and offering us chocolates from her little plate of candies.
She was a really excellent teacher too, and I feel that conversationally, my spanish improved greatly.
She does have some weird mood swings where she gets a little angry or grumpy, but overall she's really wonderful.

Workload:
same as what's been said before. definitely manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2416
Submitted: 2007-03-12
James Glaser | PS 11 - Intro to American Politics | Political Science

Review:
I really liked sitting in on lecture. He clearly knows what he's talking about and goes in-depth on his topics. I rarely left class confused. I felt like recitation was a waste of time, especially since my TA barely knew that I was in his section, let alone my name. We never talked about anything relevant to the past week, although I've heard that was unique to my TA. The tests, were absolutely insane. He never tested your knowledge of theories in the American political system, but tested how closely you listened to him talk and how detailed your memory is of your readings. Identifications, for example, were vague in terms of what he wanted. It was also entirely possible to zone out for five seconds and miss the word he said which later appeared as an identification. While taking the class I was eager to take another class with him, but I never want to take a test of his ever again.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading which seemed like too much for the point he wanted to get across, like a 350 page book to show how easy it is for a bill to never become a law.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 2406
Submitted: 2007-03-10
Elizabeth Lemons | philosophy of religion | Comparative Religion

Review:
Professor Lemons knows her stuff. She does come off as a bit nervous but she is excellent at answering questions and clearing up complicated readings. She is very understanding and nice as well. She doesn't really let you disagree with the readings however. Instead she tends to explain it away. But I think she does this because the readings are so subjective, the theories can't really be proven/disproven anyway. She tries to sway away from opinion and focus on understanding the material.

Workload:
Very light amount of work. Readings can be difficult sometimes. 10-20 pages per assignment. 2 5-page papers. easy midterm. haven't taken the final yet.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2395
Submitted: 2007-03-07
Eglal Henein | FR031 - French Literature I | French

Review:
Eglal's course teaches you a lot, and it's really entertaining; however, as has probably been indicated by the other reviewers, it's hard. Don't shy away, though: If you think you couldn't possibly care less about French literature and history, you'll be surprised by how amazingly fun this course is. I wouldn't call her a harsh grader; it's just that she gives you fairly difficult tasks to accomplish. She speaks quickly, but you probably won't have trouble understanding her. In fact, I wish my other French teachers spoke as quickly as she did.

Where Eglal is really awesome is in how much she cares about you, because she really does. She may throw a boatload of corrections onto your essay, but she'll explain every single one of them to you if you meet with her. (Actually, she requires everyone to meet with her for the first essay.) She invites everyone to her house near the end of the semester to play a game, talk and have dinner, which is really fun. She puts a lot of effort into her Blackboard site, which includes a hell of a lot of useful information. I definitely recommend her class.

Workload:
The work in this class is fairly solid and enjoyable if you take the time to do the reading with a French-English dictionary so that you understand it. (She says not to use a dictionary while you're reading, but... yeah. I also advise getting good at flipping through your dictionary quickly so that the reading isn't intolerably slow.) That being said, though, it's definitely a considerable amount of work. Four essays (which I think for us turned into three essays); no midterm!!! Two required oral presentations, which is a GOOD thing. If you took AP English in high school, it definitely helps; e.g. if you have experience in analyzing English literature then you'll probably be at an advantage here. Oh, and all the essays required you to go to the media lab and watch a film version of whatever you were reading, in order for you to be able to compare the two in your writing. Warning: All the movies suck. I should probably finish by mentioning that she highly recommended research on her essays, meaning that you better do it. The research isn't that bad either (although you may have trouble finding stuff): French literary criticism does not require you to learn new complicated vocabulary words; au contraire, it's actually pretty clear. Okay, one more thing: Make sure to learn the French essay form that she uses (e.g. ask question at end of introduction, state thesis at beginning of conclusion...).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 2392
Submitted: 2007-03-06
James Ennis | SOC 101--Quantitative Methods in Sociology | Sociology

Review:
Prof. Ennis really made an effort to make sure that we understood what was going on. He was always eager to answer questions and present material in different ways, and the cd-rom (which was interactive, in place of a book) was VERY helpful in figuring out the homework. I also liked going over the homework every day so that we knew how we were doing. I learned a lot in this class.

Workload:
The homework was at an even keel and usually about 1 hour per class (so 2 hours per week). It consisted of "reading" a chapter on the cd-rom and then doing a few problems. The tests were all very fair and he NEVER made you memorize all of the formulas--the point was to make sense of data rather than show your memorization skills.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 2393
Submitted: 2007-03-06
Jay Cantor | ENG 12--Advanced Fiction (Creative Writing) | English

Review:
He seemed pretty concerned with our progress in writing fiction to be published, but he has been very difficult to get in touch with outside of class. He definitely encourages discussion and classroom involvement, but I think students tended to follow his suggestions rather than come up with their own opinions. I just wish he had had more to say about each story.

Workload:
You're supposed to write 30 pages, whether in 3 10-page stories or 2 15-page stories or whatever. The general expectation is that you write two or three pieces for the class. They should be good, though--not the two-page crap you can get away with in beginning fiction classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2384
Submitted: 2007-03-04
Yaacov Shapira | PHY012 - General Physics II | Physics

Review:
Shapira tends to get mixed reviews, but I found him to be generally a good professor. His lectures are from his note sheets which he places on the projector and follows, though he also has older notes posted online. He checks constantly with the students to make sure that they "get it", in a fashion that seems almost too persistent, though if you're honest and tell him that you're having issues, he'll explain the matter further. I went to his office for extra help, and he was generally friendly and good at explaining concepts I had difficulty with. The one downside is that his office hours are difficult to attend all the way in Sci Tech, so it is better to email or call ahead.

The course was similar to physics 11, same book, two midterms and a final. Tipler is a good book, providing plenty of graphics and a helpful summary at the end of each chapter. The midterms are moderately difficult, usually with one question to "show who the top students are" and the other questions being reasonably predictable. Medians tend to range between mid 60s to mid 70s and get curved to a B-. Overall, the course was interesting, Shapira definitely knows what he's talking about even if the course occasionally gets a little boring, but that's the same with most physics courses some time in the morning. Generally, it was a good experience.

Workload:
One problem set every week, helpful to do and generally well explained as long as you get a good recitation leader. It should be noted that while Mann doesn't appear to have great class reviews, he's a great recitation leader because of his curt style and mathematical approach, plus he goes over the key formulas at the beginning of the recitation. The homeworks are not as hard as those in physics 11, and the midterms and final were ok, as mentioned above.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2359
Submitted: 2007-02-25
Deborah Lewittes | FAH 009203 | History of Art

Review:
Interesting material, boring and sort of uptight cutesy high-pitched delivery. Seemed angry or threatened by the people in the class at tiems. A bit scared, conservative or quiet and mousy instead of passionate. On the plus side, she graded very fair I thought. And we learned a great deal through the reading assignments. If you are looking for a dynamic or hip professor or department eye candy pass on this one but not bad for getting the material into your brain. You will definitely learn alot.

Workload:
Yes but good stuff so it was worthwhile


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 2351
Submitted: 2007-02-24
Gerard Gasarian | FR169: Les Poetes Maudits | French

Review:
Hands down best professor at Tufts. Prof Gasarian is enthusiatic about what he teaches, makes hilarious jokes in class that lightens up the tension for non native french speakers and promotes class discussion to include all levels. I make a point never to miss class because it is actuallly interesting and he is a great teacher.

Workload:
Pretty realistic about expectations, takes different students level into account when grading. Love him.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2346
Submitted: 2007-02-22
Rabbi Jeffrey Summit | Intro to Talmud | American Studies

Review:
I stumbled upon this website and noticed the existing reviews of Rabbi Summit's course - a course I took 20 years ago. I'm glad to see he's still teaching this class. It remains one of the most memorable classes from my days at Tufts.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2330
Submitted: 2007-02-19
joe hurka | creative writing | English

Review:
Joe Hurka was one of the best professors I have ever had. He inspired me as a writer and a person. If you have the opportunity to take a class with this man, go for it. Learn while he is there...

Workload:
Assignments were always straight forward and Professor Hurka was fair, fair, fair. Reading assignments were GREAT and actually discussed in class. EXCELLENT CLASS!!!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2327
Submitted: 2007-02-18
Jeffrey Zabel | EC201 - Advanced Statistics | Economics

Review:
Professor Zabel doesn't seem to like teaching and he isn't good at it. He discourages questions and seems to relish demoralizing his students.

Worse still, he does little more than read his powerpoint in class, so there is little point in going. It is boring, even painful to sit through.

Workload:
The workload was excessive. Especially early in the course, Zabel raced through the material at a breakneck pace. He claimed that if we wanted he would slow down, but when people expressed discontent with the pace, he deliberately (it seemed to me) sped up.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2318
Submitted: 2007-02-16
Chih Ming Tan | EC 0035 | Economics

Review:
Let's just get this out there:

He's a really hard grader.

But other than that, his lectures were interesting and real-life stories amusing, he knows a lot about development economics, and he's always available outside of class and through emails. He really cares about students' progress and is really helpful during office hours. There seems to be a lot more math in this class than in the other EC35 sections taught by other professors, but it's stuff you will see again in other courses and especially in econ papers, so it's good to learn it ahead. Overall, you do learn a lot in this class; I know I have more to say about development economics than my friends who took the other sections (they openly admit they didn't learn much).

If you have to take EC35 and want your time and money's worth, take Chih Ming's class. It's difficult, but think of it as a solid foundation for your econ studies.

Workload:
Quite a few homework and reading assignments, midterm, final, a group project with a 25-page research paper and class presentation. You can get by without doing the reading, but the book helps a lot, especially if you can't quite grasp the concepts and models immediately after lecture.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2320
Submitted: 2007-02-16
Emma Blake | ARCH 0027 | Archaeology

Review:
Professor Blake is amazing! She lectures very well, and has organized term sheets and powerpoints for every class, which contain images of all the material you need to know. There's a lot of stuff to learn, but she makes it easy to understand, very interesting, and often relates it to the present, showing students that archaeology is NOT a boring, obsolete field of study. She's very enthusiastic about the subject and has been involved in some pretty significant digs - she definitely knows what she's talking about.

Workload:
-3 short responses to assigned website material (you have MANY options throughout the semester so you can respond to the three sets of material that interest you the most)
-2 midterms
-1 final
-MFA trip led by the TA's

You can do very well in the class without doing the reading, but seeing the images over and over in the books helps you remember them for exams. The extra material in the books will also help you with the long essay portions of the exams. The exams are heavily based on lectures and sometimes the questions are very specific, so you have to make sure you're listening in class.

The workload is very manageable. Just make sure you pay attention in class and go over the term sheets before exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2321
Submitted: 2007-02-16
John Ridge | GEO 002 | Geology

Review:
"Jack" is great professor who always has complete notes up on the board before class and a crazy amount of pictures from sites he has actually been to. His lectures can be a bit boring sometimes and the long powerpoint presentations (and dimmed lights) can put you to sleep, but the occasional stories about fording frozen rivers, dirty tap water, etc. are amusing and a lot of the material is actually fascinating - just maybe not so early in the morning. You can tell he loves geology - you can see it the complicated and awesome models of geological stuff that he constructs himself for the labs!

Workload:
-No real homework - if there is any, it isn't collected.
-Readings, which can be avoided.
-Labs, which are ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY. It's mostly playing around with those crazy lab models Jack makes and then answering questions from the lab guide. The last three labs are field trips to surrounding areas of geological interest: Newton, a marsh, and uh, the middle of nowhere, if I remember correctly.
-A couple of midterms and a final


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 2314
Submitted: 2007-02-15
Leslie Lawrence | ENG002Q | English

Review:
I will start by asking whoever reads this to reconsider Professor Lawrence as an unbelievable professor, especially after reading some of the other reviews posted on this site. In order to teach a class entitled "Differences," a professor should be willing to share some of her own experiences in order to promote conversation among students in the class. I cannot stress enough how much I learned from Professor Lawrence's personal stories. There was not a single class during which I was bored or unengaged. I can honestly say that in comparison with other English classes I have taken, Differences is undoubtedly one of the best. The reading material is well-chosen, the professor is appropriate for the subject matter she teaches, and the opportunities to improve writing are extremely valuable.

Workload:
There is not much assigned reading, but there are several papers scattered throughout the semester that require some time. Also, Professor Lawrence requires that her students meet with her outside the classroom to discuss written work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2304
Submitted: 2007-02-12
Hazel Bright | ENG001-EXPOSITORY WRITING | American Studies

Review:
I couldn't disagree more with the previous statement about Professor Bright. Sure, if you can't write by the time you are in college, NO ONE will ever be able to teach you!!! Expository writing is not an exciting class by its nature, it's usually a requirement that we all have to take. But Hazel Bright is a sweetheart, a wonderful caring person and a great teacher. Frankly speaking, if there was anything embarrassing during the class, it was dullness and apathetic expression on the faces of some of the students who simply unable to get excited about anything at all...

Workload:
Simply a one-page essay once ina while, nothing deadly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2287
Submitted: 2007-02-08
Shaomei Wang | Elementary Chinese 1 | Chinese

Review:
An excellent professor- I've never had an easier time learning a language. She makes good use of the class time (although some students might complain about the time spent on dialogues between students, if you actually use the time to perform the dialogues it is very helpful) and gladly takes the time to answer any questions students have. She tends to respond to the energy of the students in the class as a whole- if the students are enthusiastic about learning the language, she will be enthusiastic about teaching it. Overall an excellent professor with a desire to teach and a good sense of humor, very nice, and very pleasant to learn from.

Workload:
Assignments generally remained consistent with the lesson plans the other chinese classes follow. I reccomend doing the work for each lesson the night you have had the class to help solidify the new material, and definitely preview the readings/dialogues before each class. Tests come about every three chapters in the book, the midterm and final are not cumulative, one oral presentation.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2289
Submitted: 2007-02-08
Michael Ullman | Music 12 History of the Blues | Music

Review:
The class, while not necessarily guaged for music majors, is definitely best suited for people with an authentic interest in the blues. The class picks up in the 1900's with the roots of the blues (in my opinion spending too much time here) and moves through the 20's into the Chicago/Electric era. Professor Ullman is extremely knowledgeable on the subject, he has met and interviewed many of the artists you become familiar with personally. However, even as a longtime fan of the blues, I often found it difficult to pay attention in class. The professor comes prepared with only his notes and stories, and sometimes it is difficult to remain interested through an hour and fifteen minute period of listening to him talk.

Workload:
No homework, grade is based on two papers, the midterm and the final. The papers are relatively straightforward and easy (you get to write your own blues lyrics in one) but the tests are a little absurd. Students are expected to be able to identify the title, artist, and recording date of seventy songs, perhaps ten of which the Professor plays for you during a test. The other sections of the test ask you to talk about certain songs or artists, or themes that appear in the books (there were three, I read through about one and a half).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2284
Submitted: 2007-02-07
Gerard Gasarian | FR 32/192 - Readings on Nature in French Literature | French

Review:
I took this course in Talloires in the summer of 2006, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best courses I've taken at Tufts. Professor Gasarian makes class extremely enjoyable and provides excellent and interesting commentary on French literature and poetry, while also encouraging class discussion. The readings all deal with nature in some way, yet are varied and unique, and Professor Gasarian's compelling insights serve to even further illuminate and connect them. The setting of Talloires made the course truly one-of-a-kind -- where else could you read Rousseau and then walk through the very gardens he wrote about and see the house which inspired him? The French Alps (which are breathtaking, and are reason enough to go to Talloires!) are the perfect environment in which to take this course, and they make taking the class a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I would encourage anyone considering going to Talloires to take this course!

Workload:
Professor Gasarian's workload for this class is extremely reasonable. Taken into account were low-stress oral reports (basically just one's own commentary/insight and questions about any passage of one's choice), three short papers which responded to the readings and were graded very fairly, and class participation. We read excerpts from Rousseau's "Confessions" and "Reveries" and selected other writers, such as Hugo and Nerval, as well as an assortment of French poetry. Professor Gasarian's easygoing and amicable manner serves to make classtime enjoyable and interesting, never stressful or high-pressure.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 2282
Submitted: 2007-02-06
Joanne Phillips | CLS146 - The History of Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine | Classics

Review:
A really great professor, very acomplished, very helpful. Most people found this class difficult, although i'm not sure why.

Workload:
The reading is interesting and not very long, the tests are directly from class notes and reading, very straightforward. She tells you whats going to be on the tests so you really shouldn't have an issue if you give it a good try. Come to class, cram the night before and you'll be fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2278
Submitted: 2007-01-30
Christine Cousineau | UEP 205 | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
The class was pretty good overall. The readings were excellent ? they gave a great overview of planning history (especially valuable for the 1st year UEPers). Lectures were great as well ? Christine is a well of knowledge. One flaw she has is that she does not have a great concept of time, so several times her lectures had to be stopped mid-way through because we ran out of time.

There were 5 assignments total in the class ? a map of a childhood place and an essay about 40B (creative assignments), the issues map (a map with issues specific to a place assigned to us), 40B hands-on project, and the final and most time-consuming final project where we were broken up into teams and were assigned a real place in the surrounding areas (we had to come with a design of that place, budget consideration aside). There was also a required tour of Boston (Saturday), and a voluntary tour to a developer?s site of a 40B development. There were times when we felt that we were lacking directions, but overall I feel like I got a lot of out of the class ? readings, lectures, and work in teams had enhanced the experience. For the final project, all teams learned a SketchUp graphic program to showcase their site plans ? so there is a graphic component to it (this was self-motivated, as Christine did not teach us how to do it).

Overall ? come open minded, be ready to work in groups, and be flexible. Then you?ll enjoy the class.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Urban & Environmental Policy


Review ID: 2279
Submitted: 2007-01-30
Michael Goldman | PS079 - 2006 Campaigns and Elections | Political Science

Review:
This was the most unconventional class I've ever taken. Professor Goldman gave lectures for half of the class, and then we watched a film in the other half. His lectures typically went off-topic, but he was always very entertaining. His books and movies were fascinating, and the paper (about a race we had to follow) was interesting. His knowledge and connections are really impressive, and I would definitely recommend taking one class with him before you graduate.

Workload:
Reading was usually a book per week, but they were interesting. The midterm was a report about our political races, and were graded pretty easily. The final was a bit bizarre, containing a broad range of questions, but was completely doable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2277
Submitted: 2007-01-29
David Proctor | Cls 85--Byzantines and their World | Classics

Review:
I just read one review on here for this course and I don't know what course or professor the person was talking about because it was certainly not my experience.

The course covered a huge amount of information but Proctor's lectures were organized and easy to follow. The readings, while heavy at times, were well connected to the lectures. However, I found that the lectures often addressed subjects in more depth or with a different perspective than the readings.

He would stop and answer questions, the only problem being that many of the questions were just plain stupid and totally unrelated to the course. However, to his credit, Proctor would answer them before moving on with his lecture.

Proctor was always available outside of class

Workload:
3 papers around 5 to 8 pages each, a midterm and a final. For each exam Proctor held many, many reviews sessions (I think for the final there were 6!) to try and make it easy for us to attend. In the reviews, he cut down the list of terms to study quite a bit.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2275
Submitted: 2007-01-27
Peter Der Manuelian | CLS83-Voices from the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Literature in Translation | Classics

Review:
The professor was an authority of the subject matter. His enthusiasm made it interesting and even a pleasure to come to class. The readings were pleasant except for the non-literature reading (support texts) which were quite dry.

His concern for students is unprecedented and while a part-time at Tufts, he is always accessible via email at anytime (he'll respond within 2 hours tops)

Workload:
Average, to below average (30-50 pages per week). A midterm, final and 10-15 term paper. Class participation counts for a lot.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2276
Submitted: 2007-01-27
Michael Goldman | PS 112-Media, Politics and the Law | Political Science

Review:
The BEST professor I have had in my college years-HANDS DOWN! His class is more about analytical thinking and how to understand American politics: it's history, culture and gives you an unprecendented perspective on how to look at America and it's role.

It was a 3-hour seminar, but the time ALWAYS flew by!

Workload:
Extremley challenging. On average, one book per week in addition to supplemental articles and readings. However, the books are always best-sellers and are interesting to read. This class is not your conventional class at all!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2269
Submitted: 2007-01-24
David Proctor | CLS85 - Byzantines and Their World | Classics

Review:
Professor Proctor is an amazing guy, and he is also my advisor. This course, while in the end a bit rushed due to the time constraints and an 1100 year history, was great. I learned more in this course than I ever have, and although there was a lot of reading, almost all of it was interesting, and Proctor's tests, while quite long, were very manageable. He was always willing to sit down and chat about any topic, and would answer any question asked to the best of his ability. The course went over a LOT of different points in history, and although it wasn't perfectly seamless due to it being the first time he taught it, he did a very good job of covering the main points and giving very interesting little anecdotes.

Workload:
There were three papers (3-4, 4-5, 5-7pgs respectively), a midterm, and a final, all of which were very straightforward and manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 2270
Submitted: 2007-01-24
Virginia Jackson | ENG 0023 Continuity of American Literature | English

Review:
Big on class discussion. She can often spark lively debate although at other times can hit dead ends. Despite this, she's an amazing professor, good at breathing life into boring books. Highly intelligent when it comes to her field (19th century poetry). Generally what some people might think of when they think of a college English professor - intelligent, verbose, classy but still down to earth, polite but somewhat reserved.

Workload:
Two papers were the only graded assignments as far as I remember, and I'm pretty sure that's how she likes it in any class she teaches (I took another with her and it was a similar grading structure.) Class participation is probably about half your grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2264
Submitted: 2007-01-22
James Watson | SPN021 - Composition and Conversation I | Spanish

Review:
Watson is a fairly relaxed professor who does take participation very seriously. He calls on his favorites far more often in class and generally settles on your grade for the semester in the first few weeks. Watson, though well-meaning and laid back about deadlines, seems to care much more about coaching tennis than teaching Spanish. He usually jotted out the worksheets for that day in class on his way from the tennis courts up to Olin. He's sort of elderly and does like to make cheesy jokes and pretend he understands Facebook and Beirut (you feel kind of obligated to laugh). If you happen to be one of his favorites, it will be a light semester. If not...

Workload:
The workload was manageable, though the "Noticias" were a big pain. Otherwise, not a very difficult class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2265
Submitted: 2007-01-22
David Proctor | CLS085- The Byzantines & Their World | Classics

Review:
This was the first semester this class was offered and it needs a lot of work. Squeezing 1100 years of history and 88 emperors into 15 weeks was a bit overwhelming. Proctor is clearly passionate about the subject, and he is very approachable outside of class and eager to help. Unfortunately, he is a terrible lecturer. He reads all of his lectures (the few times he posted his lecture notes online, you could see pretty much his exact words from class).

If you do the reading, the class will just be a repetition of what you've read, but it can be helpful when trying to keep the endless numbers of Michaels and Justinians and Constantines straight. While I'm sure knowing about the Byzantines provides a strong basis of understanding for Eurasia, it was hard to see any future use for any of the knowledge from the course. Proctor's lecture style made it almost impossible to ask questions. It was not an interactive class in any way and it was hard to keep my eyelids open.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading, but I did all of it and never ending up using most of the things I studied. Proctor made studying in advance nearly impossible because he initially handed out an insanely large list to study from and didn't narrow it down all the way until a few days before the midterm and the final. The only actual assignments were a handful of essays. Not too many grades to fill out the semester, but Proctor is a meticulously fair grader (he reads each test three times, all the way through). The exams were physically and mentally painful--my arm ached after writing four essays in three hours. You don't need to study a lot, you just need to learn how to study to fit Proctor's test style.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2266
Submitted: 2007-01-22
Hugh K. Long | DR010 - Introduction to Acting | Drama

Review:
This class was so much fun. It was a very small group and we got very close over the course of the semester. It was a great way to meet people and stretch yourself a little. Hugh was very supportive and worked well with even the most difficult members of the class. It was by far my favorite class of the semester. We played games and performed scenes and monologues. My only suggestion is to make sure you choose your scene partner wisely for your final scene (it's really difficult if one person doesn't care).

Though being in such a small class meant getting stuck in certain roles within the class, it was nice to get to know classmates so well. The stage combat workshop was immensely fun and it was cool to go see plays together outside of class.

Workload:
The workload was light. We had to write a couple of paragraphs in a journal after each class, but if you kept up, that was really easy. There were a handful of easy essays--reviews, characters analysis type stuff. No tests, just monologues and scenes. Very easy to manage!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2268
Submitted: 2007-01-22
Robert Jampel | PSY012 - ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | Psychology

Review:
This class was interesting and Jampel worked hard to make the 3 hour lecture class somewhat interactive and bearable. It was still difficult to get out of bed for a 3 hour class at 8:30 in the morning, but it was definitely worth making it in. He's very technologically disabled, but video clips made the time go faster.

Jampel is a practicing clinical psychologist and is currently working 40 hours a week in an in-patient hospital in Boston. Although he seems like he has a lot of psychiatric issues he may be working through himself, he is holding it together for now. He shares funny stories from the hospital and is able to incorporate real-life anecdotes and examples of patients' responses to psychiatric tests. This is a great class for building on a basic understanding of psychiatric issues.

Workload:
The only two grades in the class were the midterm and the final. Very tricky if you don't test well, but Jampel is only a part-time professor and very apologetic about not being able to cushion grades any more. The reading could feel long and it was important not to fall behind, but it was mostly interesting enough to make it worth while.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2258
Submitted: 2007-01-21
Jeffrey Summit | JS096 - Introduction to the Talmud | Comparative Religion

Review:
Rabbi Summit's enthusiasm made the learning of the Talmud exciting and interesting. The small class size permitted intimate discussion of the material. Rabbi Summit nurtured an environment tolerant of alternative views. He encouraged class participation and was always concerned with students progress. The two major papers forced the class to use the Talmud to argue intellectually about moral issues. Interesting assignments.

Workload:
The workload was light. There were reading assignments due each class, but they were not time-consuming. Major coursework included: one 3-page paper, one 10-page paper and a take-home final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2259
Submitted: 2007-01-21
Vincent Manno | ES 8 - Fluid Mechanics | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
Prof. Manno is a very nice and compassionate professor but not very good at actually teaching. I suppose he?s better for teaching grad students, as he likes to guide you through your studies, but expects you to do most of the learning on your own. His classes usually consist of him outlining the material to be learned.

Workload:
Homework is excessively long and hard. Tests are challenging.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2260
Submitted: 2007-01-21
Anil Saigal | ME 25 - Materials | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
Prof. Saigal is a brilliant man who is too aloof to be a good professor. Though his comments are often humorous, he teaches the class as though no one is in the room. He makes no effort to even learn his students? names. The class is of average difficulty, though it can be confusing at times, and what?s worse is that he threatens that you cannot confuse topics, because that would indicate that you don?t understand anything.

Workload:
Homework is often disconnected from what is asked on exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2261
Submitted: 2007-01-21
Gary Leisk | ME 41 - Machine Design I | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
Prof. Leisk is an okay guy but this class is not his area of expertise. He therefore has to rely heavily on his notes and often makes mistakes in trying to explain things off-the-cuff. The subject matter is as boring as it gets and I didn?t think the book was particularly well-written.

Workload:
Homework is challenging though fairly representative of what?s expected of you on the exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2262
Submitted: 2007-01-21
Loring Tu | Math 135 - Real Analysis I | Mathematics

Review:
Prof. Tu made this class slightly more frustrating than it should have been (in my humble opinion). I had Prof. Tu for Math 13 and loved him, but really didn?t like him for Math 135, partly because I hated the subject matter of the course. I wish he would have just presented the material, as boring as it was, but he instead (with nothing but the best of intentions) wanted lots of class participation, which was scarcely available, and often ended up wasting class time, leaving too many things to be learned independently outside of class.

Workload:
Homework is very hard but tests are fair, as I have found to be typical of the math department.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2263
Submitted: 2007-01-21
Bruce Boghosian | Math 151 - Partial Differential Equations | Mathematics

Review:
Prof. Boghosian is a wonderful professor and a brilliant man but Math 151 is ridiculously difficult. He teaches well, but the subject matter is very abstract at times and requires a lot of work to understand at all. Overall, this is a great class if you?re good at math and willing to put the time and effort into it.

Workload:
The homework was terribly long, complicated, and difficult. Some proofs involved ridiculous amounts of repetitive busy work. The tests were hard but fair


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2252
Submitted: 2007-01-20
David Art | PS21 - Introduction to Comparative Politics | Political Science

Review:
Great professor, great class. It is a large lecture but Professor Art tries to create discussion as much as possible. He is very friendly and always willing to help. The readings were well-chosen.

Workload:
Lots of reading and two books for the semester, but only one paper and midterm. Very manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2253
Submitted: 2007-01-20
Benjamin Carp | HIST 088 -EARLY AMERICA | History

Review:
Prof. Carp is a young guy and relatively new to teaching, but he knows his stuff as well as anyone who welcomes questions and takes them seriously. He may not become your superhero, but he is quite good.

Workload:
This class' workload was copious and fair, par for a history course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2255
Submitted: 2007-01-20
Howard Malchow | HIST 014 - RACE AND NATIONALISM IN MODERN EUROPE | History

Review:
Strange that there seem to be no reviews of Prof. Malchow on this site; he's been around for years and years. A friendly and somewhat eccentric guy, with a well-informed if somewhat dry lecturing style. This course can broaden one's take on European mindsets for those not too well acquainted with them, and is a solid class, but somewhat overbroad.

Workload:
Drops off drastically shortly after halfway through. After being a substantial workload for several weeks, along with a fairly time-consuming final paper, there's a calm period of time. Prof. Malchow plans ahead-- if at the beginning of the semester the syllabus says no reading, no reading.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2256
Submitted: 2007-01-20
Julia Genster | ENG 050 SHAKESPEARE I | English

Review:
Prof Genster is a woman of great energy, tremendous memory for minutiae and a genial, eager-to-please demeanor. Some of the things she chooses to cover can get deadly dull, and she hardly ever challenges quiet people to speak up for once, but there are worse ways to spend one's time then on this course. The prof knows the books backwards and forwards, and proves it.

Workload:
Considering these are Shakespeare plays, the 2-2.5/1 week/play ratio is somewhat light. But this only applies to this particular course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2257
Submitted: 2007-01-20
Julia Genster | ENG 0032 - EPIC STRAIN | English

Review:
Prof is something of a walking encyclopedia, and will bend over backwards to help clarify something. You will come away from this course with a perhaps slightly too thorough grasp of the material.

Workload:
Make sure you fill up at mealtimes, because you'll need the energy to plow through the often-as-not long, trying texts. The other 50%, however, is a thrilling pleasure-- but still long.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2251
Submitted: 2007-01-19
Margaret Sadock | Phil0001-E Intro To Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
Professor Sadock is very good at making some difficult philosophical concepts (arguments for the existence of God, free will vs. determinism, the existence of the external world, etc.) accessible to students new to philosophy (so long as they pay attention). If I didn't understand Descartes after reading some of his meditations, she would make his opinions. The class is discussion-based but the professor does give short lectures/explanations of texts that are not terribly exciting but are interesting for those already excited about the subject. She makes herself available to her students during office hours; I went to see her once and it really helped me with the paper I was writing. If you're considering her class, just know that while she may not be the professor to make you love philosophy, she will be the one to make you undersand it.

Workload:
The workload was 4 short papers (about 4 pages) and a longer paper (around 6-7 pages). This averages out to about a paper every other week with a couple exceptions (the first paper you turn in as a draft, then have a week to correct it before it is graded). Topics are all intriguing and deal with the reading, which is not a large amount but does require some time to attempt to comprehend it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2246
Submitted: 2007-01-18
Astier Almedom | BIO189- Social Capital and Mental Health | Biology

Review:
Honestly, I'm inclined to think that any negative reviews of Prof. Almedom, her teaching style, or her seminars is more of a reflection on her reviewer than it is on Prof. Almedom herself. She is an extremely intelligent, engaged researcher who insists that students engage and consider class material themselves, instead of having it handed to them. She very much encourages students to critically examine the information presented in class, and come to their own conclusions.

Very rarely will you find a professor that interacts with their students on such an equal level. Such a teaching method does require an intellectually curious, interested student who is capable of independent analysis, but Prof. Almedom makes herself readily available to students with questions.

I very much appreciated this class for the interesting subject material, Prof. Almedom's incredible knowledge, and the egalitarian way the seminar was conducted.

Furthermore, Prof. Almedom was extremely fair in regards to grading.

Don't be intimidated! This is a GREAT class with a GREAT professor. You just need to be a motivated student to get something out of it!

Workload:
Definately not an overwhelming amount of work. A fair amount of reading each week, with weekly discussions of material. One literature review update at the beginning of the semester (simply a chance to explore potential paper topics), and a 1500 word paper at the end of the term.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2237
Submitted: 2007-01-16
Pearl Robinson | PS129 - African Politics | Political Science

Review:
Professor Robinson is incredibly enthusiastic about the material, and exudes that passion in class. She's very engaging, and the books are interesting. However, she is VERY disorganized. One day, she came to class, and was surprised to learn that she had to give a lecture that day. (She thought there were student presentations) So, we had to wait fifteen minutes while she went back to her office, and got a lecture which had nothing to do with anything we were covering. Her lecture notes, which she posts on Blackboard and are important for the test, are also difficult to follow and understand. In addition, she's a difficult grader, and assigns a great deal of work. While the material is interesting, this class should be avoided.

Workload:
She assigned eight books for the semester, which is above average for a political science course, but she also assigns assignments on Blackboard and presentations that don't count for anything. The grade is composed of a midterm, final, and two-part paper, (each worth 33%) and they are all graded harshly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2233
Submitted: 2007-01-15
Peggy Hutaff | Intro to Hebrew Bible | Comparative Religion

Review:
One of the best classes I have ever taken. Peggy is the best! She has always time for you, makes sure you are not falling behind. And if you do, she gives you time to catch up. Don't think twice about this class.

Workload:
Enormous amount of readings. But all is very interesting. Be ready to be challenged on your views. :) Possibly some minor papers/quizes, midterm and final. But you will be fine if you do the readings.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Comparative Religion


Review ID: 2234
Submitted: 2007-01-15
Valerie Anishchenkova | ARB 0003 | Arabic

Review:
The first thing you should know about Valerie is that she is the most challenging and harshest teacher I have had at Tufts. If you are not serious about learning Arabic then you should not be in her class, period. Take a moment and seriously ask yourself how devoted you are to the Arabic language before signing up for Valerie's section--if you're just in it for fun or because you think the language is kind of cool, then take another section.

That said, if you do fit the criteria, you will probably find Valerie to be a wonderful teacher. Her actual teaching is superb, and she works hard to make sure her students learn and understand the difficult grammar and extensive vocabularly. Please note: Valerie will be on top of you for every little mistake you make, whether that is forgetting a difficult vocab word you learned a year ago or missing a random homework assignment she assigned by email the night before. She is a good teacher, but not for the faint of heart.

Workload:
If you thought Arabic 2 homework assignments took a long time, be prepared for a significant (but not dramatic) increase here. As the grammar gets even harder and the vocabularly grows (almost exponentially!), it takes more time to complete and understand the assignments. The amount of time I devoted to Arabic 3 is easily several times the amount of time my friends work on their Spanish--and I was only shooting for a B!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2232
Submitted: 2007-01-12
Sarah Pinto | Anthro 148 - Medical Anthropology | Anthropology

Review:
Professor Pinto's lectures can be boring, and I have to admit I left the first few classes having no idea what the point was. However as the semester went on the lectures became clearer and more interesting ...she encouraged more discussion, showed documentaries, and just talked about more concrete examples. She's really passionate about the material and makes herself available for any questions. Pay attention to key phrases/ideas she uses over and over again in lectures and mention them in your papers. Overall not a difficult class, worth it.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading assigned, but you can get away with not reading it all. There were two short papers that you required to go over with a writing fellow (which really helped), one response paper due whenever you want during the semester, and a really short final paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 2225
Submitted: 2007-01-08
Shaomei Wang | CHNS003 | Chinese

Review:
Almost every class includes at least one partner dialogue that you present to the class--these dialogues are more useless than helpful. She is a mediocre teacher, and you kind of end up teaching yourself. She also ineffectively tries to scare you into studying more. If possible, I would try to avoid her again, but she is tolerable.

Workload:
I liked her "lesson plans" that divide up the homework assignments. Fortunately, she cuts out the completely pointless exercises, so the workbook assignments are not too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2226
Submitted: 2007-01-08
Keith Maddox | PSY013 - Social Psychology | Psychology

Review:
He is very enthusiastic. Even though the class is fairly large, he encourages class involvement and listens to alternative ideas. I learned so many interesting principles that really apply to everyday life. I liked this professor and this class so much that I asked him to be my advisor, as did many other students. I plan to take more classes with him in the future.

Workload:
Two chapters and a journal entry a week, but these are actually interesting. Also, you can get by with cramming, so the workload really isn't bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2228
Submitted: 2007-01-08
Christina Sharpe | ENG151 - American Women Writers | English

Review:
The title of the course is a total misnomer--Prof. Sharpe is more passionate about issues of race than anything else. In the small class setting, discussions were based on class involvement, but she always steered them towards race. The books are fantastic, but Prof. Sharpe ruins them with her narrow perspective.

Workload:
Reading one book a week can get heavy, so don't procrastinate. Your grade is based on only two papers, and after the first one, you'll realize what a hard grader she is. The first paper is five to seven pages long, and then the second one is fifteen pages, so you'll have to work extremely hard to bring up your grade on the second one.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2220
Submitted: 2007-01-07
Judith Stafford | Comp 11 | Computer Science

Review:
Awesome professor. Very nice. Had a lot of professionals come in and talk. One of the most influential professors I have had. Great class.

Workload:
Very manageable


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2222
Submitted: 2007-01-07
Aida Belansky | SPN003- Intermediate Spanish 1 | Spanish

Review:
Sra. Belamsky is a little absentminded at times, but overall I think she's a good teacher. She cares a lot about all of her students and is very understanding. She is also very enthusiastic about whatever she is teaching. She really pushes the students to talk a lot in class, which really helped me improve my Spanish speaking skills. She's definitely not the best teacher ever, but she's definitely not bad to have.

Workload:
A few exercises a night in the book-- it will take you like 5 minutes an exercise. And if you study for the tests, they really aren't bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2223
Submitted: 2007-01-07
Linda Bamber | ENG165 - Perspectives on American Poetry | English

Review:
Prof. Bamber was a great professor for this course. It is focused on Buddhist philosophy and practice and how these ideas are incorporated into contemporary poetic works.

I felt that she did a great job of explaining the basic ideals of Buddhism to the class in an enlightening and practical way, focusing on about five main points and sticking with them for the semester, rather than treating the course like it was "Intro. to Buddhism" or something.

Bamber's concern with students' progress is huge, and she gives her home phone number out to call when issues must be discussed. She made it a point to ask people who rarely spoke in class to voice their opinions, and allowed us to just talk through an idea, rather than butting in. At time she would become a bit opinionated, but I could tell she was trying to hold back.

Workload:
Over the course of the semester, 7 one-page reaction papers were to be turned in (and if you fail to do this, then she gives you a heads up that you're lacking and provides extra time), a midterm paper (roughly fives pages), and a ten-page final. None of these are difficult assignments, and considering that the major themes you would want to incorporate are drilled into you during class, it's pretty much just taking some texts and summarizing what you've already discussed.

There is little in-class preparation besides some reading, and one is able to get by with skimping on the reading sometimes if need be. There are a few in-class presentations, but they all tend to be group work that takes only a bit of preparation. The bottom line is that there is likely a little less work for this class than in others, but I did end up learning a lot.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2224
Submitted: 2007-01-07
Marilyn Glater | Constitutional Law | Political Science

Review:
The fact that Tuft's employs a professor of Glater's caliber is simply unbelievable. She manages to make what should be interesting and structured material into dull, overcomplicated garbage. The class is horrible, and I would strongly suggest avoiding it at all costs.

I should have stuck a sharp pencil in my eye on the first day, the time spent learning how to live without depth perception would have been much more informative and fulfilling than this class.

Workload:
Not a lot of work, but the work you do have is poorly explained. Be prepared to fend for yourself. You would have to send Glater to the Egyptians if you want to get any information out of her.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2218
Submitted: 2007-01-06
Dale Peterson | ENG001-Expository Writing | English

Review:
Prof. Peterson was a really good english teacher, really laid back, geniunly helps on each and every essay if you go to his office hours, which I def. recommend going to. Grading is pretty fair.

Workload:
One reading assignment per week and usually one essay per week with a group leading a discussion per week. Really easy. Essays are really interesting to write cause they're creative writing essays.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2219
Submitted: 2007-01-06
Roger Tobin | PHY11-General Physics | Physics

Review:
I am probably one of the few people that did not like Roger Tobin. When I went for extra help, he was VERY intimidating and I didnt feel comfortable at all. He seems kind of cocky, thinking he knows EVERYTHING about Physics. Although, I have to say, his classes were very well structured and he knew what he was talking about. He demonstrated the ideas with examples and provided real-world situations to better understand the material. He also liked a lot of class involvement to get everyone thinking.

Workload:
One problem set...go to recitation...it will DEF. help! Usually one pop-quiz with 2 easy questions from the readings per week. 2 Midterms and 1 Final.(which in my opinion were ridicously HARD)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2216
Submitted: 2007-01-05
Sol Gittleman | EC001 - Principles of Microeconomics | American Studies

Review:
I loved Sol! He was the best teacher ever!

Workload:
OMG Insane amounts of reading assigned.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2214
Submitted: 2007-01-04
Daniel Richards | EC 0005-Principles of Economics | American Studies

Review:
Richards knows his stuff. Never went to him for office hours but heard they were OK. Gets a little nervous and tries to act confident when others ask a question during class. Recitation was helpful for the problem sets. Exams are pretty harsh cause of the high point placement on each question...i.e.,the multiple choice questions are worth 7 pts each and all the other questions are almost 20 pts each, which kinda sucks.

Workload:
Dont need to read the book. Just understand the notes. 5 p-sets which are pretty easy. 2 midterms and 1 final, described above.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2207
Submitted: 2007-01-03
Robert Dewald | Chemistry 02 | Chemistry

Review:
To begin with the positives: professor dewald was always willing to work with you and change your grades if you proved you really knew the material. in addition the tests were unlimited time. for each problem set and test he gives you lots of practice ones.
that being said:
1. the tests tookmuch longer than is reasonable. the final lasted about 6 hours for most of the class.
2. no use of graphing calculators.
3. no equation sheets or any cheat sheets at all
4. tests started at 7 am
5. he doesn't use email or blackboard (besdies posting his notes) nor does he use the book at all. you can read the book, but at your own risk, because he expects you to do things his way.
6. there is no real curve. the final grade is curved but the standards for the curve are never said.
7. he WILL throw trick questions at you.
8. half the 8:30 AM class is spent ranting about Bush 's foreign policy or something equally irrelevant.

all in all, he attempts to teach the material well, but the majority was learned by reading the answers to old practice problem sets and tests.

Workload:
problem sets were pretty hard. i suggest a study group.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2209
Submitted: 2007-01-03
Eli Siegel | Bio 41- Genetics | Biology

Review:
True, Siegel is boring and monotonoous, but if you have taken Bio 13 you should be well aware of this fact. The first third of the class covers the same material as Bio 13- the test was pretty fair. The Next third covered DNA Synthesis and RNA synthesis, etc, which is still a quasi review from Bio 13. However, the last section is completely new and this is where Siegel got confusing. don't mistake his slow talking, he covers a lot of information in class! Going to class is very helpful albiet mildly confusing.
his curve consists of extra credit, which is actually extremely fair.
definitely do the problem sets from the problem set book- these are what the tests are like, and make no mistake, the last part of the course is definitely hardest.

Workload:
a fair amount of reading and problem sets, though nothing is required.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2210
Submitted: 2007-01-03
Elizabeth Howe | Spanish 31- Golden Age Spanish Literature | Spanish

Review:
This is the only class Senora Howe teaches so she is COMPLETELY into it. she brings props to class and facilitates a lot of discussion. she is fair and reasonable and is a natural english speaker (which is helpful when you have NO idea what a story was about). She will let you complely revise and re write essays- her only fault is that on essays and tests alike her grading is very subjective. if you don't write what she thinks is correct, your grade might suffer. overall though, a pretty fair and understanding teacher.

Workload:
a decent amount of reading, but she makes sure it's not ridiculous. keep up with it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 2212
Submitted: 2007-01-03
Gutierrez | MATH 46 | Mathematics

Review:
Avoid taking Math 46 with prof. Gutierrez. He has an unclear teaching method, often losing focus and leaving the students confused.


Workload:
Normal for math class


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2204
Submitted: 2007-01-02
William Mosher | EC0012 Intermediate Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
GREAT professor. Some students found him hard to keep up with, as he teaches at a really fast pace. But many students also found that it was because of his fast pace that made the material more stimulating and interesting. He's more than happy to slow down and explain things over again, which students should take advantage of. His classes are intense as they are always jampacked with information, so it is important to attend class on a regular basis. He strongly encouraged classroom discussions based on real world economic events (reading the WSJ and Bloomberg.com regularly was a must!) He is a really enthusiastic professor who was always available during his office hours. As he is not great at responding to emails, students should definitely seek him out after class or during office hours. He was also really flexible with deadlines. I had an awesome experience with Professor Mosher and I know that most people did, too. I would definitely take another course with him!

Workload:
Average. Do the readings and keep up with real world economic stuff and you should be fine. His group assignments were easy to handle as you get to collaborate with your group. Exams are mostly essay questions...not bad if you know your stuff. He curves.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2199
Submitted: 2006-12-30
Kevin Dunn | ENG0029 - Literary Studies | English

Review:
Professor Dunn was amazing. He's just what I wanted in a first-year English professor. Lively discussions, interesting analyses, and funny anecdotes. Just AWESOME. It's a shame that Professor Dunn won't be teaching until next fall; I'd take another class with him in a heartbeat.

Workload:
Very manageable. Readings every night, but never too much. The most I had to read was 20 pages. Three papers, each 5-7 pages, not too bad. Professor Dunn is a tough grader, but it challenges the students to perform well each time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2201
Submitted: 2006-12-30
Margaret McMillan | ec36 - Macro development | Economics

Review:
This class is probably better for IR students attempting to fulfill their international economics requirement than economics students. The course is easy but also quite boring for students who have taken ec 11 and ec 12 because so much of the material is either review or overly simple.

Workload:
virtually nothing. recognize that despite the syllabus, the only thing that matters is your score on the midterm and final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2198
Submitted: 2006-12-29
Michael Fenollosa | EC 150 - Financial Economics | Economics

Review:
One of the worst Economics professors Tufts has to offer. Fenollosa makes many mistakes when explaining the material, and then complains about why it took so long to correct him (maybe him having a Ph.D has something to do with it). Boring and goofy, Prof Fenollosa is definitely not a good professor for this course.

Workload:
Six problem sets a semester and two exams.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2195
Submitted: 2006-12-28
Felipe Martin | EC13 - Statistics | Economics

Review:
Has a very boring manner of teaching. Sometimes he's very hard to understand. The class is not supposed to be exciting, as it is all math, but Martin manages to make it even worse.

Workload:
There is not a lot of work for the class. The problemsets are easy as he goes over them the day before the assignment is due. The same cannot be said about his exams - they are dfficult and do not relate to the material covered in class. The class average is usually in the low 60s. He does curve though.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2194
Submitted: 2006-12-25
Deborah Schildkraut | PS103 - Political Science Research Methods | Political Science

Review:
She can be a frustrating professor, but this class is really useful, especially if you need a math credit and you are a political science major. She likes to take attendance, call you out on the spot, all that kind of stuff, but if you do the basic work, you won't be caught off guard. I would recommend taking this class because it is definitely worth it.

Workload:
Not a lot of reading, but very heavy workload in terms of problem sets and a huge final project. I spent a lot of hours in Eaton.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2191
Submitted: 2006-12-24
Meredith Brown | Math 5 - Intro to Calculus | Mathematics

Review:
From what I understand this was one of her first semesters teaching here at Tufts but I thought that she was definitely a great professor. She had a lot of concern for the progress of the students and did her best to be accommodating when outside situations interfere with the course. She encourages class participation but then again, there were only 10 of us in the class. Very nice professor, very organized, very receptive to questions.

Workload:
course-wide homework every night, not too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2189
Submitted: 2006-12-23
Jonathan Strong | ENG005 - Creative Writing Fiction | English

Review:
This was by far the worst class I have taken at Tufts (and I LOVE writing). Strong does not know what he is talking about. He shuns any original ideas and instead tries to class to turn into a homogeneous lump of teenage romance stories. I suppose he's decent if you've never written anything in your life...but if you have, I suggest staying away from him. He seems to have never even heard of the ideas of modernism, post-modernism or metafiction (or at least, never has fully thought of them - example: he tried to convince me Kafka's stories are all about his characters), and often will disregard them if they are ever brought up in class. Some of his "gems" include: "But, you can't have a story without any likable characters!" (Jonathan Strong, meet the anti-hero) and, my favorite, (in response to a sentence: "The music glides carelessly around the room") "How can music be careless?" (Jonathan Strong, meet personification).

In short, all Strong seems to like are trite love stories overflowing with pathos where the character walks around the whole time saying "Woe is me!" And yes, I tried this out. The only stories of mine he liked were the ones I wrote in that style and made intentionally horrendous.

Workload:
1 2 page story and 4 7 page stories. Thankfully, he's loose with what each "story" has to be: they can be 7 pages of separate paragraphs (in theory) or part of a novel (in theory). The extent to which he fairly judges them as such is debatable. And he's an easy grader. He grades based on "effort," so show up to his office hours once or twice and you'll get at worst a B+.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2181
Submitted: 2006-12-21
David Denby | Phil 39 - Knowing and Being | Philosophy

Review:
Clear and effective lectures and notes. Prof. Denby is a humorous, able teacher who's always around if you need help, either by e-mail or in person. Take a class with him if you want to learn philosophy and if you want to learn how to think critically.

Workload:
Workload was light. Four 5-6 page papers in total, the last is optional.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2182
Submitted: 2006-12-21
Susan Russinoff | Phil 33 - Logic | Philosophy

Review:
Prof. Russinoff is great. She listens to students and does her best to help those who have trouble with Logic. She loves the course and the material and writes fair tests. DO THE HOMEWORK. READ THE BOOK. GO TO CLASS. HAVE FUN.

Workload:
Workload is about a problem set a week. Not a lot, but you got to think, and you got to read the book and attend class to be able to handle the questions.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2183
Submitted: 2006-12-21
Mihail Frumosu | Math 13 | Mathematics

Review:
Prof. Frumosu goes through the proofs but not laboriously. You learn the proof, and if you don't get it, it's not a problem; he puts it there for you to be acquainted with it only. He always devotes at least 10 minutes to problems from the homework that students didn't get. He's helpful and really wants students to understand the math. His self-deprecating humor on his 'art' is nice too.

Workload:
Three lectures a week, three homeworks a week. Homeworks aren't hard quantity-wise but you do need to attend class and read the book, or you'll end up wasting insane amounts of time on straightforward questions like I did.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2184
Submitted: 2006-12-21
Jonathan Wilson | Eng 9 - Intermediate Creative Writing | English

Review:
This man is hilarious, well-read, and his class is just a pleasure to be in.Please take a class with Prof. Wilson before you graduate.

Workload:
3 stories; you read two aloud in class, the last one he reads himself. He and your peers give you great feedback in class; if you want to talk more in-depth about your writing, organize an office hours meeting with him. He'll be more than willing to talk about your writing over lunch.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2185
Submitted: 2006-12-21
Christoph Borgers | Math 0009 - Math of Social Choice | Mathematics

Review:
This class is perfect if you just want to fulfill your distribution requirement. Prof. Borgers is also the kindest, most enthusiastic professor I have ever had. I can't believe it's in the math department, either! The material is actually genuinely interesting (fair voting, fair compensation, fair division). Basic algebra involved; the rest is theory concerning those three topics I just wrote down.

Workload:
I just got an A+ on my transcript for this class. This is what you need to do to get the same:

1) Go to every single class.
2) Do the quiz review every time.
3) That is all.

Note: There is a quiz every single day of class; they are not cumulative, they cover only the previous lecture's material. Very easy, therefore, to get 10/10 every day. The quizzes are worth 80%; then there is an easy cumulative 20% final during exams week.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2186
Submitted: 2006-12-21
Monica McTighe | FAH 92 - Contemporary Art | History of Art

Review:
Prof. McTighe is obviously still growing into her skin as a professor -- she's pretty young, I think she just recently got tenured. Anyway, she obviously loves this material and knows a lot about it. Don't be fooled by the fact that the class is described as "1960-present". The first half of the class basically starts with Pollock and goes until Minimalism's beginnings. It's after the midterm that you delve into the 60s 'til today. Classes consists of slide lectures; but she likes it when people offer their own readings/etc.

Workload:
1 midterm (30%), 1 final (non-cumulative 40%), 2 papers (10% each), participation in class (10%).

The papers are graded fairly and are about 5 pages each. They're mostly describing exercises (go to the MFA or a current exhibit and write about the art piece).

The midterm/final are kind of insane if only because of the insane amount of slides you're expected to review. Although only about 10 come up, for the midterm we had to know about 90, in addition to terms. For the final, it was about 115 slides, plus terms.

Regardless, I do feel like I now have a really great grasp of contemporary art.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2187
Submitted: 2006-12-21
Paul Joseph | PJS/SOC 120 - Sociology of War and Peace | Peace & Justice Studies

Review:
The material is fascinating. Unfortunately, the professor loves his own opinions and his book. Basically, you read his book. The course follows it chapter-by-chapter. Except for the first few weeks before he introduces his opus, and we did some great study on the use of child soldiers in modern warfare, etc. the rest of the course was "Joseph by Joseph." He kept on saying, "bring your opinions/criticize my thesis" but basicall shot you down every time. So, to recap: great material, crappy professor.

Workload:
1 midterm, 1 final. Unfairly graded by a pretentious Fletcher TA (she basically expected you to write an honors thesis in 6 pages). Both the midterm and the final consisted of 2 6-page papers (total: 12 each time). Participation in class didn't even count, so basically you could've never gone to class and done well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2179
Submitted: 2006-12-20
Eva Hoffman | FAH001 - Art, Ritual and Culture | History of Art

Review:
Basic lecture course: you go to class, sit, listen and take notes. Prof Hoffman is not the most articulate of professors; it was often frustrating to have to try and piece together her sentence fragments. Lectures were most confusing when they were based on her areas of specialty because she'd talk about the obvious stuff to death and then run out of time to explain the difficult material. But to give her credit, I will say that she really knows her stuff and her enthusiasm for art does come through.

One thing to keep in mind though is that FAH 1 is actually taught by many professors, depending on what region is being covered. Professor Hoffman lectures for about half of the course. Some of the other professors who gave lectures (for Fall 2006) were Prof Blake (Greek Archaeology), Prof Kaminishi (Hindu and Buddhist Art), Prof Givans (Medieval Art and Architecture), and Prof Zavala (Latin American Art).

While Professor Hoffman is credited with teaching the course, it's really the TA's who keep tabs on how everyone is doing and provide the continuity that is sometimes lacking because there are so many lecturers. They do all the grading, answer all your questions, and lead the sections and MFA trips. My TA was awesome and overall, they're very capable, organized, helpful and enthusiastic about the course.

Workload:
Overall, there is quite a lot of reading for this course and it's important to keep up with the assignments to be able to understand what's going on in lecture and sections. There are a lot of images to know for exams so familiarizing yourself with them through the supplementary reading helps a lot. And every week or so, there is a question (about the readings in one of the books) on Blackboard to be answered then discussed in sections. Another incentive to read the books: the bookstore and Gnomon Copy won't take them back. The texts are designed for this course at Tufts and great resources (especially for the paper assignments) so it won't hurt to read them.

Other things: two 4-page papers based on works at the MFA, one midterm, and a final.

This course is maybe not the easiest one out there if you're just looking to fulfill an art distribution requirement. But FAH1 is really interesting and worthwhile; it made me consider -if just for a few days- minoring in art history.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2180
Submitted: 2006-12-20
David Garman | EC0015 - Basic Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Professor Garman is one of the best econ professors here, and probably one of the best professors at Tufts! He doesn't try to fill your brain with formulas that you will never see again and picky details; he teaches you the methods you actually need to know. And what really puts him above a lot of the other profs is that he teaches you how these methods work and why they're important. He's also not afraid to slow things down in class if he senses people are confused. He can come across as quiet and shy, but he's really easy to talk to and always around during his many office hours for chats or help. And if he's not around, email away as he sends replies promptly.

Metrics can be a hard course, especially for those who struggled in EC13, but things just make sense in Prof Garman's class. It's amazing.

Also, if you're an econ major, Prof Garman is a great resource for info on the major here at Tufts. He was the department chair for a long time so he knows the requirements and courses inside out.

Workload:
Nothing crazy and unfair; everything is spread out over the semester pretty well.

-Weekly work-

Usually one chapter of reading, one problem set (questions from the book, often requiring Stata) and one quiz each week, but it's all very manageable stuff. It's Prof Garman's belief that this weekly work keeps students up to speed with the material and he's right. Keep up with the work and you will do well.

-Other work-

Research project, which isn't dealt with until late in the semester. But make no mistake - don't leave it till the very end! It involves collecting and running regressions on data (which is not as easy as it might sound so don't postpone this part of the project), then analyzing the results and writing the 10-page paper.

Two midterms and one final, none of which are cumulative.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2169
Submitted: 2006-12-19
Rajeev Dehejia | EC011 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
At first may seem a little arrogant and condescending, but overall was a nice, thoughful professor. He killed everyone on the first exam, but wound up weighing your lowest exam grade less than the rest. Definitely one of the better Micro professors (avoid Straub).

Workload:
Ten problem sets are online (quite difficult and time consuming, especially if done on your own).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2170
Submitted: 2006-12-19
Marc d'Alarcao | CHEM051 - Organic Chem 1 Lecture | Chemistry

Review:
Professor d'Alarcao was the most organized professors I have ever had at Tufts. His presentation of the lecture material was extremely well-structured, which is a very useful for the class. He tested basically on what he taught in lecture, and the book was used mainly for further clarification and extra examples. He was also very knowledgeable and could answer any questions you had about the material. He was also very willing to help. The only problem was that he would I would definitely take another class with him.

Workload:
The workload was not as bad as Chem 1 or 2. There were problem sets, but you didn't have to hand them in. However, definitely do them if you want to do well on the tests. There are 3 tests and a cumulative final. The averages for the tests were usually around the high 70s (being a pre-med class and all), so there really wasn?t much of a curve.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2172
Submitted: 2006-12-19
Eli Siegel | BIO004101 | Biology

Review:
This was absolutely the WORST professor in the school. Dry, monotonous, and boring, he makes class a living hell. His exams aren't difficult if you teach the material to yourself - which you have to since this teacher makes no effort whatsoever. He doesn't care much about the course, and is probably only here on tenure. Takes a potentially interesting subject and sucks the fun out of it.

Workload:
Workload wasn't bad, but the Professor was completely useless. I don't know why I pay $40,000 a year for such a worthless professor.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 2174
Submitted: 2006-12-19
David Cochrane | BIO115 ? General Physiology I | Biology

Review:
Professor Cochrane only taught 1/3 of the course (Professor Bernheim taught the other 2/3). He was very nice and explained the material fairly well. He?s also funny at times. Although the lectures were the main material for the test, the book helped clarify some of the more complicated processes. I would take a class with him again.

Workload:
Workload was not much besides studying for the test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2175
Submitted: 2006-12-19
Harry Bernheim | BIO115 ? General Physiology I | Biology

Review:
Professor Bernheim only taught 2/3 of the course (Professor Cochrane taught the other 1/3). The material was really interesting, and he had an entertaining dark sense of humor, but he lectured waaaaaaaaay too fast. Many people recorded the lectures. Also, I printed out over 100 slides to follow along with him during class, which were never in order. Tests were based purely on his lectures, but the book was helpful to clarify some of the more complicated processes. There was A LOT of information for the tests since he talks so fast. I would take a class with him again.

Workload:
Workload was not much besides intense studying for the test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2176
Submitted: 2006-12-19
William Mosher | EC012 ? Intermediate Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
Professor Mosher was not a good professor. His lectures were somewhat organized; however, he insisted on teaching material that was not in the book. That was not a problem, but the way he taught material not in the book was confusing and haphazard. Also, he wanted everyone to buy Wall Street Journals, which we rarely used. Even more aggravating, he constantly cancelled class for one reason or another. He never had much structure to the course, there was no syllabus, and would only announce tests a week before. He doesn?t answer his e-mail and he didn?t even give our second test back. I would definitely not take another class with him.

Workload:
The workload was so-so. We had ?homework? sporadically throughout the semester, which were basically a short paragraph write-up on random macroeconomic topics. There were 3 non-cumulative tests. They were fairly difficult and you needed to keep up on current economic events as well as the lecture material in order to do well. There was opportunity for extra credit if you asked him about it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2177
Submitted: 2006-12-19
David Dapice | EC035 ? Economic Development | Economics

Review:
Professor Dapice is very experienced in the issues of economic development, especially concerning Asia, which is his focus of study. The lectures for the most part were not very organized. There were assigned chapter readings (lengthy most of the time), but most of the class time was spent with him talking about his experiences in other countries and had little correlation do the assigned readings. HOWEVER, the tests were focused primarily on the readings as well as the status of the country that you research for the papers. I think the class could have been much better organized. There was a lot of information in the class (very interesting too) and he did not do a great job showing us what to focus on in our studying.

Workload:
The workload was alright. 40-50 pages of reading per class, 2 tests, and 2 small papers (4-6 pages). Use the sample questions he gives you to prepare for the tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2178
Submitted: 2006-12-19
Marc d?Alarcao | Organic Chemistry 1 Lecture | Chemistry

Review:
Professor d?Alarcao was the most organized professor I have ever had at Tufts. His presentation of the lecture material was extremely well-structured, which was very useful for the class. He tested basically on what he taught in lecture, and the book was used mainly for further clarification and extra examples. He was also very knowledgeable and could answer any questions you had about the material. He was also very willing to help. The only problem was that he would miss class to go to conferences. I would definitely take another class with him.

Workload:
The workload was not as bad as Chem 1 or 2. There were problem sets, but you did not have to hand them in. However, definitely do them if you want to do well on the tests. There are 3 tests and a cumulative final. The averages for the tests were usually around the high 70s (being a pre-med class and all), so there really wasn?t much of a curve.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2167
Submitted: 2006-12-17
Susan Russinoff | PHIL0033 - Logic | Philosophy

Review:
Logic is a pretty straight-forward 'mathematics for philosophers' course. It expands your understanding of the use of language and presentation of arguments. But don't think for a second that this is your typical philosophy course. It comes with problem sets and different logical languages, and is more math then philosophy. Russinoff makes the class fun and interesting, though her disorganization and quirks can become annoying at times. She definitely makes the material fun, and is very enthusiastic about logic. She is also quite available, and wants to help students. As the material more and more difficult, some of her lectures became much more disorganized and hard to understand. Be ready to use the book and her office hours to clarify the material. Overall, however, Russinoff did a good job of making some otherwise dry and somewhat difficult material fun, and I would take another class with her.

Workload:
The workload for this class is not as bad as many make it seem. There is a problem set due every one to two weeks in the class, and they take a few hours to complete. The exams are very straightforward, assuming you fully understand the problem sets. The book can be helpful later in the semester, when the material gets more difficult and her lectures don't quite cut it. Overall, this is a very manageable course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2162
Submitted: 2006-12-16
Jennifer Burtner-Rangel | ANTH 149 - Growing Up Latino | Anthropology

Review:
While the professor was helpful on a one-to-one basis, as a whole I would not recommend her. Apparently she seems to think that hers is the only class that her students take, she assigns "Reading Questions" which by the end of the semester are expected to be over a page single-spaced for the daily readings. The daily readings are often half of a book from one day to the next. She has absolutely no concept of time, and regularly keeps the class 5-10 minutes late. Furthermore her mid-term and final were given in 1 hr. 15 min and 2 hour blocks respectively, but you needed at least 3 hours to complete them. Then she scaled the mid-term so much that I felt like I deserved a 30 and receieved a 90 on it, it made me wonder what the point was of having stressed out studying for it. On that point, she grades everything like a kindergarten teacher, but goes crazy when you miss an assignment. Her policy was three absences and you fail the class, not an F in participation or homework but for the WHOLE CLASS. What is worse is that she doesnt take regular attendance, but bases her attendance on whether your questions are turned in or not, so even if you're in class but couldn't turn in the assignment you can still fail the whole class. Your arguments on the "reading questions" and on quizzes, finals and random assignments take a backseat to your having to know what argument came from what author, paper or book, what year and page number! She expects the student to be a walking bibliography, which is moronic considering no one learns anything by memorizing who wrote it. The class is entitled "Growing Up Latino" but should have been called "Latino Feminist Thought" as 30 of the 40 authors we read were women, every article started about one subject and magically ended up blaming "male-dominated patriarchal society" for everything, even the few articles written by men did this.

Workload:
Get ready to write like mad. By end of semester I was writing 6 single spaced pages per week, I calculated that I wrote almost 125 pages when converted to double space, throughout the whole semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2164
Submitted: 2006-12-16
Monika Totten | GER 0001 - Elementary German | German

Review:
I thought Professor Totten was great.
She made things easy to understsand and the one time the whole class had a problem with something she retested us. She is always willing to meet with students and is really accessible if you need help.

Workload:
We had a few exercises due every class and QUIA (online) assignments due before the test. The tests were not bad, though I think there were 7 of them during the semester. No Final though.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2165
Submitted: 2006-12-16
Stephanie Levine | English 002 - Differences | English

Review:
Good teacher. Has a tendency to ramble but has great stories. Also, very understanding if you need help with something. Another cool thing is that she is very open to everyone's viewpoints. She doesn't judge the things you say so you can feel free to express your opinion on the topic of discussion.

Workload:
5 papers.
all of them were 4-6 pages in length, even the research paper at the end.
Reasonable grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2161
Submitted: 2006-12-15
Juan M. Alonso | SPN016401 | Spanish

Review:
Professor Alonso is a great teacher! His classes are always very laid back and he always tells various anecdotes that make the class extremely entertaining. He's funny and enthusiastic, and knows a lot about the subject. He cares about his students' progress and is very reasonable.

Workload:
The workload is not bad at all. He assigns a couple of poems to read for homework so that you can become familiar with the words you don't know and translate the poem in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2150
Submitted: 2006-12-14
David Pauling | French 21 | French

Review:
Professor Pauling was indeed very enthousiastic. He knows french grammar better than anyone I've ever come across and is chrystal clear in explaining everything. He made me realise how much my past teachers and professors have simply skipped over and not bothered to teach. He's not an easy grader, but if you're looking to actually learn french and not just get an easy A, I would definitely recommend you take a class with him.

Workload:
A bit more than a normal class, but each assignment had a clear purpose. No busy work.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 2151
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Paulette Anne Smith | French 31: Readings in French Literature I | French

Review:
Mme Smith is great,she is very enthusiastic about the course and is a great lecturer. She does talk a lot and likes to talk when students are talking to make sure that they do not miss anything. She is very resourceful and understanding, definetly, the best teacher at Tufts.

Workload:
The workload is completely manageable, oral presentation, three papers, no midterm and an oral final and an in class essay.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 2152
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Siddiq Abdullah | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
Professor Abdullah has to be one of the worst professors I've had at Tufts. He's a nice man, who is very funny in lecture, however that doesn't make up for his awful teaching ability. He dumbs down his lectures and says that you will be fine if you read and did the accompanying study guide for the textbook, but this wasn't true for me. In addition, he didn't stay with his own syllabus and added on an extra chapter three days before an exam (the one right before Thanksgiving). He's pretty awful. If you want to hate anything to do with economics or Tufts, sign up for one of his classes.

Workload:
Workload (for me to even begin to understand what he was saying in lecture) was reading all the chapters before quizzes and tests, and doing the accompanying study guide chapters (short answer, multiple choice - just to pound basic concepts into your head). Also, there are a lot of practice exams that they give you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2153
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Michael Downing | Creative Writing 005 | English

Review:
Downing is the best professor I have had at Tufts. He is always willing to meet with his students and help them if they need it. Professor Downing is reachable at all times, and is diligent in responding to e-mails. I feel like my writing improved so much because of him. For the two ten page stories I wrote, he gave me 5 pages, single spaced, of comments. Now that's what I call attention to students' work. He is always open to others' suggestions. It was an absolute pleasure to take this class with him.

Workload:
While some of the creative writing classes are a joke, this one is not. He expects a final portfolio at the end of the semester, consisting of the 2 revised short stories and three shorter, 250 word exercises.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2154
Submitted: 2006-12-14
David Guss | 132- Myths, Ritual, and Symbols | Anthropology

Review:
Professor Guss is really chill guy. He's very enthusiastic about the material and knows a lot. He likes to have class outside and watch related movies. You study fairy tales and myth in relation to nature and shamanism and stuff. He and the class were really interesting and fun.

Workload:
It was a standard mid-level class. There wasn't an insane amount of reading but it was substantial. Most of the readings are interesting and he does pretty well not find things that aren't repetitive. He likes you to participate so doing the reading helps. There is no absence policy but he takes notice if your not there.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 2155
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Sheridan Thomas | Drama 12 | Drama

Review:
Sheridan is an awesome teacher. She's a little nit picky and can sometimes be a bit discouraging but overall she's a good. She teaches from the point of view of given circumstances so either it resonates with you or it doesn't. She's tries to push you away from what you know and what you already do well, so that helps develop other skills. You only work with one play Miller, View from the Bridge, the whole semester which can be very tiresome. Overall It's not an amazing class but its good.

Workload:
There are a few big projects that require a lot of time but she gives you adequate time to complete them. The final scene is a lot of out of class work. Overall there isn't a whole lot of out of class time spent but you do have to complete these weekly emails which can be a pain but they are fairly simple, you just have to remember to do them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 2156
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Jean Wu | Amer0012- Race in America | American Studies

Review:
Prof Wu is an amazing person. She is very engaging and the topics are outstanding. I highly recommended taking any of her classes. She's one of the best professors I've ever had at Tufts.

Workload:
There is tons of reading. Some are repetitive but all are pretty interesting. Although it only meets once a week, you also have a required study group meeting and you must answer weekly questions to be emailed two days before class, then meet with your group and answer the same questions, also to be emailed in in addition to a weekly journal which is more like a short answer than a diary.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 2157
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Patricia Smith | Spanish 4- Intermediate Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
Professor Smith is one of the sweetest people ever. She is very understanding and concerned with student progress. She is very helpful (especially in office hours).

Workload:
Standard language class work. You have to read a book in Spanish that's like 70pgs long. The material seems a little rushed, to fit everything they want into the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 2158
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Christina Sharpe | American Women Writers | English

Review:
Great class, one of my favorites so far. Prof. Sharpe is extremely knowledgeable, well read in contemporary fiction and engaged in current events in terms of the class. The class was small and discussion based. Professor Sharpe encouraged discussion and maintained a flexible lecturing style based on class interest. She was available outside of class and was truly interested in the students and the concerns of the class. The class was very interesting and moved beyond the literary canon, addressing issues of multiculturalism and exclusion.

Workload:
short responses on Blackboard each week and two papers. The blackboard responses are useful and are often used to begin discussion. Not too much work or too much reading. A novel a week. Standard for an English class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2159
Submitted: 2006-12-14
Joseph McGrath | Math011 - Calculus I | American Studies

Review:
Professor McGrath is simply a great math teacher. His lectures are clear and understandable, and he always makes sure to solidify the basic concepts before showing practice problems. Although there is very little class participation, he is open to any questions either during lecture or in office hours. He is very straightforward in his problem solving, which was extremely helpful in learning each topic. I wholeheartedly recommend him.

Workload:
The workload was quite manageable. A problem set was due for each class, and completing enough assignments gave you the opportunity to add extra points to your average, giving you incentive to go to class. Tests were fair and basically variations on homework problems. The class average was usually quite high. The amount of time spent studying really depends on how much background on the subject you already have.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2142
Submitted: 2006-12-13
Robert Devigne | Western Poli Thought II | Philosophy

Review:
Look, I took WPT with this guy two years ago, and i'm still convinced it was one of the top three classes i've ever taken. i mean, maybe it was just me--taking this class made me want to be a philosophy major, but he is fun, engagin, really organized, and straightforward. if you can "feel" the material (that is, you HAVE TO DO THE READING) but if you commiserate with any of the writers (especially nietzsche and mills) he is more than happy to talk with you about it all.

I mean, i don't know what else you'd want in a prof. it's a lecture class, so it's not too intimate, but if you want a great undergrad "survey" experience, both me and my friend dan suggest taking a class with this guy.

Workload:
like three papers...but becareful. the department does all the logistics stuff...i turned a paper in 40 minutes late and got graded down for it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 2144
Submitted: 2006-12-13
Kevin Dunn | English 29 - Literary Studies | English

Review:
Though this course was offerred for the first time, it was perhaps one of the most enjoyable English classes that I have ever taken. Readings were divided into three segments: poetry (varied), drama (Midsummer Nights Dream), and short stories (Dubliners and a plethora of others). Critical analysis and historical context were introduced into the drama and poetry sections of the course. Professor Dunn's analysis and interpretations of the works made the class fun and extremely enriching. The class itself was filled with a variety of interesting students who added to the experience. The professor was always availible during office hours and his insights and suggestions about your ideas for papers proved to be extremely helpful. Unfortunately, this course may not be offered again. An excellent professor nevertheless!

Workload:
Reading assigned for every class, with varying amounts. The poetry section had less reading assigned, but required more thought and multiple re-readings. Three papers were assigned, with two revisions averaged in for the first two and the final paper having no revision. Class attendance and participation were critical.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2145
Submitted: 2006-12-13
James Watson | Sanish 22 | Spanish

Review:
I was extremely dissapointed with Prof. Watson's class- I felt like attending class each morning was a waste of time. His assignments and daily activites were stupid and unthoughtful, all he does is make DOZENS of hand-written worksheet to quiz you about characters and events from the stories you read, which isn't that necessary, because you end up losing way more points on random grammar than anything else. He is boring, and has a lame sense of humor. Try to find another professor if you can.

Workload:
almost nothing, which was nice, though I didn't really gain anything from the class either


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2147
Submitted: 2006-12-13
Anna Hardman | EC127 - Urban Economics | Economics

Review:
The course just fell apart half way through. It was alright at first, definitely one of the more interesting courses (content-wise) offered in the economics department at Tufts. Professor is extremely enthusiastic and brings espresso beans. But then MOST of the work we had to do had to be completed in the last half of the semester: midterm, paper, and final. Still can't believe we're having a final, since we devoted the last two weeks to presentations of papers and haven't covered much since the mid term in November.

This course gets an average rating because it was alright overall, but still highly disappointing. The professor gets a 2 because it didn't have to be so disappointing.

Workload:
TOO much work, much of which is well just work. Tons of reading, not all of which is covered in class. Then a giant 20-25 page final paper, which has to be 1.5 spaced and there's a short 6 page paper in October. AND there's a mid term and a final on top of it all. You get stretched thin in this course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2148
Submitted: 2006-12-13
Claudia Mejia | SPN0022 - Comp/Conv II | Spanish

Review:
I continue to be impressed by the spanish courses here, and this class was no exception. Professor Mejia is a very enthusiastic speaker, and does her best to make sure that her students understand the material. She goes out of her way to make herself available for extra help, which is a great quality in a professor. She greatly encourages speaking and class involvment, which is essential to learning spanish. She is also very tolerant of everyone's views and opinions. Her grading is very fair. If you work hard, you will be rewarded with a good grade. I would definitely recommend this course and Professor Mejia to anyone interested in spanish, or anyone looking to fulfill their language requirement.

Workload:
This class required a lot of time and work. Homework was assigned for every class, and basically includes a reading assignment, reading comprehension questions, and vocabulary exercises. There are 3 exams, 4 grammar quizzes, 4 homework compositions of about 2 pages each, 1 in class composition, 5 news program writeups, and an editorial presentation. It's important to be prepared for every class, as class participation is a large portion of your final grade (about 15% I believe). It's a lot of work, but it's managable. It's also nice to have so many grades to fall back on if you have a bad test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2149
Submitted: 2006-12-13
Lauren Sullivan | ANTH0030 - Prehistoric Archaeology | Anthropology

Review:
I enjoyed this class a lot, and Professor Sullivan is a very enthusiastic lecturer. She actually does what she lectures about. She works in Central America on archaeological digs, and can tell you anything you've ever wanted to know about the Maya. She made many of the classes interesting by showing us pictures of the sites she has worked at and different things she found.
The course in general is a pretty standard lecture course. Professor Sullivan mostly just lectures for the whole class, and uses slides to make it a little more interesting. She doesn't encourage much class envolvment, but there are opportunities to voice an opinion or two. She is great about listening to everyone's opinions and considering them. She is also very eager to help any student who comes to her with questions or concerns. My only complaint would be that it was very hard to set up a time to meet with her outside of class to answer questions, so most of the time I would ask her questions after class. I really enjoyed this course, and I would definitely take another class with this professor.

Workload:
This course had a very reasonable amount of work. Daily work consisted of reading assignments from the textbook and from Blackboard, and they were not that time consuming. There were 3 exams and one 5-6 page paper. For the paper, we had to go to a cemetery and collect data on headstones and write a paper about them. It was rather time consuming, but not very difficult. It's a great experience in the field if you are thinking about becoming an archaeologist. The exams were very straight foward. They consisted of multiple choice, identifications, and one essay. Basically, the whole course was memorization, so as long as you take the time to study the material, the tests are no problem.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2139
Submitted: 2006-12-12
Soha Hassoun | Comp 40 | Computer Science

Review:
Prof. Hassoun is one of the most arrogant, unsympathetic professors I've ever had. She obviously doesn't care at all about the course, as she uses pre-made slides provided by the book she uses and simply parrots what's on the slide. She never answers questions in class (she boomerangs the question back onto the class to answer), nor does she answer questions in office hours (half the time, she just asks the question back to you). Any questions she rarely DOES answer, she explains poorly. The student lecturers that filled in for her when she was away were much better than she ever was.

She also loves to play favorites in the classroom... She's friendly with a select few, and ignores the rest of the class.

She mentioned that she was going on sabbatical next year (2007), so she won't be teaching comp 40 then. (One can assume this is what she had on her mind during the entire semester).

I never want to take a course with this woman again.

Workload:
Amazingly Hard. 20 hr/week programming assignments. They are, however, somewhat satisfying.... They were heavily based on information from the book.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 2140
Submitted: 2006-12-12
Tamara Marquez-Raffetto | Spanish 191 - Cervantes | Spanish

Review:
She's awesome - I've just finished my second class taken with her and I'm taking a third next semester. She has a lot of enthusiasm for the material and will do anything to encourage the same enthusiasm in her students. She's very smart and is always helpful when you have questions. She puts a lot of emphasis on small group discussions, which is a great way to get other opinions and to fill in the gaps if you couldn't understand everything you read. As long as you do the reading, class is always interesting. My only complaint about the course is that it can eventually get a bit boring reading material all semester from only one guy - but she always makes its worthwhile.

Workload:
Workload is reasonable - about one story for each class, between 10 and 40 pages or so. As with most upper level classes, she expects you to do the reading and she leaves it up to you to make sure it gets done. If she knows you didn't read, she won't pick on you or single you out or anything, but just do it - it makes the classes much more interesting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 2141
Submitted: 2006-12-12
Claire Schub | FR191C - Business French | French

Review:
Claire is the type of professor you'd hoped you'd have when you came to college - she really cares about her students, is so approachable, organizes class dinners, talks to you on an equal level... She is such a sweet, good woman and really wants her students to do well. The class itself was a bit disorganized cause she only teaches it once every few years, but you learn really practical vocab and expressions that you need to do business in French.

Workload:
Lots of little assignments throughout the semester - mostly exercises from the book, writing business letters, and summarizing newspaper articles - but they don't take up too much time. The workload does get a bit heavier at the end of the semester because there's a final, a short paper, an oral presentation, and then the DFA 1. The DFA 1 is an exam through the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris to get a diploma in business French - not required but highly encouraged, think of it like an AP exam.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: French


Review ID: 2137
Submitted: 2006-12-11
Leah Abraham | BME175 - Tissue Engineering Research Lab | Biomedical Engineering

Review:
My straight advice is "DON'T TAKE THIS COURSE" when Prof. Leah Abraham teaches the course, instead go to the lab and learn from the post docs who are working there in that area. The lab is not well organized, it has a useless lecture in the beginning and even after half of the lab nobody had clue on what to do. The lab always ran late and we had to stay for an hour or two. Prof. is very biased in grading and all the points on lab report were subjective. I never understood why I was getting bad grades on lab reports and how I could improve. Till the end I had no clue about what her expectation from the lab report were. She vaguely defined the assignments (or lab reports) and posted more confusing hints on blackboard which baffled everybody in the class including TA. Finally, she used curve for the grading and only god can unravel that curve. I also experienced discrimination in grading and help received throughout the course.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2135
Submitted: 2006-12-08
Mitchel Rose | psy12 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | Psychology

Review:
He tells a lot of interesting stories. But he is completely disorganized. His lectures have no coherence, plus he doesn't know his stuff that well.

Workload:
The tests he gave us were completely unrelated to both the notes and the readings he assigned.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2127
Submitted: 2006-12-07
David Garman | EC15 - Basic Econometrics | Economics

Review:
Professor Garman is wonderful. Econometrics can be very tricky if not explained properly and clearly, which he happens to be good at.

He is also very concerned about students' progress and is more than willing to give help to anyone who needs it: he has office hours all week, and will quickly answer any questions via email. He also goes over all the homework problems in class, which is extremely helpful as well.

I would definitely take another class with him, and would recommend taking EC15 with him for anyone who's serious about actually learning the stuff.

Workload:
One problem set with one or two questions on it that help you get the main concepts, one mini one-question quiz every week, do a little reading before coming to lectures. Workload isn't much at all, but gets the learning done.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2129
Submitted: 2006-12-07
John Straub | EC11 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
The first thing Prof. Straub said on the first day of EC11 was: "This class will be boring." Okay, we know that micro won't be the most fun class, but that was just the kind of dry attitude that he maintained during the entirety of the semester.

He does problem sets on Aplia (a website) with multiple choice questions, which really is not a good way to do it at all, micro is supposed to be learned through paper and pencil problem sets, not multiple choice questions that you can pick and guess at. The p-set problems did not reflect what we were supposed to take from the chapter. Even after poring over the chapter I could not do the p-set, and he could not, either, when I went into office hours.

His textbook choice is also awful, it is hard to learn micro without lots of illustrations and graphs, but in his book of choice (Varian), there were only a couple of graphs in each books, all explained in abstract, cryptic paragraphs that kind of did not make sense.

He also assigns problems that concern topics that we have not covered yet, which, considering the terrible textbook choice, is very difficult to figure out.

In conclusion, micro IS boring, but at least try to get a professor who will at least pretend to be excited about the material. Trust me it does make a difference.

Workload:
Two problem sets a week that are undecipherable even after hours of poring over the textbook. 3 midterms, he gives out practice exams that are not very good indicators of what will be on the real exam. Ugh!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2130
Submitted: 2006-12-07
Pearl Robinson | PS129 - African politics | Political Science

Review:
This is, by far, the worst class I have taken in my life. Professor Robinson might be a very smart and accomplished woman, but she is a terrible teacher. She treats this like it is the only class you are taking all semester. She demands an immense amount of effort while giving very little in return. Most of the lecture consists of tangents about all the famous people she has rubbed elbows with. We got our first grade in the class less than a week before classes ended and she missed at least four classes. She is incredibly hard to get in touch with and seems completely disinterested with students progress. She did not respond to any emails my classmates and I sent her and was often out of state traveling. I would recommend taking a class on Africa because the material is very interesting. Just never take a class with Professor Robinson.

Workload:
The workload for this class was absolutely ridiculous. I can't stress this enough. Ridiculous. There are about 300 pages of dense reading a week which she expects you to do. She barely goes over the reading in class, if at all. The assignments are completely ambiguous and she gives no feedback on the papers or tests. There is one in-class midterm, one paper with two separate parts totalling 14 pages and one in-class final. The exams cover all of the readings and she expects you to know minute details about the seven books.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2131
Submitted: 2006-12-07
Edith Balbach | CH 001 Introduction to Communtiy Health | Community Health

Review:
I thought the class was interesting but that it was too basic. I mostly learned terms for different ideas as opposed to learning some new information. However, the professor was great and so if you're interested in the subject matter, the class is worth taking.

Workload:
A couple readings for every class. 10-15 page paper that is not hard to write. 2 tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2132
Submitted: 2006-12-07
Tracy Pearce | FR002 - Elementary French II | French

Review:
Madame Pearce est super! She's very young, fun and energetic. She explains concepts clearly and is very concerned with how the students are doing. Her corrections on papers are always helpful, and she's happy to explain if you don't understand why she switched something. French 2 was hands down my favorite class this semester, largely in part due to Madame Pearce. I will definitely make an effort to take more french classes with her in the future.

Workload:
The workload for French 2 is not bad at all. Every week you have to watch a video from the French in Action series, but they are genuinely entertaining and very funny. There's a test or a quiz everyother week or so, but nothing to get too stressed about as long as you pay attention in class. Also about every other week you write a redaction, which is basically a lengthy paragraph following a prompt. She grades these, then you make the corrections and she regrades them. So essentially these can only help you. The workbook is useful, but not essential to the class. It's helpful if you want to practice a concept or something though.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2133
Submitted: 2006-12-07
Priscilla Sneff | ENG002 - Freshman Writing Seminar: Road Stories | English

Review:
Professor Sneff is one of those teachers where you can tell that she herself is good at what she's teaching, but as a teacher simply drives you crazy. The syllabus for the class was completely irrelevant with two weeks of class starting. We were assigned to read three books, but we only ever spent a maximum of 1.5 classes discussing each one and there were no paper assignments at all relating to the books. The last paper had to have something to with something in the book, but that was about it. I felt this class was more about learning to write what she likes to read than growing in our own writing styles. A bit on the disorganized side and always the last one to enter the classroom.

Workload:
The workload itself wasn't too bad. Because the syllabus was gone, due dates were quite flexible. You write five essays total, two very short ones and three ranging from 3-6 pages. With the exception of the last paper you always have the opportunity for revision. Read three sizable books. No final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2134
Submitted: 2006-12-07
Kai Herklotz | GER 0001 | German

Review:
Kai is absolutely amazing at what he does. He definitely picked the right profession. I looked forward to coming to class everyday and I can't say that with other classes. He seems to be an easy grader, but that could just be due to the fact that assignments were easy.

Workload:
Very reasonable. This class can be taken as a 5th or 6th credit without a problem. A little book work, and QUIA online excercises for every chapter covered (essentially 6 medium sized homework assignments).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 2123
Submitted: 2006-12-06
Emma Blake | ARCH-0027 - Classical Archaeology | Archaeology

Review:
Fascinating topic, one that I've been interested in for a long time, however the class size is quite large and her grading is to say the least, very aggravating. The exams require a lot of studying and even then she (or her TAs) grade ridiculously harshly if your answer is not textbook-I cannot emphasize how hard it is to answer certain interpretational questions right in this class. So this takes away much of the enjoyment of learning.

Workload:
A lot of reading, not much written homework. Exams require a lot of studying and memorization, and be prepared to accept as low as a C (as many many people did in the semester I took it)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2124
Submitted: 2006-12-06
James Watson | Spanish 21 | Sociology

Review:
Despite what everyone says about Prof. Watson picking favorites, I did not sense it in our class. Also, I do not consider for a moment that I was one of the favorites, so my opinion isn't too skewed. I will say, however, that he did appreciate those students who participated frequently. So talk. My caveat: don't talk for the sake of talking. He tends to correct every uttered mistake, and you might do actually do more harm than good if you err too much when you speak. Keep your comments short and clean, but frequent. That was my philosophy.

Workload:
Very manageable. Four essays, quizzes and tests. We took the final exam on the last day of class. I believe there were weekly "noticia" assignments and an oral presentation.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2125
Submitted: 2006-12-06
Monica McTighe | FAH 92/192- Art Since 1945 | History of Art

Review:
This was by and far one of the best classes I have taken at Tufts. McTighe is a very well informed professor with an obvious passion for contemporary art. Her lectures were well organized, and she was also sure to encourage class participation.

I learned a lot and yet the homework level was just average for a Tufts course. It is definately an art history course that can spark interest for anyone.

McTighe was always available for office hours & frequently scheduled other meetings with students too. The tests were far from hard (as long as you are decent enough at art history tests: Ids, comparisons, and essays.) She was concerned for students uderstanding and progess, and held review sessions for each of the two tests.

I would definately recommend this class to any Tufts student, and I also consider it a must for any Art History major.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2126
Submitted: 2006-12-06
Monica McTighe | FAH 92/192- Art Since 1945 | History of Art

Review:
This was by and far one of the best classes I have taken at Tufts. McTighe is a very well informed professor with an obvious passion for contemporary art. Her lectures were well organized, and she was also sure to encourage class participation.

I learned a lot and yet the homework level was just average for a Tufts course. It is definately an art history course that can spark interest for anyone.

McTighe was always available for office hours & frequently scheduled other meetings with students too. The tests were far from hard (as long as you are decent enough at art history tests: Ids, comparisons, and essays.) She was concerned for students uderstanding and progess, and held review sessions for each of the two tests.

I would definately recommend this class to any Tufts student, and I also consider it a must for any Art History major.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 2118
Submitted: 2006-12-04
Daniel Richards | EC0018 - Intermediate Quantitative Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
Prof. Richards Quant macro class has been an amazing introduction into quantitative econ. His lectures are posted on blackboard before class and even when he doesnt quite follow the exact form his lectures are clear and he never moves too fast to follow. Very approachable, tells the same corney jokes over and over but generally makes the class interesting.

Tests are very fair, not easy but there arnt any suprises. Problem sets are optional you dont turn them in. Great Class, fun professor, and im pretty sure hes an alcoholic which is a huge plus in my book.

Workload:
No assignments to turn in.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2119
Submitted: 2006-12-04
Sheila Emerson | ENG 0191D | English

Review:
Sheila Emerson is the best teacher at Tufts. She is enthusiastic about the course, encourages student involvement and is very open-minded about others' opinions. I would take any class she teaches, especially if it were available to non-Tufts' students and on a distant learning channel.

Workload:
Assignments were challenging but worth the work for the class discussions.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 2116
Submitted: 2006-12-02
Sol Gittenman | Arabic 21 | Arabic

Review:
omg let me tell about sol, or as i like to call him tall because he is so tall his head sticks through the ceiling and so his head is above the class and no one can hear what he is saying. i mean the floor above us can hear him fine, and apparently his arabic pronounciation is flawless. even the hw are thoughtful and well arranged. but the lectures are just so awkward...we all sit there waiting for him to kneel down or hunch over but he seems oblivious.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: One of a Kind


Review ID: 2109
Submitted: 2006-11-25
Lee Edelman | Psychoanalysis and Cultural Criticism | English

Review:
One of the best professors I have ever had.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 2102
Submitted: 2006-11-23
Krishna Kumar | Chem 51 0 Orgo I | Chemistry

Review:
Kumar's great, not many could make orgo interesting and tie the concepts into a larger picture. Sometimes goes a little fast, sometimes goes over time, but always will give you extra problems, and nothing on the exams comes out of left field.

Workload:
It's orgo. Be prepared for at least 30hrs a week, and quit your second job and drop that fifth class. I did quite poorly due to lack of hours in the day, I didn't plan ahead to compensate for this course's workload, so learn from my mistake, and don't take orgo with another lab science.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 2104
Submitted: 2006-11-23
Ronnee Yashon | EXP074 - Genetics, Ethics, and the Law (Online) | Experimental College

Review:
I happen to know the professor from an earlier class and she is very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. The course is a fascinating introduction to a variety of scientific and legal topics.

Workload:
Readings were short and interesting and assignments were not too difficult.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2105
Submitted: 2006-11-23
Cathy Stanton | Anth10 - Intro to Sociocultural Anthropology | Anthropology

Review:
Lectures and readings were boring and didn't really relate to assignments, though we were expected to reference them. I wasn't really impressed by the TAs, either, they weren't organized and didn't contribute anything useful.

Workload:
Four 3-5 page papers were probably the most interesting part of the course. Many readings were assigned, but they were mostly pretty boring and I skimmed through them.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2106
Submitted: 2006-11-23
James Glaser | PS11 - Intro to American Politics | Political Science

Review:
Glaser is witty and interesting and the lectures are enjoyable and helpful. Extra credit is given for *participating* in recitations, which I don't think is a fair policy since it encourages people to speak even if they don't have anything useful to add to the conversation.

Workload:
Though there is no text book, there are many, many readings. Most of them are pretty boring, but you can get away with just doing a few of them. There are two short papers which are well explained and easy to do and two exams which are pretty straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2107
Submitted: 2006-11-23
Anna Wegel-Hajj | SPN003 - Spanish 3 | Spanish

Review:
I'm not sure to attribute problems with this class to the professor or the design of the course. Professor Wegel-Hajj is very nice and won't make you embarrass yourself in class, however the class moved way to fast and it was very easy to fall behind, at which point it's almost impossible to catch up.

Workload:
The workload for this course is absurd. There are way too many assignments and readings that don't contribute very much to the goals of the course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Engineering Psychology


Review ID: 2100
Submitted: 2006-11-22
Gerald Gill | African American History Since 1865 | History

Review:
This professor, probably once very good, is now burnt out. He reads from the same yellow note pad that he probably has for years, he seems uninspired, and he forgets meetings with his students. The books he assigns are good, but he does not discuss them in class and his choices of books do not reflect his teaching as much as his ability to recognize other peoples' good work. He gives easy A's, a weakness or strength depending on your perspective. Take his class if you want, you will learn a lot about an important subject, and you will get a good grade, but do not expect much teaching or advising from the professional teaching it.

We as students pay a lot of time and $ for Tufts. Perhaps he needs a few years off to get it together, and then start again as the prof he probably can be.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2101
Submitted: 2006-11-22
Karyn Esielonis | FAH 100 - Theories and Methods of Art History | History of Art

Review:
Professor Esielonis is a really great person. The lectures are sometimes a bit boring because she talks very fast and its hard to keep up and keep notes. However, in the recitation the class has very interesting and fun discussions. She is always willing to meet with students to help them, but is not very good at replying to emails. I would definetely take another class with her.

Workload:
There are quite a few readings which you should do or at least skim throught in order to take part in the discussions. One short paper in which you should write summaries on all the readings assigned up to that date. One paper on an article given to you. One final 15 page paper of basically any topic you want.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 2085
Submitted: 2006-11-15
Joseph McGrath | Math 38 | Mathematics

Review:
McGrath is very clear about everything he says and lectures at a very delibrate and easy to follow pace. He is always careful about being thorough with what he writes on the blackboard and in my experience was always eager to help with extra hours, office hours, e-mailed solutions. He is about all you could ask for in a professor.

Workload:
Typical math workload.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2086
Submitted: 2006-11-15
Vo Van Toi | ES 3 Intro to Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Professor Vo is very enthusiastic about getting everyone in the class to understand the material. He is very friendly and very approachable, but I have have never attempted to find him outside of class, so I cannot comment there.

My only issues with the class were due to the course itself. The textbook used is one of the least helpful texts I've ever used. This problem is compounded by the fact that homework assignments are generally twice as hard as the material covered in class or on exams. This problem combined with slip-shod management by the EE dept. can make this course painful at times.

However, if you must take the course, Prof. Vo is the way to go.

Workload:
When the homework lines up with where you are in lecture, the course has a moderate workload. Confusion between the course syllabus, lectures, and due dates turned the moderate problem sets into frustrating ones.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2089
Submitted: 2006-11-15
E. Todd Quinto | Math 005 | Mathematics

Review:
Quinto is such a nice guy. He constantly reminds the class of his office hours, help sessions, and other tutorials. Also, he will randomly say things that are hilarious and break up the monotony of pretty straightforward math. Very manageable class, great professor.

Workload:
one problem set due each class and 4 exams throughout the semester


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2090
Submitted: 2006-11-15
Jeremy Halpern | ELS 107 | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
Prof. Halpern was fantastic. I learned a ton in his class and really enjoyed the guest speakers. Plus Prof. Halpern has us work with industry experts in our projects - which is way cool. How many other classes introduce you to CEOs, CFOs and Angel Investors. \

Prof. Halpern really seemed to care about how much I learned. While he wasn't always immediately available, He did spend a lot of time talking to me and my friends about job searches, internship opportunities and about class projects. Sometimes his lectures didn't match the syllabus so I wasn't always sure what we were going to cover in a given day, but I always enjoyed class. He does ask a lot of questions though, so you can't show up and expect to coast through class. He is also pretty engaging when he talks, so it's pretty easy to stay focuses.

Also, I use the stuff from this class in my actual life, which is a lot more than I can say about most Tufts classes.

This class rocks!



Workload:
Okay, so this class is a crazy amount of work! I was always working on one of the projects. The only thing that made it ok was that I really enjoyed the team projects and the other exercises. I didn't love the reading and could have done without the individual project, but overall the work was totally worth the effort.








professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2091
Submitted: 2006-11-15
Peggy Hutaff | CR0021 Intro to the Hebrew Bible | Comparative Religion

Review:
She is very accesable and cares about your individual progress. Never gives a letter grade but breaks down the assignments after the midterm and tells you how well you did on each and where you need to improve. I have never had a better professor that loved her subject as much as Prof. Hutaff. She is the kind of professor that makes you want to major in her department. Class participation is essential and no question is ever a stupid question in her mind. She encourages other students to answer your questions and loves when you get into debates.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading. The textbook is awesome and you should always read it before attempting to read the assigned passage from the bible. She also gives out lots of packets from other sources but they are always very interesting. You should make sure to keep up with the supplimental readings becuase most of the inclass discussion is about those. There is hardly any homework given other than readings. When we do have homework it usually to benefit us and further develope our understanding of the subject. The midterm (haven't taken the final but it is similar to the midterm) is very managable. She gives you an indepth study guide and asks for the class to submit essay questions. She gives the midterm in order to see the depth of your knowledge in different areas. She does not try to trick you or bring up obscure passages. She really wants you to succeed.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2081
Submitted: 2006-11-14
Cheryl Tano | Spanish 002 | Spanish

Review:
Cheryl Tano was an awesome professor. She is very enthusiastic about spanish and all of her students. She is really funny and is not afraid to crack a few jokes from time to time. She speaks the language cleary so you can hear just about every word. (No one likes a spanish teacher that can't speak spanish!) I enjoyed her class and I would recommend her to anyone who is looking for a discussion oriented and well taught spanish class. She is always around for extra help and will make time if you can't make her office hours. She is willing to just talk to you (in english) because she truly wants to get to know you. The class does move a bit quickly so make sure to review thoroughly before exams. All and all Prof. Tano is pretty awesome.

Workload:
4 exams, 4 compositions, workbook exercises and 2 supplemental readings from blackboard as well as a movie. Watch out for the exams because she can be a stickler for minor errors such as accents and agreement.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 2082
Submitted: 2006-11-14
Elizabeth Lemons | Modern Religion in America | Comparative Religion

Review:
Professor Lemons is the least inspiring teacher I have ever met. Her lectures never covered anything beyond the readings, and usually did not even cover the readings. She was also very unclear when answering students' questions- it seemed as though she didn't know the answers. I would never, ever take another class with Professor Lemons. She is beyond boring.

Workload:
The material covered in the course was actually interesting, which made it clear that it is Professor Lemons, and not her material, that is boring. About 150 pages of reading a week, 2 short papers and one 10 page pager.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2083
Submitted: 2006-11-14
Monica McTighe | FAH92 Contemporry Art from 1945 | American Studies

Review:
although she is very sweet, professor mctighe is totally insecure about everything that comes out of her mouth. if she had a little more confidence the class would be a lot better. she knows infinite amounts of information regarding the art, and she's always willing to answer questions. the problem however, is that her answers are usually said with question marks at the end. shes never sure of herself. it really inhibits the class. if the teacher is awkward it just makes the class even more unbearable.

Workload:
the material is awesome, the tests are super easy and she grades very fairly. the papers however tend to be kind of out of left field. its like, why am writing this?? but all in all shes a very fair and honest teacher so there are rarely any surprises


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 2084
Submitted: 2006-11-14
Daniel Richards | EC005- Intro to Economics | Economics

Review:
He does a great job of making the information relateable and interesting. He has a dry sense of humor, which I liked but it could be percieved as kind of corny. Attending lecture is important as he calls on people randomly to answer questions and will deduct points if you're not there.

Workload:
Two midterms, a final and five problem sets. It helps to work with other people on the problem sets and make sure to go over his power points before each test. The text book is pretty much unnecessary.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2078
Submitted: 2006-11-13
John Straub | Econometrics | Economics

Review:
I had a great small econometrics class with Straub. He is easily reachable by e-mail and is generally around Braker if you need to see him. He is very laid back and will tell you like it is. But he challenges his students to that next step. Teaching is combined of powerpoint slides and working in stata. He has his own punk rock radio show....

Workload:
Go through 11 chapters in the book during the semester. The first month was spent reviewing statistics. The grade is broken down like this:
10 (Homework)
10 (Quiz)
15 (Midterm Exam)
25 (Final Exam)
5 (Paper proposal)
10 (Paper ? first draft)
25 (Paper ? final version)
100 (total possible points)

The homework is out of 0-2 points. 2 being that you did it, not that it is correct. So it is easy to get 100% credit for HW.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2076
Submitted: 2006-11-12
Irene Georgakoudi | EN-31 Laser Light | American Studies

Review:
she really didnt know how to take the class seriously. it was hard to take the class seriously myself because of that. She doesn't really know what she's doing and the class really isn't worth the time.

Workload:
not a lot of work but the test/projects we are given are completely out of the blue, she does not prepare us for them at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 2077
Submitted: 2006-11-12
Brian Jordan | English 1 Expository Writing | English

Review:
he was a good teacher. very lenient if you forget to print out 2 copies of an essay or you miss class for some reason. he tends to take a while to grade.

Workload:
almost no reading but there was a lot of writing. Essay draft due almost every class. but the topics were usually personal or a topic i chose and cared about enough to write an essay on.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2069
Submitted: 2006-11-10
elizabeth ammons | american realism | English

Review:
Ammons has a profound love for what she teaches, and cares deeply about her students. She is enthusiastic, always on time and very articulate. Though class discussions are fun, the best part is when Ammons lectures. Her knowledge will wow you! Ammons may be old but she has a lot of spunk! This professor has more verve than the youngest professors on campus! Yes, she is smart. She also is a fair grader--she is NOT one of those professors who tries to trip you up & give you a bad grade for no reason. Ammons is amazing.

Workload:
Very manageable workload, particularly for English majors who are used to frequently reading. You should do the nightly reading in order to contribute to discussions, but there are no reading quizzes. Several books are covered on a reasonable final and you will write two longer papers( one around 6 pages, the other ten.) However, if you put forth effort and contribute to conversations you will do well. Ammons grades very fairly, and if you work hard it shows. The best course I've taken in 4 years at Tufts!!!!!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 2068
Submitted: 2006-11-09
Mary Glaser | MATH 12 | Mathematics

Review:
Excellent teacher, by the end of every class you understand what was discussed.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 2060
Submitted: 2006-11-08
Jayanthi Mistry | CD 62: Childhood Across Cultures | Child Development

Review:
Mistry is a really nice woman, however the organization of the class and her teaching methods are not very effective. She relies way too much on the reading and most of the things we went over in class were obvious and common knowledge. If you are looking to learn a lot in a class, this isn't for you. MIstry has difficulty getting her point across, because very often it seems like she doesn't have one.

Workload:
The workload was very fair and not very great. There are no exams but she gives several in class assignments that are too long and unclear. She grades fairly and one could easily float through the class and still do well without putting in a significant amount of effort.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 2061
Submitted: 2006-11-08
Sheryl Read | ELS101- ENTREPRENEURSHIP&BUS PLN | Entrepreneurial Leadership

Review:
Sheryl read is the worst professor I have had at Tufts. She is not well versed on the subject matter yet continually tries to compensate by bringing in guest speakers(who for the most part are interesting).

Workload:
A lot of assigned work to just fill up the sylabus, a large amount of which wont be used in class. Group project at the end that is heavily critiqued without much guidlies on how to do it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2055
Submitted: 2006-11-07
Brian Brenner | CE001001 - Introduction to Civil Engineering | Civil Engineering

Review:
The class seems unorganized and confusing but by the end of the class I had a much better idea of what civil engineering was. You have to go to office hours in order to get 100% on all the homework, but it is possible to get an A in the class without spending the extra time talking to the professor.

Workload:
The workload was pretty standard for a engineering course; problem sets and lab reports.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Civil Engineering


Review ID: 2057
Submitted: 2006-11-07
Gary Leupp | Hist 47 | History

Review:
I've taken several classes with Professor Leupp and have learned a tremendous amount in all of them. His lectures are in depth, interesting, and spiced with some informative digressions into other historical fields that parallel the material for the class.
His political inclinations surface occasionaly though in a wholly unobtrusive way, generally a heads up after class that so and so a rally will be taking place. NEVER did feel his tone to be antisemetic in any way and i am particulalrly sensitive to the subject.
I have also found him consistently available. I've never been able to attend his office hours but have not have any trouble setting up an appointment via email.

Workload:
Reasonable workload. If you skip out a few reading assignments, the holes are patched up in lecture. No suprises on exams. Essays and papers are fairly graded (generous).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2058
Submitted: 2006-11-07
Adam Hoyt | Advanced Swimming | Physical Education

Review:
Adam is a great swim instructor, and he's supernice(and handsome to boot).

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2054
Submitted: 2006-11-06
Gary Leupp | History 47: Japan to 1868 | History

Review:
Awesome class and professor. Leupp knows his stuff, often comparing Japan with Europe or China to show how Japan "fits" into world history. Whether he's expressing his enthusiasm for the achievements of an artist or frankly describing the brutality of a shogun, Leupp tries to cover history Zen-style, "seeing things as they really are" and always empathizing with the ordinary people, the victims of history. I'm singing up for Leupp's other survey course (from 1868) too.

Workload:
Moderate reading, but you can skim it or read it carefully and it probably won't affect your grade that much.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2050
Submitted: 2006-11-05
Daniel Richards | EC 0018 | Economics

Review:
Richards is mediocre at best. He's a decent lecturer, but his flaws are numerous and unforgivable. He is difficult to get ahold of and not particularly helpful in office hours. The problem sets are riddled with mistakes that seriously impede comprehension of the material.

Workload:
Not too bad. The reading is incredibly dense, but you really can get by on just the lectures and poring over the problem set solutions and one practice exam he gives out. The tests are hard; they don't reward those who study a lot.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2051
Submitted: 2006-11-05
Kumar Krisna | CH 171 biochemistry | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Kumar gave 3 lectures and the one protease was excellent.I was hooked to biochem and what it means to understand in detail and produce drugs against HIV.Best lecture in the class so far.

Workload:
Professor Lee is officially teaching the course.The workload is moderate to easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER


Review ID: 2052
Submitted: 2006-11-05
Abby Zanger | History 26- French Revolution | History

Review:
Professor Zanger is really great, and I would definitely recommend this course to anybody looking to focus in on one specific area. Our class discussions were not strictly constrained to chronological history, but about cultural documents that help reflct that history as well. She wants everybody to be involved, so be prepared to speak up in class. However, she is not one to shoot down ideas if your idea is perhaps not the most well-reasoned. She pushes you to write and read more analytically. Definitely one of my favorite professors at Tufts.

Workload:
The workload was manageable. I took the class when it met once-a-week, and I never felt overwhelmed by the readings. There were three papers; two shorter (one 3-5, the second 4-6) and a longer final paper. She is not an easy grader, but looks for improvement in your work. If you can show her effort and improvement, you are sure to do well in her course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2049
Submitted: 2006-11-01
Krishna Kumar | CHEM 0052 | Chemistry

Review:
Prof Kumar was excellent. In fact he gave 3 lectres in biochem and they were the best. He has a knack of getting the main points across and does it several times. Truly effectve teaching style.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 2048
Submitted: 2006-10-31
Elizabeth Ammons | American Realism | English

Review:
Superb! This class fuses history with literature and will knock your socks off. Be prepare to come out of this class with a clear understanding of the 19th and early 20th century and how it relates to today. Be prepared to throw yourself into conversations( or simply hold back, though you'll get more from the course if you make your ideas heard.)
Be prepared to be excited and edified by one of the most erudite professors at Tufts. Take advantage of this course, there aren't many like them.

Workload:
Roughly a book every two weeks.Two papers, and a few weekly assignments. This class is not for whimps, but if you attend, contribute to discussions and complete your reading, all is good. At times the amount of reading may feel intense, but it lessens as the semester progresses. Reading is augmented with class discussions, a few films and group teaching.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2046
Submitted: 2006-10-31
Adam Piggott | Math001104 | Mathematics

Review:
Adam Piggott is by far one of my favorite professors. He is extremely concerned with his students' progress, is always available for office hours, is more than happy to set up times to meet with students, thoroughly covers material, and prepares students for the exams. He has a great sense of humor, which makes class enjoyable. He is great about answering homework questions and teaching new material. I would definitely take a course with Piggott again. He makes math enjoyable, so it is now one of my favorite courses. He encourages students to come see him throughout the term, especially before and after exams to discuss progress. Hihgly recommended!

Workload:
The homework assignments are the same for all of the Math 11 courses. All of the assignments are reasonable. They range from half and hour to an hour's worth of work. Piggott prepares you well in class for the assignments.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2045
Submitted: 2006-10-30
Andrew Clark | MUS083-University Chorale | Music

Review:
Professor Clark is a great person, but completely unorganized. All those last minute rehearsals are incredibly annoying. I appreciate his dedication to the music, but he could definitely plan better so students wouldn't have to deal with his unorganization.

Workload:
Would be fine if the rehearsal schedule didn't change.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Music


Review ID: 2042
Submitted: 2006-10-28
Paul Joseph | PJS101 - Intro to Peace and Justice Studies | Peace & Justice Studies

Review:
This is a fairly small lecture class, 50-60 students in my section. Professor Joseph was always available, offering his opinion without forcing it to be accepted as the only option. He was helpful in and out of the classroom, and I'd definitely take another class with him--I probably will, in fact. The only complaint I have is that there was fairly limited diversity as far as views and opinions on the issues we discussed, probably due to self-selection.

Workload:
The workload was very minimal, readings assigned every class, usually between 8-15 pgs, but there is no test or safeguard to make you do them. Also, there is really very little need to do any reading (or go to class) until the middle of the semester, when the mid-term is assigned. In total, we had a 6 pg. mid-term paper, a final, and a paper about the really neat community service project we were assigned. It is very possible to well in this class with fairly limited effort, but I'd recommend doing the work simply because it was all really interesting to me.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2043
Submitted: 2006-10-28
Stephanie Levine | Eng002 - Freshman Writing Seminar, Differences | English

Review:
This course was... interesting. Stephanie was great, easy to work with and very accepting to any and all points of view. She was encouraging of dialogue and differing perspectives. We looked at "different" people, from issues of race to gender to size to religion. The texts were fairly interesting, and the class was largely discussion-based--in fact, almost entirely. I liked it, the professor was easy to get along with and very fair.

Workload:
Pretty easy workload--we read parts of 5 books, some all the way through and one only 20 pages. The grade is based on 4 response papers and class participation. She's pretty open-minded as far as assignments and grading. For one response paper I wrote about how I disliked the prompt and she gave me an A on it. It's possible to argue for a better grade, different topic, or whatever you like.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2044
Submitted: 2006-10-28
Marie Gilette | French 3 | French

Review:
Excellent teacher, imerses students easily, doesn't lose students

Workload:
All classes same workload


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemical and Biological Engineering


Review ID: 2039
Submitted: 2006-10-26
Jeff McConnell | PHIL001 - Introduction to Philosophy | Philosophy

Review:
McConnell is very knowledgeable about the course readings and work, and philosophy in general. However, I found his classes to be extremely dry and his voice extremely monotone. He always led our class discussion so he could talk about points he had prepared. There was no freedom in disagreeing with this points.

Workload:
Our class is film based, so each week we had a one page response. Every few weeks we had a longer piece: approximately 4-5 pages. McConnell is an easy grader, though, so as long as you make an effort and proofread, you should be fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2038
Submitted: 2006-10-25
Idelia Scott | English 1 | English

Review:
Forgive me, but this course bites.

Mrs. Scott is neither exciting nor engaging, and the class was a total sleep-fest. Take English with another professor.

Workload:
5-6 papers a semester, all less than 10 pages.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2035
Submitted: 2006-10-24
Annie Geoghegan | French 22: French Composition and Conversation II | French

Review:
She's a nice enough as a professor; she does make favorite pretty obvious though. My main issue is that she can be very unclear about her expectations for assignments and tests, changing exam material after telling us what to review and explaining an assignment one way, but then grading it with very different criteria.

Workload:
Workload is manageable when you understand what is expected of you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2037
Submitted: 2006-10-24
Maria Conchita Davis | Spanish 21 | Spanish

Review:
Profesora Davis is extremely organized and makes class relatively fun. She is concerned about questions students have and is open to make office hours. She is very nice and I have had a very positive experience.

Workload:
There are 3 or 4 exams that are very easy to study for and get a good grade on, 4 quizzes that are also straightforward, and 3 or 4 compositions that are also very straightforward. I would caution to do good work first off though - don't just blow these assignments off even though they are straightforward. There are also weekly news programs and partner presentations as well as grammar to review that will culminate in a quiz.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 2028
Submitted: 2006-10-20
Boris Hasselblatt | Math 211 | Mathematics

Review:
Professor Hasselblatt is an amazing teacher. He is always insanely organized, clear and crisp in his explanations, and concerned for the students progress.

There is no doubt you will walk out from his class with a firm and complete understanding for the material, provided you do your part.

He assigns a lot of HW, so if you're taking math to fullfil requirements, you might want to look for someone else.

But if you want to learn math, there's noone better to do it with.

Workload:
It's tough. Problems were straight out of the book, but numerous.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 2023
Submitted: 2006-10-04
Gary Leupp | Hist047 | History

Review:
In my years at Tufts I have taken two classes so far I would like to first of all dispell rumors of him being at all anti-semitic. To be clear in simple he teaches about about a culture he cares very much about, and teaches us a healthy amount of knowledge about budhism, shintoism and confucism. I enjoy the class, and find it to a compresensive way to learn about both japan, and how to think like a historian.

Workload:
The work load is what's to be expected from a Tufts professor, yet manageable and well covered during class. attendence is a neccesity for doing well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 2024
Submitted: 2006-10-04
Gary Leupp | Hist047 | History

Review:
I found Prof Leupp's class to be challenging, engaging, but at no point is he a bigot. Simply put if you are interested in Japanese history this is a great class take.

Workload:
The work load is demanding, but fair. Some of the old writings are a bit dry, but this is to be expected. This is a class worth taking


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2021
Submitted: 2006-10-03
Isabella Perricone | Italian 0002 | Italian

Review:
Despite all of the positive reviews said of this professor, I feel I really need to lay out the facts straight.

I specifically took this class taught by Prof Perricone because I was encouraged by all the aforementioend great reviews, but I was only to be greatly disappointed. The truth is, while Perricone teaches clearly and seems willing to help students, she plays favorites to those that perform well orally quite extremely.

Now, everyone plays favorites so that's besides the point, but the fact that she intentionally singles out and picks on students who can't speak well continuously (if she was trying to help, it would've been different since she would have simply asked those orally-weak students to speak more often in class - but - instead, she not only calls on them frequently, but she also doesn't give them a chance to correct themselves, so she basically shames them in front of the class. For e.g., she once asked a student a question, and the student couldn't conjugate a verb to formulate a response in less than 5 seconds, so she said, "What's wrong with you?? We covered that in Italian 1, you should know this." Then, she calls on one of her preferred students to answer the question instead.

However, when the same situation happened to one of her favorite students, she gave him at least 20 seconds to figure out the right answer and moved on without embarrassing him.

The fact that speaking Italian became a sensitive matter of whether or not I will be publicly embarrassed simply discouraged me from the subject further. In addition, her tendency to resort to calling on her preferred students when the "problem" student cannot answer also aggravated student relations. I mean, the class felt like more of a freaking competition for know-it-alls to answer "correctly" than anything else.

At the same time, her way of dealing with the weaker students also indirectly sets up a negative psychological expectation (or vicious cycle) - i.e., the students tend to do progressively worse because they feel that she isn't going to give them a chance anyway.

So basically, her favoritism and ineffective method of teaching towards weak students and lack of tolerance for orally-challenged students took out most of the fun for me in the class (I was taking Italian for fun anyways since I've already fulfilled my entire language requirement...).

I ended up dropping the course my first month into it.

Workload:
Definitely more challenging than Italian 1. There are readings and vocab learning every other night; vocab quizzes every other 2 lessons; sporadic papers (250-300 words); but specific emphasis on oral daily in classes through grammar exercises and discussion of readings. Definitely BE PREPARED to discuss readings/ films orally in class, otherwise she'll get upset.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 2019
Submitted: 2006-10-02
Richard Eichenberg | PS65 International Relations | Political Science

Review:
This guy's expertise is in public opinion, so don't bother taking him for any other subject. The only reason he's getting positive reviews for this class is that people haven't taken a real IR theory class with a prof like Taliaferro, so they don't realize how little they (and he) know about IR.

Workload:
Moderate amount of reading.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 2015
Submitted: 2006-09-26
Nalini Ambady | PSY 96: Cross Cultural Psychology | Psychology

Review:
An amazing course. I learned a tremendous amount. Great professor.

Workload:
Fair


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2016
Submitted: 2006-09-26
Mingquan Wang | Intensive Elementary Chinese 1/2 | Chinese

Review:
Wang laoshi is wonderful. He mocks the characters in the video and encourages us to explore the language. He provides interesting tidbits about characters and culture and engages the class in a great discussion. He is by far my favorite prof this semester! You will learn so much with wang laoshi!

Workload:
For intensive elementary chinese, there is a ton of work. Also while the course starts out v easy, it becomes much more challenging quickly. We have workbook assignments, character practice sheets, and other worksheets almost every night. It is time consuming but definitely worth it. The assignments are not difficult.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 2011
Submitted: 2006-09-24
Ayesha Jalal | South Asia | American Studies

Review:
Very convoluted and confusing Language. Seems to be very biased against India and pro-Islam

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Arabic


Review ID: 2012
Submitted: 2006-09-24
Richard Glickman-Simon | Science and Practice of Medicine | Community Health

Review:
Professor Glickman-Simon is the most enthusiastic and interesting teacher I have ever had. He is an extremely fair grader, and deticates more time to his students than any teacher I have had. TAKE THIS CLASS.

Workload:
Very managable, and he is a very fair grader.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 2005
Submitted: 2006-09-15
Peter Staab | MATH0038 | Mathematics

Review:
Interested in subject matter, and concerned for student progress. However he did not know the material very well, and his explanations were often insufficient. Also the course itself was poorly constructed.

Workload:
Regularly assigned homework was manageable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 2000
Submitted: 2006-09-07
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto | Hist123-Spain and the Atlantic | History

Review:
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is quite possibly the best professor at Tufts. He is certainly the best teacher that I have had so far in college.

His class makes you think critically and creatively, and he posseses an enormous wealth of knowledge, not only with regard to his subject, but also on esoteric bits of world history.

FAA is funny and engaging. Classes tend to veer of tangentally, which can sometimes detract from class dialouge, but is more often a boon. The majority of course readings were primary documents accompanied by analysis from FFA's own book, which is very well written and informative.

Workload:
The course load is not heavy at all. Readings are usually assigned on a weekly basis.

Biggest problem of the class is the lack of specificity of what reading assignment is due on what date, and what class discussin will take place then. The syllabus assigned a clump of readings for each week, and sometimes the class discussed the individual segments of the assignment out of order.

The final grade rests completley upon one's grade on the final paper--about 15 pages. One has the whole semester to think about and write the final, the topic of which is completely up to the student. FAA grades somewhat on the conservative side, but this is only fair as students have the option of submitting a rough draft of their final paper to him half-way through the semester for critical feedback. FAA will not hold your hand through the semester, but if students adaquately budget time for their research (which is not tought to do in this class)they will do well.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 1996
Submitted: 2006-09-05
Tamara Marquez-Raffeto | SPN191C-Evolution of the Heroic Figure | Spanish

Review:
A very poor course; Marquez-Raffeto would lecture and lecture about insignificant plot details with little or no discussion with students. I will never take a class with her again--I take upper-level literature courses to be engaged and discuss more in-depth topics than just the plot.

Workload:
Not that difficult of a course, but be warned, she is a stickler for details on her midterm. She really wants you to memorize entire plots of novels that you read.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 1992
Submitted: 2006-08-27
James Watson | Spanish 21 | Spanish

Review:
Don't wear pajamas to his class and don't be ever be late. Be prepared for mood swings, he can be nasty at times. If he doesn't like you you're screwed. He corrects your Spanish mid-sentence just in time for you to forget what you were about to say.

Workload:
No problem here.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 1989
Submitted: 2006-08-24
Matthew Gregory | SOC149- Sociology of the Body and Body Modification | Sociology

Review:
This course was extremely interesting and Prof. Gregory was the perfect professor for the class. Most of the class consisted of discussion of the readings and related topics. The lectures were short and relevant. Prof. Gregory was very tolerant of our opinions and extremely helpful outside of class.

Great class, great professor!

Workload:
There was not much reading required for the course. 10 pages of the course reader was assigned each night of this summer class that met twice a week. The only required work was to write two one-page journal entries related to the course per week and a final ~8 pg paper on a topic of your choice. The courseload was not heavy, and the course reader was much of the "research" needed for the final paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1990
Submitted: 2006-08-24
Richard Glickman-Simon | CH 107 - Science and practice of medicine | Community Health

Review:
By far, one of the most interesting and useful classes I have taken at Tufts. Sure, the pre-med kids in the class can be really annoying, but once you tune them out, you actually appreciate the course. Material was a little tricky at first (more like a bio than community health course), but quickly improved. You actually learn a lot of useful knowledge about disease and disease prevention. And Professor Glickman-Simon's enthusiasm for the course really shows.

Workload:
Be warned, the exams (a midterm and a final) are tough - luckily they are graded on a curve. There are also 3 papers in the course which were graded fairly. Homework was minimal.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 1986
Submitted: 2006-08-22
Patrick Carter | Drawing Foundation | Studio Art - Medford Campus

Review:
Patrick is the nicest, most wonderful professor/ person ever. He loves what he does, art and teaching. When he speaks of his passions students can't help getting inspired. He introduces art of all kinds to his students, finds out what we like or what style we encompass and then he'll bring in books relating to those artists/ styles. He works hand in hand with each student and lets the students go in their own artistic directions. He always finds nice yet helpful things to say to every artist on all levels. Like I said the best professor at tufts!!!!!!!

Workload:
All assignments were apart of a process of building skill and talent. In the end with all the progress from each student one might say it was the perfect work load.:)


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1978
Submitted: 2006-08-15
Elena Rybak Akimvova | Chem 2 Chemical Principals | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Akimova loves chemistry and it was great to see her entusiasm; she gets giddy sometimes. She included interesting demonstrations and experiments to ilustrate class topics. Her notes can sometimes be confusing but all the pertentent information is eventually given. She is very concerned with students' understanding and offers options and suggestions to help. I would definietly take another class with this professor.

Workload:
Required weekly problems sets are a pain and can be very time consuming. The reading is necessary to do well in the class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 1979
Submitted: 2006-08-15
Don Weingust | Drama 1 Comedy and Tragedy | Drama

Review:
You should only take this class if you have prior experience with theater. It is not an easy way to fulfill an art requirement. Daily discussions allowed for class involvement and exploration of new ideas. Don's best lectures were about Shakespeare but he gave interesting information about all the topics. He did however mention the book he was writing excessively. I would only take another class with Don if it was about Shakespeare.

Workload:
There is a new play to read for every class and you can get by just reading the cliff notes. Daily blogging is necessary to do well. Attendance at 8 performances was required and a review of each. These were significantly undervalued in the grading scheme but the caliber of the theater was high. A midterm, written final and creative project. The creative project was very time consuming and without theater experience you are at an extreme disadvatage.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 1980
Submitted: 2006-08-15
Virginia Johnson | Drama 16 Costume Technology | Drama

Review:
Virginia is very concerned with everyone doing well and is ready to help you succeed. This class consists of projects that can be very time consuming, including dyeing, milenry, aterations, costume construction. Do not take this class unless you have basic sewing skills. But those who take the class will learn alot and have a great time.

Workload:
Just projects but you will need to do work outside of class and lab time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 1981
Submitted: 2006-08-15
Joe Ramsey | English 1 | English

Review:
He may not be teaching again but take English 1 with Joe if you can. Readings were interesting and he was very flexible to discuss what the class was interested in. He was available to discuss your work and help make it better. Those with conservative politics may dislike his class if you are unwilling to debate with him.

Workload:
Light daily reading of articles and essays, a weekly written response about anything, 5 papers and a final research paper that was an extension of paper #5.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Drama


Review ID: 1982
Submitted: 2006-08-15
David Sloane | Rusian 60 19th Century Russian Literature | Russian

Review:
Prof Sloane's lectures can be scattered but he is very knowledgable. The novels are interesting and Prof Sloane gives historical and philosophic framework. Classes consist almost solely of discussion about themes and symbols. Prof Sloane was available outside of class and loved to hear new views on the books.

Workload:
100-200 pages a night, but its novels so its not that bad. 2 papers and a sit down final or a 3rd paper. It is not necessary to read all of the books. Class particpation is heavily weighted.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 1977
Submitted: 2006-08-14
Lisa Coleman | Intro to Women's Studies | Women's Studies

Review:
This is one of the most disorganized classes I've taken in my 4 years at Tufts. Professor Coleman is arrogant, argumentative, and unprofessionallly flirtatious with her students.

Workload:
Perfectly within reason.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Women's Studies


Review ID: 1974
Submitted: 2006-08-08
Martha Pott | CD 0001 | Child Development

Review:
She is very concerned with student progress and understanding of the material. She encourages involvement and accepts alternative views. I would definitely take another class with her.

Workload:
The workload was heavier than some classes I've taken at Tufts, but manageable. Assignments were very straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Music


Review ID: 1972
Submitted: 2006-08-03
Michael Romero | Bio 110 - Endocrinology | Biology

Review:
Dr. Romero is a GREAT professor. The class may have 30+ students, however it is still run like a seminar, with ample time for student interaction. During the first 2/3 of each class, Dr. Romero teaches new material, focusing on the METHODS of Endocrinology (applicable for a wide variety of biology courses). Then, he poses a medical question (human medicine), and the class must work together to come up with a solution or an experimental test to determine what the root cause may be... Dr. Romero may be a field endocrinologist, however his wife is a physician, and they frequently talk about current medical problems. Dr. Romero's examples are excellent as well (both for field endocrinology and human medicine). Take this class - you won't regret it.

If you like Biology and intend on going to medical school, this is the course to take! Endocrinology is the MOST important class you'll take for MCAT Bio. as well (in addition to General Physiology).

Workload:
Tape the class. The textbook is rather dry, however Dr. Romero's excellent examples more than make up for it. You do not need to read the book to get an "A", however - you should know the lectures thoroughly. If that means you have to tape the class, get yourself a $100 digital recorder and DO IT! (You can get A's in most Bio. courses here by taping the classes and listening to the tapes afterwards, so you don't miss anything during lectures).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1970
Submitted: 2006-08-02
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto | Spain and the Atlantic | History

Review:
This professor is extremely enthusiastic about what he teaches, funny, and a pleasure to be around. He has a very impressive list of credentials and is relatively new to Tufts. You dont need to do any reading if you dont want to, but it will be hard to participate in class (which he emphasizes). Sometimes his lectures are boring if you dont do the reading as well. There is only one paper due at the end of the semester on anything you want related to the class. I would definitely take another class with him because of his enthusiasm and knowledge.

Workload:
A final paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1971
Submitted: 2006-08-02
Rosemary Taylor | SOC102 - Qualitative Methods | Sociology

Review:
Professor Taylor was the worst professor I've ever had. She was disorganized, rude, and all over the place. She's clearly very knowledgable and has had many interesting experiences, and inserts them too frequently into lectures. The content of the course has potential to be very interesting - focus groups, interviewing techniques, designing survey, etc. are all important skills to learn. However, I seldom learned anything profound or engaging. It's awesome to go out into the community though and talk with people on an issue that you pick and develop. Be ready to experience much frustration in any class with this professor.

Workload:
Who knows. The syllabus was relatively undefined. Lots of supposed reading. Lots of fieldwork. It is what you make of it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 1967
Submitted: 2006-07-28
Jayanthi Mistry | CD 144: Qualitative Research Methods | Child Development

Review:
I WOULD CAUTION AGAINST TAKING ANY COURSE WITH THIS PROFESSOR! She was extremely disorganized; lectures were not at all engaging; her grading was completely arbitrary, and she rarely was accessible if you had questions outside the class. In addition, I feel as if I learned little from her course and, despite her enthusiasm, I met with more frustration over her lack of clarity in her assignments and then subsequent arbitrary grading and her inability to communicate to students her expectations. She was terrible at getting papers back to you, esp when others were due there was nothing to draw on as she was always late handing things back. I am not the only person to say this, but I am appalled that she is a tenure-track professor. She is horrible!

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 1955
Submitted: 2006-07-26
David O'Leary | CR 0111-01 Roman Catholic Moral & Social Thought | Comparative Religion

Review:
Best class I ever! Professor O'Leary knows his stuff. Very concerned about students in and out of class. Very open to meeting and reachable.
Highly reccomended. Take a Prof. O'Leary course.

Workload:
Written mid-term. Weekly readings & discussion.
Major research paper, 13-15 pages.
Class presentation.
NO FINAL!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 1956
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Nancy Bauer | PHIL024 - Ethics | Philosophy

Review:
Nancy Bauer is a great professor. She is truly concerned about all of her students and their understanding of the material despite the large class size (50-75 students). Her involvement with the class and enthusiasm for the interesting topics made me want to not skip a lecture. Also, she and the TAs are extremely lenient on extending the papers. This class really made me think.

Workload:
I only read the assigned material for the first few weeks because she explains all the difficult material in class and still made it out with an A. So, go to class! There are two 5-6 page papers on philosophers' moral theories, and we had a take-home final. You also must view the weekly movies that go along with the course work, but most are very enjoyable (i.e. Groundhog Day).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1957
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Jan Pechenik | BIO164 - Marine Biology | Biology

Review:
Prof. Pechenik makes class so interesting. He is a great lecturer because of his goofy sense of humor, and his enthusiasm makes the class enthusiastic about the material too. He is very successful in the marine world because of all his papers on invertebrates. Thus, he is very smart (wrote the textbook) but comes down to the student level and is concerned about our understanding. Sometimes, he is difficult to meet with because he is so busy.

Workload:
The weekly readings are usually managable but very dense. It's all memorization. There are weekly quizzes that make you read the material and not procrastinate. The tests are difficult, so do the extra credit. It helps out your final grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1958
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatch | SPN0004 - Intermediate Spanish II | Spanish

Review:
I was in Cecilia's first class teaching at Tufts, and she did a great job. With an Argentinian accent, she is young and enthusiastic about all the material. She highly encourages all class involvement and truly cares about improving all aspects of the students' Spanish. Cecilia is so nice and upbeat and makes class fun. She came across as more of a friend than a professor.

Workload:
At first look at the syllabus, it seems pretty daunting, but it's not at all. There's a lot of typical practice work, but they're all short assignments. Sometimes, the class was a little disorganized with due dates, but she was very lenient in turning things in.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1959
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Kevin Anderson | ANTH0010 - Intro. to Sociocultural Anthropology | Anthropology

Review:
Prof. Anderson is an enthusiastic lecturer always with a smile on his face. Though, it seemed that his lectures were just going over our reading assingments. However, he does incorporate real world, modern anthropology into topics about rural civilizations. Class involvement is good. The TAs were helpful in recitations and clearly knew a lot about anthropology having done actual field research on societies.

Workload:
This was a good/easy intro course with minimal work. We just had weekly readings that were straightforward and easy to understand. Many of the separate readings were interesting. Also, there was a very short research paper (fine) and an end-of-the-year book report (ugh). The final was easy with lots of extra credit.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1960
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Jan Swafford | ENG0002-26 - Films about Love, Sex & Society | English

Review:
Prof. Swafford truly wants his students to become more knowledgable about the classics of film and become a better writer. I felt this class was more of a film class than an English class, which was really great. He sometimes was the 'absent-minded professor,' but overall he's very warm, caring, and understanding. Student discussions occur every class with a small class size. I believe that everyone who took his class improved their writing in some way.

Workload:
Work load was perhaps a bit more for a writing class since it involved film. We had to write one-page responses for every movie each week and/or reading assignment. However, all the films were 'classics' in world/American cinema and all very enjoyable to watch. Papers were time-consuming averaging 6-7 pages each week. Final paper was very broad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1961
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Keith Wilcoxen | EXP0125 - 100 Years of Pharmaceuticals | Experimental College

Review:
Keith, though not a professor, was a good and fun teacher. As a professional in the pharmaceutical industry, I learned so much about drugs, drug interactions, and the big business. Every class was extremely interesting, and he catered to the students' wants. The class requested more information about the illegal drugs, so he prepared more lecture material about the topic. Everything he did (including cutting weekly quizzes) was for our benefit and better intake of the material. This is a great class for those interested in modern drugs and the industry, and you don't have to have a science background to do well.

Workload:
The weekly workload was pretty much zero. We just had to come to class and listen (all the slideshows of each lecture were posted online), which was really great. There was one short report on a pharmaceutical of choice and a group project on a local biotech company. The midterm and final were both take-home. Wonderfully minimal workload.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1963
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Carl Beckman | ENG0002 | English

Review:
Absolutely the worst professor I have had at Tufts. His class was uninteresting and he was disguesting to watch. When you meet with him out of class he smokes his pipe in front of you without asking. Not willing to hear your side or consider any opinion but his own

Workload:
Typical--five papers


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1964
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Dimitris Keridis | PS138 - Contemporary European Politics | Political Science

Review:
This professor was the worst professor i have ever taken a class from at Tufts. He had absolutely no enthusiasm for the course. Not only did he show up to class at least 15 minutes late every single day, but he would then make fun of students who didn't answer questions with his specific views in mind. His tests involved knowing an incredible amount of detail about way too much material. Not possible for a student taking a normal course load. He never learned students' names(except for maybe two or three students) and when he did call a name from a class list, it was to put the student on the spot in answering a question. A very uncomfortable environment to be in.

Workload:
There was an enormous amount of reading assigned and we were required to know all of it (over 2000 textbook pages) in very detailed form for the tests. There was one very unclearly assigned group country presentation that was not very worthwhile or helpful. Exams were incredibly difficult and the final was over the entire semester


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1965
Submitted: 2006-07-26
Patricia DiSilvio | ITAL0022 - composition/conversation II | Italian

Review:
Professor is very, very interested in helping students, however she is not a native italian speaker and this puts her at a disadvantage. Her accent isn't bad, but it's still very different than learning Italian from and italian. She is very picky about grammar and everything must be perfectly correct. This is good in some ways (my grammar did improve a lot over the semester), but can be incredibly annoying when more than one way of saying something is correct, but her "preferred" way is the only way she will accept it and count it as correct. She is always available outside of class.

Workload:
workload seemed fine. The book that we read was not interesting at all, though, and we spent the entire semester reading it. Were the book more interesting, understandable (less italian metaphores), and engaging, the class might have been better. 3-4 tests per semester, with grammar and vocabulary quizes inbetween . Vocabulary was a shame during the semester, the words were not usable at most students current level of vocabulary (and she did not seem to understand this).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Italian


Review ID: 1948
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Eva Hoffman | FAH 0002-Art, Politics, Culture | History of Art

Review:
Easily the single worst course I've taken so far at Tufts. The lectures are boring, the course utilizes plain old memorization, and focuses FAR too much on formal analysis of works of art. I expected, as the course description indicated, that the course would focus on the poltical and cultural signifiance of the artwork studied. The course fell DRASTICALLY short of these expectations. If you're looking to learn about art, great course. If you want to talk about the impact of art on culture and politics...don't take this course.

Workload:
Midterm, final, 2 papers. Also two trips to museums in Boston. Not too bad though...straightforward at least. I pulled an A in the course without even studying for the midterm (and I was sick too). You also have to post responses to readings on Blackboard before each recitation section...a complete and utter waste of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1949
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Carl Beckman | ENG 0002-Road Stories | English

Review:
EXCELLENT course. The topic is a bit dry, but Carl Beckman is an excellent instructor. He's really enthusiastic about travel writing, and extremely helpful in terms of helping students improve their overall writing skills.

Workload:
5 papers, 20% each. Full rough draft must be submitted a class or two before the final paper's due.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1950
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Kent Portney | PS 116-Judicial Politics | Political Science

Review:
Excellent course if you are interested in the judiciary. Prof. Portney is very knowledgable (although his lectures, despite being guided by powerpoints, often involve tangential discussions) about the politics of the judicial system in the United States and does an excellent job presenting the problems with the judicial system from a social scientific point of view. He's also very laid back, down to earth, and can be quite funny. Each class begins with a lawyer joke or trivia question, and the student who gets the punch line or correct answer first receives candy.

Workload:
Take-home midterm and final, 50% each. 2 Essay questions on the midterm, 1 on the final. VERY simple expectations.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1951
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Mary Fitzgerald | PS 102-Congress, Bureaucracy, Public Policy | Political Science

Review:
I took this class expecting Prof. Jeff Berry to be teaching it, but nonetheless, Mary Fitzgerald did a decent job. Great overview of Congress, including congressional elections and the politics of lawmaking. Professor largely read off of powerpoint slides though.

Workload:
Midterm, final, research paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1952
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Ken Lang | AST 10-Wanderers in Space | Astronomy

Review:
Ken Lang is hilarious, but this class is a major waste of time. Lectures follow the book exactly (which the professor wrote), and Prof. Lang hands out lecture outlines for each class as well. The outlines literally contain all of the information needed to do well in the class, thus eliminating the need to actually attend class.

Workload:
Midterm and final, 50% each. Both are multiple choice with only 3 choices for answers. However, the simplicity of the tests are deceving. But a good studying of the lecture outlines will result in a decent grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1953
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Erin Kelly | PHIL 43-Justice, Equality, Liberty | Philosophy

Review:
Course material was fascinating, but Erin Kelly did a lousy job making it interesting. She largely read off of powerpoint slides, and made it painfully obvious which philosopher she most agreed with (by the way, for those of you wondering, it's John Rawls, and she edited his book).

Workload:
3 papers and a final, 25% each. Recitation section was a waste of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1954
Submitted: 2006-07-24
Deborah Schildkraut | PS 11-Intro to American Politics | Political Science

Review:
Decent class. Unfortunately I already knew more about American Politics than I learned in this class. Prof. Schildkraut is a bit young, but she is knowledgable about the information and generally enthusiastic about the material.

Workload:
Midterm and final, short reaction paper, longer research paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1946
Submitted: 2006-07-21
Tracy Pearce | FR 0022 | French

Review:
Great professor, very fair and thorough grading, INCREDIBLY enthusiastic. Overall, I highly reccomend her.

Workload:
not bad, even with an engineering courseload outside of this class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 1939
Submitted: 2006-07-20
Gary McKissick | CH 102- Healthcare in America | Community Health

Review:
I personally did not prefer Professor McKissick's manner in class but he is nothing if not interested and engaged with his students. He really cares about whether people are understanding the material and holds office hours late into the night to accomodate anyone who needs personal attention. Professor McKissick is one of the most hard working professors that I have taken a class with and, while I did not prefer it, I think everyone would benefit from taking a class with him.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1941
Submitted: 2006-07-20
Pam Haltom | SPN0001B - Elementary Spanish 1 | Spanish

Review:
Prof. Haltom was a wonderful teacher! I learned a lot of Spanish in her class. She cares about her students very much, and is always helpful in and out of class. She is very friendly and approachable. Probably one of my top professors so far at Tufts.

Workload:
Reasonable workload and helpful assignments.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Physics


Review ID: 1943
Submitted: 2006-07-20
Enrico Spolaore | EC91-03 : Economies of the Middle East | Economics

Review:
Prof. Spolaore is a nice teacher, and quite funny. However, I thought he didn't teach the class very well; his explanations of simple economic principles weren't very clear at all. He didn't seem to care about the class at all. He would arrive 5-10 min late every class and then not really be available for office hours. He covered about half the course material in the lectures, and left the rest of the material for us to dig up in the heavy amount of reading he assigned. His tests were simply not fair indicators of how much material you knew. They were sort of random, testing on shot in the dark concepts which anyone may or may not have known before taking the class. For example, I did all of the reading and crammed for the final for almost a week, and ended up with the same grade as a friend who didn't show up to class once after the midterm and skipped over my notes a few times before taking the test.

Workload:
a few chapters of reading per class...... a lot of reading considering how much material he went over in the class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1944
Submitted: 2006-07-20
Holly Taylor | Cognitive Psych | Psychology

Review:
I know you have to take a sciencey type psych class if you're a psych major, and I went with this one because it seemed to be the least technical. I really struggled with it. I thought the tests were unfair. They were almost all multiple choice and I thought the essay questions, especially on the final, were impossibly specific. Prof Taylor doesn't grade them, the TA does, so double check the points you get taken off. I got 5 points taken off, and when I asked the TA, she said she must have gotten mine confused with someone else's.

Workload:
3 tests, multiple choice. An annoying group project and an unnecessary paper on the group project which was graded harshly, but I never got to see the results because it was handed in at the end of the year.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1945
Submitted: 2006-07-20
Michael Reed | Environmental Biology | Biology

Review:
Pretty much the worse class I've ever taken. It is so incredibly boring that even though I went to class, it was hard to pay attention. He goes on and on about not killing birds, and then there's nothing about it on the tests. Also, if you're an athlete and you have to skip a class for a game(as I did) you can expect to get a 0. He has a thing against athletes because his college shut down classes when there was some illness and let basketball games continue.

Workload:
tests and breakouts(both of which are quite objective).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1937
Submitted: 2006-07-19
Robert Devigne | WESTERN POL THOUGHT II | Political Science

Review:
Too bad it was a T/A who read, commented on, and graded my work. I wonder what it would have been like to have a professor involved?

I'll never take another course of his.

Workload:
Heavy but expected.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1938
Submitted: 2006-07-19
Juan Alonso | LITERATURE OF CHAOS | World Literature

Review:
Actually I took this as a summer course but that wasn't a choice for this review.

I enjoyed this course, and Pro. Alonso, a great deal. I was actually sorry when the class was done. The meetings were fun with lively discussions and it was a varied group because there were students from other places in the class. So it wasn't the same old thing you get all year.

Workload:
I didn't think the workload was brutal like a lot of summer courses. I just cruised through the assignments like it was my summer reading list. The class was engaged and we all had a great time (except for one creepy woman who was just returning to school).

There was a certain freedom in the assignments and the grading which some people might be bothered by, but I found it gave me room to do my own things. Prof. Alonso was very open to people's different approaches.

I would take another course with Juan Alonso


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1935
Submitted: 2006-07-13
Pearl Robinson | PS170- Politics and Global Africa | Political Science

Review:
Literally the worst professor ever. DO NOT TAKE A COURSE WITH HER. She knows a lot, but fails to convey any of it to her students. PS170 is also NOT a poli sci course. It is about Professor Robinson's favorite African Americans. She gives you way too much reading, then doesn't relate it back to the course or to ANYTHING during class. She does not communicate with her students at all, and when she does she is ridiculously harsh. Her grading comes from nowhere. I cannot tell you how much I regret taking this course. It made me cry on numerous occasions, and I do not cry. Pearl Robinson has the power to make an entire semester hell.

Workload:
SO MUCH READING. Which consequently has nothing to do with the course. Basically, you only needed to own two of the seven books assigned. Really, just don't take this course. It's a waste of time.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1928
Submitted: 2006-07-01
Gary McKissick | PS 192- Healthcare in America: Policies and Politics | Political Science

Review:
This was one of the best classes I've taken at Tufts. Professor McKissick is genuinely passionate about health care and made everyone see the importance of it as well. The readings were very relevant to the concepts discussed in class and McKissick's lectures were thought-provoking and engaging. McKissick thoroughly deserved winning the Professor of the Year Award this yr.

Workload:
Articles from a course packet, two books on healthcare policy and politics, some handouts about health care from the Boston Globe/Wall Street Journal that were current


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1924
Submitted: 2006-06-19
Erick Castellanos | ANTH0149B - Growing Up Latino | Anthropology

Review:
Professor Castellanos was more interested in showing how Latinos lived, rather than loading you up on the various anthropological theories. He does give a basic overview of several theories which apply to Latinos in order to helpp further class discussion. He was readily available for anyone who asked at basically any time. He was always looking for more class involvement, because he enjoys discussions rather than lectures. There were many mainstream movies which were analyzed in terms of how the Latinos were portrayed, which was extremely enjoyable. I personally learned a lot about Latino Culture from the course, and it also helped to crystallize ideas about why Latinos are migrating to the U.S.

Workload:
Light reading assignments, 30 pages a week on average, but most (90%) of the reading comes from personal narratives. In connection with the readings Castellanos asked for 2 page reading logs where he asks for your thoughts on the readings. At the end of the semester there was a 15-20 page paper due on any aspect of Latino Culture. The paper could be substituted for a film documentary, children's book, or other form of approved media. Easy to get an A if you are generally interested in the subject.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1925
Submitted: 2006-06-19
Barbara Driscoll | HIST0088 - Introduction to Latino History | History

Review:
To get down to it the professor did not care much about the course and as the semester waned, neither did the class. There was a lot to learn, but the woman is a veritable blackhole of interesting lectures, none can escape. She always seemed to be questioning whether or not what she was saying was true. Questions could get her so off topic that she'd begin to go off on tangents quicker than you can say Jack Robinson. Was rarely in her office for office hours, which was nice for those downhill who walk up to East for nothing. She had trouble teaching anything outside of radical Mexican/Chicano movements, which was not even the bulk of the course. She has a New Mexico fetish, and so the course only discusses New Mexico and Texas borders with Mexico for the first month or so. She comes late to class and sometimes not at all... watch out for her hip-hugging purple crushed velvet dress. She mentions (literally only one class) on Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans. Do not take this class if you are a serious student, or any class with her, because they are all the same.

Workload:
If taking class do not purchase books, you will NEVER use them. There are assigned readings, but she never takes the time to actually see if anyone did the reading, nor does she care. There is a take-home midterm which is about 10-15 pages, although many people still received an A for a mid-term handed in late and incomplete. There is a 20-25 page paper due at the end of the semester, which is the difference between an A and an A+. Some people who did not complete the paper still retained an A in the class... but those who slaved were "rewarded" with an A+.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1921
Submitted: 2006-06-14
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto | HIST123-Spain and the Atlantic | History

Review:
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is the best professor I have had at Tufts. He is highly engaging, encourages student debate, and extremely well spoken. Most importantly he is clearly an expert on his topic. Also, he is a very nice and entertaining guy. I urge people to take a class with FFA. However, be aware that he will not hold your hand through class, and students must take the initiative to prepare the readings and seek him out if needed.

Workload:
Really not very much work at all. The worst part of the class was that the reading, though minimal, was never specified to certain dates on the syllabus and as class jumped around a lot it came to be confusing. The class was a little disorganized.

Only one grade, the final paper, due the last day of exams. FFA gives you an opportunity to hand in a rough draft around midterm time for feedback from him.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 1920
Submitted: 2006-06-12
Christiane Romero | GER0076 - Vienna, A Biography | German

Review:
Take this class if you need the credit. Otherwise, you will find yourself listening to boring lectures and looking at slides. Don't get me wrong, Professor Romero was a sweet lady who invited us to her house for an Austrian dinner. But unless you were a German speaker, a history major, a visitor of Vienna, or one who skips class and/or plays the Daily's crossword or sudoku during class, she won't think very much of you as a student.
I don't feel I learned very much in this class even though I had gone in with much enthusiasm. The notes I took during class were marked wrong on the final exam, and her lectures were disconnected in my opinion. The professor was available by email or office hours. I would not take another class with her.

Workload:
Lots of reading assigned but nothing which couldn't be done, and honestly, most of which didn't have to be read. A few interesting movies to watch, two easy oral presentations, and a take home final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1919
Submitted: 2006-06-10
Drusilla Brown | International Trade EC 160 | Economics

Review:
lesson i learned: take the lower international trade class first. Drusilla repeats everything done in the lower econ class. I did not due that and suffered spending hours and hours of work. The tests were all math, which if you are not quant is not good. she is a good teacher but when it comes to exam is all MATH. i thought i could take any econ class and be fine, but the workload for this class got to be inmense. a lot of the other guys who had the lower level class found her much easier. i wisch i knew that.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1910
Submitted: 2006-06-07
Mauricio Gutierrez | Math 38 - Differential Equations | Mathematics

Review:
He is AWFUL! He is funny, and nice outside of class, but that doesn't matter given that he does not know how to teach. If all else fails and you have no choice but to take his class, at least spend lots of time in his office. He's really no more helpful there, but is slightly more patient in answering questions. Taught many classes with his fly down.

Workload:
Workload is the usual for any math class (hw every class, 3 midterms and a final) - we got 7 points added onto our final average for doing all homework assignments, but that may change in the future.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 1912
Submitted: 2006-06-07
Frederick Nelson | ES 7 - Thermodynamics | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
Nelson is the man. Thermo is boring and dry, but he is extremely witty, even though most don't listen and miss it - what a shame. The class content is tough but his grading is fair (aka easy). He'll be retiring next year, which is too bad. He may be the only professor that can ably teach a class outside his area of expertise. Real old-school.

Workload:
Weekly homework, a midterm, and a final. Homework doesn't actually count toward your grade but can affect the overall scaling of your final average. (Solutions can be purchased online in pdf format for a few bucks.) Tests are challenging but fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 1913
Submitted: 2006-06-07
Luis Dorfmann | ES 9 - Material Strength Analysis | Civil Engineering

Review:
He means well; he's new and was very nice but just not meant to be a teacher. He at first taught lots of theory, then upon request, focused on sample problems, and he meant well, but I found his class challenging in that he just was not a good or clear teacher. Very willing to help outside of class.

Workload:
Weekly homework assinments - pretty straight forward. One midterm and a final. The tests are longer and count more than those in Olia's section of the class, which is frustrating. The class covers a lot of material.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 1914
Submitted: 2006-06-07
Gary Leisk | ME 1 - Intro to Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Review:
Leisk is not especially interesting or exciting, but that's not to say that he's a bad professor. He is very nice and a fair and easy grader. I think the fact that he's relatively young makes him more personable and approachable.

Workload:
Ten homeworks and six quizzes throughout the semester, two exams, but no cumulative final. Homework varied in time-consumption but none were too difficult and quizzes were pretty easy and straight-forward. Exams were a little more difficult, but not unreasonable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mechanical Engineering


Review ID: 1908
Submitted: 2006-06-02
Edward Dunn | International Management | Experimental College

Review:
It was nice to learn from a guy that wasn't really a professor but more of an experienced businessman. He has taught lots of ex-college courses before so he knows how the system works. I learned alot of practical information. Definitely take it if you are interested in the business world.

Workload:
The workload was really light. We read case studies every week and discussed them in class. They were interesting to read and each gave an insight on international business issues. The three case reports were easily graded. It was my lightest course load of the semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1903
Submitted: 2006-05-29
David Valdes Greenwood | EN2- Love, Sex & Society | English

Review:
Dave not only is an awesome guy but also is a great writing teacher. He gives very helpful and constructive criticisms on papers, which makes it easier to get good grades. He also really loves and knows a lot about films, which is a big plus. In addition, he's very accessible; he lets his students call him at home, and he responds to emails promptly.

I personally was really skeptical and reluctant to take this class, but I actually had fun in Dave's class. I'd definitely recommend taking EN2 with him.

Workload:
Five papers, 4 of which are 4-5 pages, 1 of which is 10-12. Two drafts for the first four papers. Not bad at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1904
Submitted: 2006-05-29
Thomas Downes | EC13: Economic Statistics | Economics

Review:
i guess two things that tom has going on for himself is 1. he's very accessible, and 2. he's a pretty nice guy. that being said, he makes a terrible professor.

first off, lecture is absolutely boring and unbearable at the ungodly hour of 8:30am.

problem sets ALWAYS, i repeat ALWAYS have material that will NOT be covered until the class that it is due on. the examples that he give in class are irrelevant to what we need to know in order to do the problem sets.

he also does not pace himself very well, meaning that we spent too much time on the easier stuff at the beginning of the semester, so that he had to rush us through the real hard stuff without much good explanations nor solid examples.

the TAs aren't very good at teaching. Tom himself is much clearer during OHs, so do go pay him a visit if you don't get something. those are what really helped me get through this class.

Workload:
there was 9 problem sets, 2 midterms and a final. please work on the book problems for your own sake.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1901
Submitted: 2006-05-28
Michael Carlin | psy 31 (and 32) | Psychology

Review:
I'm currently a professor of psychology, and I can say with full confidence that Dr. Carlin's undergrad stats and methods courses were the most useful I've taken in my entire career.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1900
Submitted: 2006-05-27
Ronna Johnson | AMER199 | American Studies

Review:
The other reviews of Professor Johnson are unduly harsh. While she has strong opinions concerning specifically feminist issues, she is clearly devoted to the subjects that she teaches and invested in her students, especially those that take an interest in her areas of expertise.

The course assignments are helpful and she is a really approachable person in general.

Workload:
Not particularly insane amounts of reading for what she teaches. She is a English professor, after all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: American Studies


Review ID: 1898
Submitted: 2006-05-26
Mark Woodin | CEE054- Fundamentals of Epidemiology | Civil Engineering

Review:
this was a good class. prof woodin is really passionate and interested in epidemiology which is nice. it was a lecture format which was somewhat disappointing because the information lends itself well to discussion. however, woodin is quite funny and the lectures were always entertaining. There is no need to buy the book which is 70 dollars, he gives out lecture notes that are more than sufficient and there is a copy of the book in the library.

Workload:
workload consists of 4 homework assignments that are exactly reflective of class. there is also a study critique and a final. all assignments are done in groups. there is reading assigned but it really isn't necessary to do well in the class as long as you attend lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Community Health


Review ID: 1899
Submitted: 2006-05-26
Robert Devigne | PS 146 - Liberty, Morality and Virtue | Philosophy

Review:
I was kind of under the impression that all political philosophy courses were basically the same, so i wandered into PS 146 without having taken WPT 1 or 2, or any polphil class ever. It was AMAZING. ridiculously challenging, to the point where my head was spinning when i left class, but Devigne is great. I had high expectations entering the class since I'd heard so many great things about him. At first, I was disappointed, as he was all over the place, intimidating, and moved almost too quickly to take notes. but as the semester went on, he does a GREAT job of repeating and repeating and repeating important points, recapping stuff from the last class, and tying in the works we read. Mills and Tocqueville are great, Nietzsche is of course impossibly hard, but Devigne will make you understand and appreciate them all. Take this class, but DON'T skip! you'll be lost.

Workload:
page-wise, not a lot of reading (maybe 30-50 pages a week), but 30 pages of Nietzsche isn't like 30 pages of anything else. I often had to re-read the essays to understand them, but it's worth it. Take home midterm and final, 7-10 pages, hard questions, but they make you think and he's always willing to meet with you (but don't expect him to tell you the answers).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1893
Submitted: 2006-05-24
Krishna Kumar | Organic Chemistry | Biology

Review:
Professor Kumar is easily the best professor at Tufts. He is extremely organized and tests are based only on what he lectures in class. He is extremely fair and will help any students who are go in to ask him for help.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1894
Submitted: 2006-05-24
Mohammed Afsar | EE13 - Circuit theory | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Prof. Afsar is probably the worst professor I have ever had in my entire life. To his credit, he is a nice man with good intentions, but he simply does not know how to teach. He does not know how to teach the material and teaches assuming students know it already; he teaches as if the class was a review. He is never available to students (I was stood up by him on several occasions when we had appointments). Avoid him like the plague!!

Workload:
About one problem set per week.
3 labs and one filter design.
Prof. Afsar is lenient with turning in homework late.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 1892
Submitted: 2006-05-23
Mathias Konzett | German 4 | German

Review:
This was a fun class!! Great films & lots of conversation really boosted my German. I finally feel that I can speak & think in the language. This is due to Prof. Konzett's great energy & enthusiasm. He always brings out the best in students & has a great sense of humor. Great class that will really get your German going in a fun way.

Workload:
Workload is really reasonable. Doesn't feel like work because the assignments and reading material are interesting.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1886
Submitted: 2006-05-20
Robert Devigne | PS 045 Western Political Thought I | Political Science

Review:
It is a wonder how Professor Devigne is still a member of the faculty at Tufts. He is the most arrogant and condescending professor I've ever had. Although his lectures can be humorous, they are terribly hard to follow in terms of content and organization. What makes this course so unnecessarily difficult is the fact that Devigne expects his students to essentially agree with and regurgitate his own philosophies (which are hard to grasp) on two high-stakes exams. But because the lectures do not help to clarify the difficult content within the readings, the exam questions can be a struggle to accomplish successfully. In a political philosophy course where expression of diverse thinking and analysis should be present, Devigne's arrogance and confusing lecture style hinder many students from offering their own analysis in class. Moreover, many students who do offer analysis that is not congruent with Devigne's own train of thought or philosophy are often shut down or ignored due to Devigne's condescending and arrogant nature. Moreover, students who cannot regurgitate Devigne's own philosophies on the exams often pay for it in terms of their grades.

Devigne also shows absolutely NO concern for his students' progress or understanding of the material. He is impossible to reach via email, and his office hours are often counter productive due to his inability to communicate and converse the course content and ideas without extreme arrogance.


If you have to take a political philosophy course, take one with Professor Munoz or Professor Sullivan and avoid Devigne at all costs. He is truly a burden to the deparment's reputation and unrepresentative of the overall quality of the other professors within the department.

Workload:
Lengthy and complex reading every night. 1 take-home midterm (40%) 1 take-home Final (60%).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1888
Submitted: 2006-05-20
George Norman | EC005 - Principles of Economics | Economics

Review:
He is very concerned with students' progress and understanding. Although he hates macroeconomics, he is generally enthusiastic about what he does. Class involvement came in the form of these experimental "clickers," where students punch in the answers to multiple choice questions--this method was pretty fun and helpful. He may acknowledge that other methods and theories exist, but he only teaches and tests on his own ideas. The course was fun and informative.

Workload:
The reading was pretty easy and almost enjoyable. Toward the end, the reading is kind of unnecessary because it starts to veer from his lectures, and everything you need to know for the problem sets and tests are in his Powerpoint lectures anyway. The problem sets can be kind of tricky, so it's best to work on them with other people.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1889
Submitted: 2006-05-20
kumar krishna | chemistry 51/52 | Chemistry

Review:
Prof Kumar was awesome. We got to hear about why pumpimg gasoline was bad for you why folate is useful etc. This was the most fun chemistry/science class at tufts I've been in. I decided to change my major to biochmeistry after this class. I am hoping he teaches itnext semester.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 1884
Submitted: 2006-05-19
Edmund Dunn | EXP 155 | Experimental College

Review:
if you know anything about business, this class will be really easy. however, the final grade can be shady. everyone in the class is basically guaranteed an A-, however, the A+ will not be given on performance or participation, but on who he likes. no matter how challenging, participant or how much you know, if he doesn't like you, then you are not getting an A+. you might as well be quiet and hand in stuff late since you and the joe next to you will get the same grade, A-.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1883
Submitted: 2006-05-18
Karyn Esielonis | FAH0054 | History of Art

Review:
She is an excellent teacher but talks very fast so you better either write really fast or find a friend so you can compare notes bf a test. Her TA was also excellent and always willing to help out. It was a very interesting class and I strongly recommend it. Midterm and Final advice: u will not do well if you don't go to class...what she talks about isnt in a book

Workload:
The only readings you have to do are the ones that she specifically brings up in class (which is less than half of what is assigned) She doesnt make you learn to ID the paintings (where she shows you a picture and wants name, title and date) so you really only need to remember what she focuses on in class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry


Review ID: 1873
Submitted: 2006-05-17
Christiane Romero | GER007601 | German

Review:
A sweet lady, but she seems to like you only if you've been to Vienna, are a history major or the like, doodle or do crosswords during class. If none of these of apply, taking notes and attending class is a waste of time. She shows you a lot of pictures. And if you ask for a take home final, she will most likely oblige. A bit of a boring class actually...

Workload:
Lots of assigned reading material, but it's nothing to worry about if you skip a few. Two easy oral presentations, paper about a topic of your choice, and a take home final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1874
Submitted: 2006-05-17
Lisa Perrone | Math 6 - Finite Mathematics | Mathematics

Review:
Prof. Perrone is one of the nicest professors at Tufts. She knew all of our names, was always genuinely concerned about the progress of her students, and ALWAYS rearranged her schedule to fit yours if office hours didn't work out. She made the class pretty fun, but does make some careless errors (as we all do) so always check over her work on the blackboard.

Workload:
Three regular exams and a final, final counts twice and you drop the lowest of the five grades. The second test is the hardest, and the final was the easiest of all the exams. I found the class hard, but Prof. Perrone helped me a lot!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1875
Submitted: 2006-05-17
Aida Belansky | Spanish 003 - Intermediate Spanish I | Spanish

Review:
Prof. Belansky was always with a smile on her face and even if the exercises were boring (for us and for her) she pretended to enjoy them which made the class less painful. Although the Spanish 3 curriculum for classwork is usually just practicing speaking, if you need help actually learning the forms for this class, go to office hours. Prof. Belansky is very helpful one-on-one.

Workload:
Three tests, four compositions, two skits, workbooks, some other odds and ends, one final.

This class just has a lot of busy work, but that's how you practice and get better. doing the work guarantees a good grade, so don't be lazy and you'll be fine. all three tests combined have the same weight as the final, so study hard for it, but dont worry about the tests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1876
Submitted: 2006-05-17
Karen Eggleston | Ec011 - Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
This class is a class where you can easily blend into the wall, and will probably choose to. Prof Eggleston always tried to involve the class asking questions but no one ever responded.

Prof. was always available for meetings and if it weren't for office hours i woulld have failed the class. the final is harder than the midterm, but study for both. the online problem sets on aplia are good because they bring your grade up but are useless to study from. USE BLACKBOARD. she posts stuff there all the time and forgets to tell you about it!!!

Workload:
one midterm, one final, optional application paper which replaces 10% of your lower grade- midterm or final. and online multiple choice p-sets (at least once a week!)

lots of psets, but easy ones. do the practices because they correspond exactly. the midterm was hard, but manageable and the final was not so hot.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Psychology


Review ID: 1877
Submitted: 2006-05-17
Catherine Freudenreich | General Genetics | Biology

Review:
Do not take this class with Freudenreich (if you can avoid it). Though she comes off bubbley and a bit quirky, she was a terrible professor in the sense that she was unclear and her tests focused on random, inane facts. She is the only professor that I have had at Tufts who I actually think is just downright bad at teaching.

Workload:
Lots of reading, and the textbook was fine. However, the tests were made up of little random facts that really shouldn't count for anything. I'd say that the bulk of the material you read makes up about 40% of the actual test- the rest is trivial facts gleaned from her strange lectures.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 1858
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Kris Powers | Comp 10 | Computer Science

Review:
worse class ever! didn't get my grades yet, but i think i will do horrible for such a basic class. she didnt teach the material, but expected you to understand it. she combines a program called Alice with C++ instead of teaching you the basics of computer science, which complicates the course much more than needed. she also drops one of the three test for some and not for others, so the way she computes grades is clearly biased. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!

Workload:
way too much! postlabs every week- and she doesnt teach you, so u basically have to find a ta to do it for you. Three Tests, Two projects- awful!


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1860
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Deborah Schildkraut | PS 111-Political Psychology | Political Science

Review:
I can't say enough good things about Schildkraut and this class. She's a wonderful professor. I've heard that she wasn't good in PS11, but in this class she was awesome. A lot of that has to do I think with the fact that this class focuses on her primary research interest. If you're Poli Sci, DON'T miss this class.

Workload:
Workload was quite a bit (because it's a methodologically based class). 1 five page reaction paper. 1 five page study design. 1 final paper/design. 1 midterm and 1 final. This seems like so much, but Schildkraut gives so much guidance for the assignments and tests so that they are managable and enjoyable.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1861
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Dan Richards | EC 18 - Quantitative Macroeconomics | Economics

Review:
Great professor, great guy, great class. There is no textbook, but Richards is definitely on top of his game and knows what he's doing. He goes over things until students understand. I learned so much in this class, and even though I struggled on the tests, I would take the class again in a heartbeat.

Workload:
2 midterms and a final. Problem sets that are optional and are not turned in. The only difficult thing with this class is that you only get three grades. The 3 tests are open book, open note and usually difficult but fair. You have to go to class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1862
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Drusilla Brown | EC017 - Quantitative Intermediate Microeconomics | Economics

Review:
Professor Brown is such a poor professor. She is insensitive and doesn't care about students progress. The organization of her class is terrible and the textbook is terrible.

Workload:
Depends on how she feels.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1863
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Jay Shimshack | EC30-Environmental Economics | Economics

Review:
I have been kind of disappointed by the other econ classes that I have taken at Tufts, but environmental econ with Prof. Shimshack was a great class. He is an amazing and dynamic professor. Attending lecture was a good time. He is engaged in his students' progress and appreciation for his class.

Workload:
It wasn't too bad---5 problem sets, a midterm, a final and two policy briefs. He expects quality work but the tests can be a little tricky.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1864
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Matthew Gregory | SOC135-Social Movements | Sociology

Review:
Prof. Gregory leads an interesting class. Some days you think he's the greatest guy and other days you can't stand sitting in his class. He has a clear liberal bias and sometimes the lectures can be really convoluted and hard to follow. He brought in interesting speakers.

Workload:
Not bad---a semester long case study of a social movement organization that involves three papers and reading but you don't have to do it. He also assigns a "take part in a social movement" create a project kind of an assignment three weeks before the end of the semester. He is one of those profs who absolutely hates to give A's though.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 1865
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Ina McCabe | HIST104-Gender, Travel and Imperialism | History

Review:
Professor McCabe is pretty much the nicest and most generous professor you'll ever meet. She constantly tries to work with your schedule and makes her class very easy. She is very enthusiastic about her course.

Workload:
The course is very easy. There is a midterm and a paper and 1-2 presentations or summary assignments. If you need an extension or anything, Prof. McCabe will grant it. She makes sure not to "burden" her students too much.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1866
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Bob Burdick | UEP230-Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Mediation | Urban & Environmental Policy

Review:
Professor Burdick is an amazing man who offers a wealth of expertise in teaching these topics. The course is very well organized and carried out. It is very interactive and engaging with all of the negotiations and it is obvious that Professor Burdick cares about each of his students' progress.

Workload:
There was a fair amount of reading, two papers, preparation and reflection for each negotiation and a large final negotiation. All of the assignments were very straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Peace & Justice Studies


Review ID: 1867
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Roberta Oster-Sachs | Films for Social Change | Experimental College

Review:
Professor Sachs came to class for about half the scheduled lectures, and was not available ever for office time. Her enthusiasm for making the films and advancing her own career was enormous. Her grading policies were emotionally driven rather than substance driven, which was a problem given her lack of availability and insight. She brought in great guest speakers, but their purpose or relation to the class was unclear, and the practical aspects were taught by 18 year old freshmen TA's for the most part. Labs did not have proper equipment, and lab availability was mostly in the middle of the night and almost never in daylight hours. Groups were not supervised and thrown together with out thought or consideration or follow up provided. She tends to rush through important group meetings, but does not do the same with the famous guests who visit the university.

Often Professor Oster-Sachs seemed to emotional over personal and professional problems to engage in her role as Professor in class. She often would be gone for weeks on end, then show up and make snap decisions about crucial project elements with out discussing it with the group first.

Issues of class, race, and gender were not addressed in the context of the class members, and sometimes minority class members were made to feel like they were not full fledged members in the class. The minority members of class were asked to be spokes people for their entire demographic and teach the class about poverty, racism and oppression. Often these students were themselves still not secure in their identity and made to feel like causes themselves.

Workload:
Over all, the class was unorganized, there was no leadership, and it has a bad reputation on campus because the film makers are not properly trained. They make movies about class, race, and discrimination with out any training on how to properly portray and treat the characters in their films, who are often dehumanized for sensational value. There are no research papers required, and the films are often ill informed and harm the causes they seek to advocate for.

The work load is inconsistent, and due to lack of instruction and guidance can easily consume every waking moment trying to figure out poorly illustrated basic concepts. The papers that were assigned did not relate to the course or films being made, and grading criterion was emotionally rather than substantatively driven.

The class is called "Films for Social Change," but confusingly the films are supposed to be made in news room fashion and "unbiased," even though there is supposed to be some sort of message attached to them.

Grades were posted at the last minute, and most times papers were never graded or handed back to students, so it was hard to guage where one stood with their grade. Some students did not even recieve credit for the copious amounts of work they handed in or contributed to the class because her memory and participation were a large problem.

Sometimes Professor Oster Sachs was known to contact administrators and give negative reports on students and projects with out ever discussing any aspect of that project with the students themselves. Some students who worked or contributed to films were never thanked or given credit on the film projects themselves.

The work load with in the groups was not evenly distributed, and many students were overwhelmed while others recieved credit for their work with out having done anything.

Over all, this was the most work I have ever experienced for a Tufts class, and I felt that due to lack of supervision and professionalism on the part of the teacher, the course was a dismal failure.
The only thing I learned in class was how to operate a camera and use the editing lab, and how issues of oppression are perpetrated and maticulously carried out at the expense of minority students right here in the tufts class rooms.

If you are considering a class with theis professor, just skip it and learn how to use the camera equipment on your own. Some students walked away from this class and this professor needing counciling because of the traumatic affect it had on them.

With a different professor and course curriculum this class could be brilliant. UCCPS and the Media Studies Director Julie Dubroe are amazing, but hopefully the department and class will get a fresh start in the fall semester.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1868
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Pearl Robinson | Politics in Global Africa | Political Science

Review:
Professor Robinson is an amazing professor with unprecidented enthusiasm and knowledge on African Diaspora issues. Students cannot help but be infected by her amazing and interesting teaching style. She genuinely cares about the progress of her students, and takes great pains to get to know them individually and maximize both their tufts and class room experience.

I thought that as a white student in class that I might not be welcomed to contribute to the class, or at a disadvantage. I was not sure that the subject would relate well to my course of study or have practical applications. However, I walked away feeling that I had gained invaluable knowledge from a unique perspective that immeasurably enhanced my personal and professional skills and out look.

Professor Robinson is a perfectionist in all the right ways a professor should be. She treats her students with respect and the utmost kindness, and would give the shirt off her back to help a student in need. Despite her clearly superior academic and professional achievement and understanding of her field of expertise, she NEVER makes you feel self conscious of your own as a student.

Professor Robinson is everything a professor should be-knowledgable, kind, professional, enthusiastic, and accessable. She is always prompt to respond to inquiries and always shows up for office hours, often staying late to meet with her students.

The comments she leaves on your papers are truly thoughtful and provide valuable insight for improving your academic performance and understanding of the work at hand.

This was one of the few classes that actually discussed issues of class and related them to racism in a meaningful way with out hitting the students accross the head with them and alienating them. I was thoroughly impressed by her approach, as well as her encoragement of class discussion and feedback.

However, I often feel that this professor is under appreciated by her colleagues and superiors, and that she deserves more recognition for the unique and amazing perspective and work she brings to the table

Workload:
There is a lot of reading in this class, but it is all very well related to the course and exceptionally helpful at illuminating the themes discussed in class. I wish I had more time to read more of the books, as they were very insightful and interesting, and covered more topics and themes than we had time to discuss in class.

The paper assignments were not overwhelming, and really helped me gain a better understanding of the topic.

Over all, I loved this professor and this course, and I would reccomend it to anyone on campus. Administrators, if you are reading this, you need to find a way to have more classes like this, and get more students involved in her classes because the Professor Robinson and the ANW program are some of the biggest assets the political science department and the university has.

The woman is an incredible role model for both her students and her colleagues, not because she is a black woman and a public intellectual, but because she is so incredibly humble and talented at her profession and embodies the true spirit of tufts. I have great admiration for her and her achievements.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1870
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Shinju Fujihira | PS124 - Comparative Political Economy of Advanced Industrial Democracies | Political Science

Review:
Fujihira is a very intelligent and knowledgable professor, however this becomes highly irrelevant because of his course structure. Basically, students are quizzed during the entirety of the once a week class on the readings for that week. Real discussion is therefore non-existent, and the professor's inputs are minimal. Going to class therefore added little to my understanding of the material. It might as well have been a weekly homework assignment with no class meetings.

Workload:
The readings were quite long (150 pages a week). There was a single 30-page paper, but it was broken into steps (proposal, 20 page rough draft, final paper), so it wasn't too bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1871
Submitted: 2006-05-16
Brigitte Lane | FR075 - Classics of French Cinema | French

Review:
Professor Lane is a really cool professor and the movies for the course are very good. I would suggest taking the upper-level French film course (Fr 192) though, as nobody participated or discussed the films in this larger class.

Workload:
Workload includes watching one film a week, 2 oral presentations, a mid-term paper (7 pages) and a final paper (11 pages). Overall it's not very time-consuming.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1842
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Jayanthi Mistry | CD144- Qualitative Research Methods | Child Development

Review:
One of the worst classes I have ever taken in my Tufts career. Mistry was highly disorganized, her assignments and grading system were unclear until after we had received our grades back, and she was unavailable via email. I had to email her several times in the week right before the final paper was due before she finally got back to me. The course packet was a waste of my money since half of the material was not needed for reading assignments. The lecture was uninteresting, and I might add painful to sit through at times. I came out of that class knowing the same amount of qualitative research methods as going in.

Workload:
Ridiculous amounts of readings that were dry and unnecessary.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 1845
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Elizabeth Lemons | CR006 - Philosophy of Religion | Comparative Religion

Review:
This was one of my favorite classes I took at Tufts. I almost never do the reading for most of my classes, but I found myself doing all the readings, participating in class, and having fun writing the papers. Prof. Lemons is very friendly and her lecture notes are very organized. She is very open to other people's opinions and insights, so I don't know what the other reviewer was talking about.

Workload:
The reading was managable and straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 1848
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Joseph Walser | CR44- Intro to Hinduism | Comparative Religion

Review:
You have to be very interested in the subject material to enjoy the class like this. Very esoteric and academic readings punctuated with fun but confusing readings of actual religious texts. Professor Walser knows his stuff and actively involves the class.

Workload:
Weekly reading but no assignments to make sure you are doing it. One midterm and one final. Each is a 10 page research paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1851
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Roger Tobin | PHY11- Physics 11 | Physics

Review:
Professor Tobin is a great lecturer and a really enthusiastic guy. He keeps everyone interested with in-class polling questions and fun demonstrations. The class moves very fast though, covering alot of ground in a small amount of time. The book used when I took the class, Tipler, is terrible. The tests were tricky.

Workload:
One problem set each week, a lab due every two weeks (if you take it with a lab) and the pain in the ass that reading the Tipler books was.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1852
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Emma Blake | ARCH27 | Archaeology

Review:
Make no mistake, this is an art history class. The first half, about the Greeks, can get very boring and tedious with all the dates needed to be memorized. The second half, about the Romans, was much more interesting. Emma Blake was a very good lecturer considering the dry, in my opinion, subject material. The TAs I had were terrible and overgraded.

Workload:
About 75-100 pages of reading each week. 5 short, page-long reaction papers due. Two midterms and a final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1855
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Luz-Alterman | ED 245 Life Span Development | Education

Review:
A great professor. He was very good at encouraging all members of the class to participate in discussions every class, and so it became very comfortable to speak up. His central focus is on group work, and so if you have trouble with that, you probably won't like this course. He is extremely skilled at articulating themes and drawing out relevant topics from even the most incoherent comment from one of us. Made us all feel comfortable.
My one negative comment is that he did not foster an intellectually stimulating environment; it was much more focused on application and real world practice.

Workload:
The workload was very manageable and flexible. He always told us which readings to focus on. The mid-term project was a group project (that was time-consuming), and the final was completely up to us - could be a paper, home-made film, brochure, presentation, web site, etc. We did a lot of group work so be prepared for that.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Education


Review ID: 1856
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Richard Eichenberg | PS181 - Public Opinion + US Foreign Policy | Political Science

Review:
This course is divided into 2 parts. First there's a basic review of the Cold War and the Presidents involved - which only requires one (long) book and is pretty interesting for those who are fairly unfamiliar with the topi. The second half then deals with public opinion. Prof Eichenberg really enjoys discussion/participation and tries to learn everyone's names, but unfortunetly it's pretty much the same people who talk every time (and usually just people who want to hear their own voice). But Prof Eichenberg is very enthustiastic about the subject and seems to know his stuff. The most negative aspect would probably be the grading: 10% participation, 40% ONE paper, and then a tes worth 50% (but we complained and had 2 25% tests instead).

Workload:
As I said, first part of the course is just one book. Then the rest is different books and a lot of articles. Really not too bad, but make sure to do at least SOME stuff in advance and not the week before the test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1857
Submitted: 2006-05-15
Richard Eichenberg | PS181 - Public Opinion + US Foreign Policy | Political Science

Review:
This course is divided into 2 parts. First there's a basic review of the Cold War and the Presidents involved - which only requires one (long) book and is pretty interesting for those who are fairly unfamiliar with the topi. The second half then deals with public opinion. Prof Eichenberg really enjoys discussion/participation and tries to learn everyone's names, but unfortunetly it's pretty much the same people who talk every time (and usually just people who want to hear their own voice). But Prof Eichenberg is very enthustiastic about the subject and seems to know his stuff. The most negative aspect would probably be the grading: 10% participation, 40% ONE paper, and then a tes worth 50% (but we complained and had 2 25% tests instead).

Workload:
As I said, first part of the course is just one book. Then the rest is different books and a lot of articles. Really not too bad, but make sure to do at least SOME stuff in advance and not the week before the test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1819
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Sonia Hofkosh | ENG 172- Feminist Lit and Theory | English

Review:
Sonia was friendly and really made conversation happen in a discussion-based course, which was great since not many people did the reading. She seemed legitmately concerned with how we were progressing intellectually, and she clearly knew the material.

Workload:
There was a lot of packet reading, but it wasn't out of the ordinary for an English class. Assignments were very straightforward and she helped a lot with making them understandable. We only had to do a paired class presentation and then a final 10 page paper about anything we wanted.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1820
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Peggy Hutaff | CR 192- Feminist Theologies | Comparative Religion

Review:
Peggy really cares about her students, their thoughts, and their relationship to the course material. She encourages tons of class participation, and she welcomes alternative and dissenting views. She is incredibly intelligent (I think she went to Harvard Divinity), and she is as engaged with the material as possible.

Workload:
The workload was intense. There was no syllabus, only readings given out in each class for the next one, but most people rarely did them and class discussion often strayed far from the topic at hand. There were a few very short writing assignments, then a HUGE three-paper final. If you take a class with her, demand that you have details about the final WAY in advance.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1825
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Jose Mazzotti | SPN191-Literature of Latin American Migration | Spanish

Review:
Good professor, very knowledgeable about the topic. However, he had trouble in getting the class involved. We would often sit in class and watch him draw maps on the board. Be prepared to be bored quite often, but if you put in the time and reading you can get a lot out of the course if you actively participate.

Workload:
Very little; some light readings in Spanish, some in English. I only did the readings sparingly, and did fine in the course.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 1826
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Abby Zanger | History 26- French Revolution | History

Review:
Great professor. Class involvement is an important component of your grade, and luckily my class was very active in discussions. The readings were always useful to the material, and well utilized by the professor. The course covered the French Revolution from a more thematic standpoint rather than a historical one. I had previously studied the French Revolution in History 10/11, so this was a nice break from dryer, more historical material.

Workload:
Lots of reading that you should definitely look at before going to class. History 26 extensively analyzed each document/essay, so it is important to have a grasp on them before going into class. The grade consisted of two papers, one 3-5 the other 4-6 pages, and a final paper of 15-25 pages. She expects a different writing style, which is again a nice break from dryer, more historical courses.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1827
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Prodessor Rivard | ENG0221 | English

Review:
Professor Rivard is amazingly well-read, thoughtful and personable. I can't recommend this class enough if you want to be an informed writer. This is a beautiful class.

Workload:
Optional reading, weekly exercises. The workload is only challenging if you have a hard time sharing your writing. Weekly workshops make it hard to keep this class impersonal.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1828
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Pam Haltom | Spanish 1 | Spanish

Review:
Prof. Haltom was among the best professors I have had at Tufts. She was very concerned with student understanding, very encouraging, very friendly, and easy to find outside of class. She does a good job explaining things and she paces the class very well. She was very good at getting the whole class to participate.

Workload:
Assignments were straightforward and helpful.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Physics


Review ID: 1829
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Pearl Robinson | PS 188- regionalism and african international relations | Political Science

Review:
Class was okay if you could get over her enormous ego. I sometimes wonder how she fit her head through the door. She would go off on tangents about her personal experiences in Africa simply because she wanted an audience to tell her travels to. Didn't seem to be very concerned with the class's progress, we went over a week without a syllabus when she decided to revise it, and she was never available because of all the things she was doing outside of Tufts. She wasn't very tolerant of outside views, though she was intelligent.

Workload:
Too many books, readings not always relevant/discussed in class. Readings were long and not very interesting, a midterm, final, and one 1- pg research paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1834
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Stephen Bailey | Anth 149- Evolutionary Medicine | Anthropology

Review:
Professor Bailey is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting lecturers at Tufts. Unfortunately, half of the time he got caught up in teaching topics that were not on the syllabus, and that therefore never made it onto the exams. While he clearly cares very much about Evolutionary Medicine, his concern with us as students ended as soon as he walked out of the classroom door. He took off for conferences for two weeks and left us a movie that was unrelated to the course to keep us busy. It's not a particularly interactive course, and he can be brusque when he catches on that students haven't done the reading. I learned a lot of random things in this course, but overall, I felt that Bailey did not care about us and therefore felt my time had been wasted demonstrated most visibly by his consistently late arrival to class. He's also curt via email. I would definitely not take another class with Bailey, because professors should be both good lecturers and good teachers.

Workload:
There was a lot of random reading for this course, packaged into a Gnomon reader that was unlabeled, so that locating the correct readings was always challenging. Bailey also had the not-so-cute habit of emailing us on Monday afternoon informing us that we had to pick up a reading and complete it by Monday evening-- our course met once a week, so this was always logistically difficult. He had initially told us there would be two exams, two papers, and a final. We actually had two exams and a final. Exams test random details and diagrams that aren't given much attention in class. Bailey was also terrible about giving back assignments once graded. We went into the final exam without having received any feedback on our second exam. I wish there had been more graded assignments so that we knew where we stood in terms of understanding the course material.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1835
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Christina Sharpe | ENG161 - Memory for Forgetting | English

Review:
Classes with Professor Sharpe are always intense and personal. She was determined to make us love, or hate, the texts as much as she did and really challenged us to engage with them by putting them in their proper historical contexts. She encouraged active class participation, although it was guided by her own opinions and views. Discussions sometimes got heated, but not in an uncomfortable sort of way. I came out learning a lot about the Holocaust, slavery, and apartheid that I had not known going into the course. Professor Sharpe is always available to talk, and this was my second course with her.

Workload:
You are expected to post on Blackboard in response to questions about the readings, posted by your classmates, twice a week before class. This is in addition to reading one book a week, sometimes in addition to supplemental readings. The workload depended on the length of the text assigned that week-- some weeks the work never ended, and other times it was minimal. We had one paper during the semester and a final paper. The guidelines were both straightforward and permissive.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1837
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Mitchell Silver | Phil124 Bioethics | Philosophy

Review:
Engaging lectures for the most part. Interesting issues discussed. Makes you rethink many important issues related to health care.

Workload:
Moderate workload. Do all the readings to prepare for the finals, and writing two term papers.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1841
Submitted: 2006-05-14
Ikumi Kaminishi | FAH 0011 - Buddhist Art | History of Art

Review:
Straight up awful

Workload:
not much


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1745
Submitted: 2006-05-09
Joseph Litvak | English 91 black comedy | American Studies

Review:
If you like to be insulted, shat upon, degraded, and hear the same lecture class after class - take this class. Professor Litvak is not the worse professor in the school, there has to be some one worse than him. I must admit though, I could demonstrate more care towards my student's understanding despite only being a sophmore undergrad. He considers most writing, including yours bad, and if you go to him for help, your age and demographic will come into play as to why you are 'a bad writer'. This man is cocky and chauvinistic, and if you are at all hoping to improve your writing, don't go within a ten mile radius of him because he will just insult you rather than teach, as he was hired to do.

Workload:
The assignments were pretty interesting for the beginning of the semester. There was a book assigned every Wednesday night and usually a pop quiz on monday. There were many film selections, however as the class progressed we started watching things like 6 feet under , which although entertaining, I'm sure there were other, better, black comedic works out there.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1746
Submitted: 2006-05-09
Pia Mukherji | ENG 2: Other Worlds | English

Review:
I expected the class to be boring and a waste of time, but I was wrong. Professor Mukherji is intelligent, articulate, and helpful. Class discussions are interesting, and the readings are for the most part interesting. The films we watch are cool too.

Workload:
Reasonable


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1747
Submitted: 2006-05-09
Reed Ueda | A couple courses | History

Review:
Prof. Ueda is extremely well-versed in American social history, though he tends to ramble and move away from his main point. However, if you are interested in the topic that he's talking about, you will find his classes enjoyable.

He is very approachable and helpful outside of the classroom. Don't be scared to just drop by his office.

Workload:
Assigns a good deal of reading, but not everthing is discussed in depth.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 1739
Submitted: 2006-05-06
Christian Benes | Mathematics 162 | Mathematics

Review:
Hands down best Professor for 161 and 162 (Probability & Stats). Math 162 is an easy course - or so Benes will make it seem. He is an astounding professor. The course is very well laid out - I've come out of it feeling like I can do Statistics on anything. The course is a must take for anyone interested (really) in Stats - i'm not talking about EC13 and those lame courses, i mean if you really want to know what you're doing.

Workload:
A problem set every week in which you are given the opportunity to do Bonus questions which will give you a nice headstart. 25% of the grade is homework, too. 75% comprised of exams like normal classes, 3 exams in total and final is cumulative with double weighting like most math classes.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 1733
Submitted: 2006-05-05
Howard Malchow | HIST33 | History

Review:
In all, the class isn't too bad. It was an A+ block course which meant getting out of bed for an 8am class on Mon and Wed mornings. Several books were assigned for class readings in addition to two similar text books. The books were rarely referenced in class and used (some of them, at least) in essays done outside of class. There was a midterm exam that was fair for the course, three 5-page papers from the above readings and a take home final. Malchow himself is an interesting figure. He seemed distant from the class during lecture. He promoted little to no discussion throughout the semester. However, in office hours he opened up a little more. He has his quirks, and is somewhat difficult a grader on essays, but I felt I grew my historical knowledge and expanded my writing abilities in the class. I probably won't take another class with him solely because there are other professors in the department who I like more.

Workload:
N/A


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 1734
Submitted: 2006-05-05
Jeff McConnell | PHIL52 | Philosophy

Review:
I really enjoyed the course. Jeff (as he likes to be called) is an excentric guy with a definite knowledge and passion for the course. There were lots of outside readings but they weren't too long or involved. This was a very enjoyable with a mixture of museum school students and regular Tufts students. The class took a field trip to Washington to view an exhibit on Dada. I would definitely take the course again and would take another course with Jeff.

Workload:
There wasn't that much work. A repsonse paper was due each week for the assigned reading, but weren't too big a deal. There was no specified length to them or a desired point of view needed. There were two moderate length essays (8-10pages) spaced throughout the course and a quick take home final (1500 words). Not a bad workload at all.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 1726
Submitted: 2006-05-04
Ikumi Kaminishi | Japan's Floating World | History of Art

Review:
The subject matter of the course was very interesting. We were required to write a long term paper for the course; normally the professor is supposed to work closely with the student on this, but Kaminishi did not help me or many of my peers. Her comments were very, very few, and were not constructive or helpful at all. She is extremely difficult to talk to; her English skills are fine, but she has a lot of trouble relating to students and understanding thier concerns. She also has trouble communicating her concerns and whether or not she actually has any. She is very difficult to get along with. She did not know the subject matter very well, and said that it is not her speciality, and I find that odd considering it is a gradutate level course, for which the professor should have an in-depth knowledge in order to teach.

Workload:
lots of reading, some of which were never even mentioned during the class. many of the readings overlapped. one group paper/presentation and a term paper.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1730
Submitted: 2006-05-04
Maria Conchita Davis | SPN0021 | Spanish

Review:
Conchita Davis is one of the best Spanish professors I have ever had. She creates an environment that makes you want to speak Spanish. She is incredibly concerned with her students' progress. It is very easy to set up a meeting with her about anything you may be having trouble with, and she is always very helpful and patient. She has tons of enthusiasm for the course as well, which makes everything we read or do in the class that much more interesting. She encourges everyone to participate in the class, but does not put any undo pressure on students. I would definitely take another class with her.

Workload:
This class has a very solid amount of work, but nothing extremely stressful. Davis graded assignments critically, but fairly, and always wrote down very helpul comments. The major assignments were 4 grammar quizes, 3 tests, 5 compositions, 4 news programs, and a 10-12 minutes editorial presentation. It sounds like more work than it really is. Also, all the tests had the exact same format, so no surprises. The best part about the class was there was NO FINAL! The last assigment is an in-class essay on a short novel.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1725
Submitted: 2006-05-03
Douglas Preis | EE0018 - Electromagnetic Field Theory | Electrical Engineering

Review:
Preis is the best prof. in the EE department by far (OK , that's not saying a whole lot as the rest are pretty terrible, but he's still great). True, his lectures could be a bit better, but he really tries to make stuff understandable (the leaf diagram for curl). The videos were kind of high-school-ish, but they helped a bit.

He might not deserve a 5 star rating, but since the rest of the department is so horrendous, I'll give it to him.

Workload:
Homeworks were pretty tough, but at least the exams were quite easy in comparison. I noticed almost everyone in the class "somehow" got 10/10 on every single HW assignment, and then when exams rolled around, people had difficulty. Wonder how that happened..


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Electrical Engineering


Review ID: 1722
Submitted: 2006-05-02
Nancy Levy-Konesky | Spanish 22 | Spanish

Review:
Dr. Levy-Konesky was an excellent instructor who was very concerned with the progress of her students and had a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for teaching the course. She was able to stimulate interesting discussions about the literature we read for class and was more than willing to help all her students with any aspect of the course. She was an awesome teacher and made Spanish 22 an enjoyable class.

Workload:
The workload is typical. In addition to the daily readings there are three exams, grammar quizes, editorial presentation, 4 compositions, and an in class essay at the end of the term.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1719
Submitted: 2006-04-30
Paul Lehrman | MUS0051 - Music for Multimedia I | Music

Review:
A very cool course, and the professor is a fountain of knowledge. Covers a lot of ground: history, physics, music theory, recording, etc. etc. You come out with a real broad understanding of music technology, and if you are willing to pay attention and work, some good projects.

Workload:
Lots of reading, but most of it worthwhile. Assignments give you plenty of freedom, for some students maybe too much.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Computer Science


Review ID: 1714
Submitted: 2006-04-28
Christiane Romero | GER0076 - Vienna, A Biography | German

Review:
She told us the class would be similar to a seminar - and so for the rest of the semester, she just talked about Vienna for an hour and fifteen minutes without much organization and threw in some pictures for show. Don't get me wrong, she was the sweetest lady in the world, very accessible, and invited us to her home for an amazing Austrian dinner (topped with sashertorte!), but she could do so much more with this class. If you need the German credit, it's a nice class to take.

Workload:
Lots of reading assigned, but most students never read any of it. Two simple oral presentations, 1 6-10 page paper on whatever topic of your choice, and a take home final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1717
Submitted: 2006-04-28
Dana Simpson | SPN122 | Spanish

Review:
tons of fun, the teachers great, entertaining, informative, efficient but interesting, a lot of acting like funny skits and laughing, the material is alright, not fascinating but standard spanish lit, if its hard to understand dont stress too much we'll go over it in class or talk with your classmates about it, street spanish-you learn slang expressions which is fun and useful

Workload:
normal to easy, up to you how much you want to put into it, do some skimming, a couple papers, group skits and one final test.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology


Review ID: 1708
Submitted: 2006-04-27
Regina Merzlak | CLS031 - CLASSICS OF GREECE | Classics

Review:
This was the worst class Ive taken so far at Tufts. If you want an easy A, though, this is the class to take. The professor sits there and reads to you three times a week, there is no discussion and be prepared to be bored out of your mind. Despite the fact that the works chosen happen to be great, they WILL be ruined by this professor and her monotonous voice. Honestly, I learned nothing and this class, and its teacher, are an embarassment to Tufts.

Workload:
There is no homework. All you have to do is attend class and review for a half hour before the exams and you're set.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1709
Submitted: 2006-04-27
Richard Eichenberg | PS0181-Public Opinion and Foreign Policy | Political Science

Review:
I am so sorry that I ever wasted my time taking this class. Prof. Eichenberg is dreadful, and I simply don't get why some people actually seemed to like him. His grading system on exams is insane (the score is out of a very low number of points so that if you get more than one question wrong, you're screwed), he plays "favorites" among his students, and just basically tries to bore everyone to tears to the best of his ability. The first part of the course also felt irrelevant to what I thought it would be about when I signed up for it-there was no "public opinion" involved! So, yeah, don't take this class. You will be better off for signing up for something different, trust me.

Workload:
The books were boring, and the reading was always an unrealistic number of pages.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 1710
Submitted: 2006-04-27
Nancy Levy-Konesky | SPAN0022XC-Puerto Rico | Spanish

Review:
I LOVE Professor Levy-Konesky, she was amazing!!!! She was so passionate and knowledgeable about the subject material, and always tried to engage everyone. She also always tried to make class fun, which I appreciated. Everyone, try to take at least one of her classes!

Workload:
The homework and exams were always very fair.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History of Art


Review ID: 1711
Submitted: 2006-04-27
Adele Oppenheim | SPN 2 | Spanish

Review:
Professor Oppenheim was one of the best teachers I have ever had. I looked forward to her 8:30 Spanish class more than any other class. She makes the material interesting and fun and the class was really a good time. She is a fair grader and always willing to meet for help, go over compositions, etc.

Workload:
Normal for a language class.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1680
Submitted: 2006-04-09
Ronnee Yashon | EXP0044 | Experimental College

Review:
Ronnee is an extremely helpful professor. She is very enthusisatic and fosters very interesting discussions. She is easy to get in touch with.

Workload:
The major work is preparing lessons to teach to elementary schoolers. It's a lot tougher than you think it will be. There are some class discussions and minor assignments. Class usually lets out early and doesn't happen every week because the real work is with the kids.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1681
Submitted: 2006-04-09
William Waller | AST0192 - Space Science Education | Astronomy

Review:
Bill is very enthusiastic. He is always available, flexible, and encouraging. Our class was a very small group that engaged in great discussions and devoured enormous amounts of food.

Workload:
There was a good amount of work involved, mostly reading to prepare for class discussions and papers/presentations. There were also a couple of field trips. All of it was fascinating if you're interested in space science education.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1672
Submitted: 2006-04-05
Tamara Marquez-Raffetto | SPN191C- Evolution of The Heroic Figure in Early Modern Literature | Spanish

Review:
We read a lot of good material, but Marquez-Raffetto didn't seem to care whether students understood the deeper meaning of any of the readings. She was merely interested in plot development and lecturing--pretty ridiculous in a 17 person upper-level Spanish course.

Workload:
The readings were fine, but we had to do article summaries which were extremely pointless. We would read 20 page articles and have to summarize them into two pages, with no discussion about themes or anything else. I will not take another class with Marquez-Raffetto.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Spanish


Review ID: 1663
Submitted: 2006-04-04
Gary Leupp | HIST048 - JAPAN FROM 1868 TO PRES | History

Review:
Professor Leupp rocks my socks off. While some, inattantive students might find his lectures dull, anyone with any reasonable desire to learn anything will discover a professor capable of smoothly and efficiently passing on a wealth of information with plenty of appropriate and interesting digressions. His style of teaching is very straight-forward: come to class and absorb! Thoughtful questions will recieve thoughtful answers.

Workload:
Readings were appropriate for the course level and pretty damn interesting. There was the standard final, midterm and paper (10-15 pg research). We were provided with a helpful review sheet for the midterm and the final was a take home 3 pg essay. No worries.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1662
Submitted: 2006-04-03
Grace Talusan | English3 | English

Review:
Professor was lackadaisacal. Class consists of mostly international students and has the potential to be very interesting, but Talusan fails to evoke any sort of response.
I did not get any or very little feed back on my papers.
If english is your second language, take this class- just with another professor.

Workload:
Workload was light.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1650
Submitted: 2006-04-01
Chip Guidney | 155- development of language | Child Development

Review:
chip is clearly very knowledgeable about the subject. there are ta's that are available if you need extra help. you have to go to class to do well on the tests. you learn a lot but it's not unmanageable

Workload:
dont buy the reading packet which is giant and expensive, unless you feel like doing the readings for no reason. the textbooks were very good and were useful in writing the paper and studying for the tests, which were a little bit overwhelming if you hadnt prepared well enough. almost no homewrok on a nightly basis.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Child Development


Review ID: 1641
Submitted: 2006-03-29
Boris Hasselblatt | MATH005001 - Transition to Adv Math | Mathematics

Review:
It's a great class to take if you're planning on being a math major/minor. Although challenging, it'll really prepare you for classes like math 135 and 145. Basically, you prove everything you took for granted in middle school like decimals, inequalities, rational numbers, etc. The course has a good design, but I will never ever take another class with Hasselblatt. He makes the work unnecessarily difficult and you need a microscope to read his handwriting. He also talks extremely softly.. it's kind of ridiculous. He's a nice guy and is open to suggestions, but he definitely assigns too much work and expects you to know things without really teaching them. Good class, but DON'T take it with Hasselblatt.

Workload:
-3 tests and a final (get to drop lowest grade)
-homework grade is counted as a test (not easy to do well on homeworks)
-homework takes a while.. good to have friends in the class, def need to work together.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Mathematics


Review ID: 1639
Submitted: 2006-03-28
Suzanne Young | Chem 16 | Chemistry

Review:
Professor Young is very concerned with her students' progress. She is clearly very passionate about chemistry and the classroom environment is very friendly. The class is taught very conceptually.

Workload:
quizzes every week on the chapter/lecture. problem sets every week that are not hard but not taught in class. you have to read the chapter to figure out how to do the p-sets but once you do, they are not hard. 3 short essays over the semester. this may sound like a lot, but it's really not that bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1628
Submitted: 2006-03-27
Joe DeBold | PSY25 | Psychology

Review:
It's a big lecture course, but Prof. DeBold is very helpful whenever you ask questions or go to office hours. There is a lot of information to cover, so it's really hard to miss class and keep up with the pace of the course.

Workload:
The reading is pretty standard--a textbook chapter per topic (at most two per week). It's really important to go to lecture, though, because the tests are based on that information much more than on the reading. There are three exams--two during the semester and an optional final--and they're pretty difficult, but if you take good notes and study, you're fine.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1629
Submitted: 2006-03-27
Elizabeth Ammons | ENG191 | English

Review:
Prof. Ammons is clearly passionate about the course material, but discussion can sometimes wander far from the reading and into political talk. Ammons focuses a lot on political activism, the master's tools/house, and so on--but a lot of what gets discussed is really eye-opening. Don't expect a lot of literature analysis, but expect a lot of putting writing into the political context in which it was written.

Workload:
The reading was pretty typical for an English class. There were some historical documents, a few novels (some much longer than others), some political pieces, and so on. There is one semester-long project with a partner, one group presentation during the semester, and a pretty easy final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1633
Submitted: 2006-03-27
Linda Bamber | ENG0132--Women and Fiction | English

Review:
Prof. Bamber comes off as a space cadet from the very beginning, but she seems to enjoy the reading material, and she appreciates students who participate in discussion. The class was sometimes dead, though, because Bamber has trouble getting everyone to talk, especially with readings that we didn't do. The course material is really interesting, though--it includes a lot of authors that you always want to read but never get around to. I feel more well-read since taking the class.

Workload:
The reading was typical for an English class at this level, but it's only doable if you plan ahead and start early with the novels. The final paper is really open-ended and easy.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1634
Submitted: 2006-03-27
Tracy Pearce | FR22--Composition and Conversation II | French

Review:
Prof. Pearce is really enthusiastic and she loves her students. She truly appreciates class participation, and she encourages thought about the reading. She helps with grammar a lot, especially since this is the final grammar course in French at Tufts.

Workload:
The workload was just right. There were grammar assignments for most classes. The reading was split up to make it manageable, and the papers were straightforward.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1619
Submitted: 2006-03-19
Mahmud | Ec 36 - Macro Analysis Development | Economics

Review:
The Professor is pretty poor. His lectures are verbatim out of the book. He reads a sentance or two from his notes, and then proceeds to write word-for-word what he just said on the board. This makes class practically irrelevant for anyone who has a basic understanding of the course reading. He then spends two entire class periods reviewing for the midterm.. which again is a waste of class time.

Workload:
If you attend class, the readings are pretty much optional since he reviews them pretty thoroughly in class. There is a paper to write on "any topic related to macroeconomics" which is pretty broad in scope, and broad in requirments. Midterm and Final.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1616
Submitted: 2006-03-16
George Ellmore | ENV009101 | Environmental Studies

Review:
I'm not sure if the problem was the professor or the design of the class, but regardless, there should be no class at Tufts that features a professor who sits in a chair and tells students to present for 45 minutes without saying a word himself. He should be displaying the knowledge that supposedly gave him a "PhD". Utterly unfulfilling. Never take this class or anything taught by Ellmore.

Workload:
How about this... Ellmore never actually designed a syllabus. His instructions were: Pick a partner, choose two topics, give a 45 minute presentation on each, and the week before your presentation handout a reading to the class. These"readings" ranged from 3 pages to something like 20 pages of scientific data. Since there were no prerequisites, anyone could take this class, yet the reading were very technical. Who were the wizards behind the design of this "seminar"? Michael Reed and George Ellmore. Avoid it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Environmental Studies


Review ID: 1590
Submitted: 2006-02-20
Malik Mufti | Islamic Political Thought | International Relations

Review:
This class was over all pretty interesting. However, if you are not pursuing a life in acadamia just talking about political issues, Mufti is unlikely to give you the time of day. He spends most of the class pontificating about his own ideas, which you had best not challenge or question. During the class, you will hear fodder about who should be worthy of ruling and learning, and why it should be restricted to the academic elite. This theme carries over well into his grading policies, where if you are planning to go get a job after graduation and actually use the stuff you learned you will be punished for doing so. He is known for his pompous elitist, sexist, and discriminatory personal ideology. If you are not a minority, have graduated from a decent prep school and are planning to be a parrot when you grow up, or just love verbal abuse, this class is for you.

Workload:
The work load wasn't so bad. Some of the reading was pretty dry, but I think almost nobody in class ever did it judging from the class discussions. Doesn't matter as long as you take notes and just make sure his opinion is what you are pretending is yours for the final paper-which is about 75% of your grade.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1582
Submitted: 2006-02-08
Ronnee Yashon | Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Research | OTHER

Review:

She's an excellent professor. Created very intellectually stimulating discussions that were crucial to the current times.

Workload:
Just right on.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1564
Submitted: 2006-02-01
William Waller | AST192 | Astronomy

Review:
Professor Waller is very enthused and fun to work with. I learned a great deal and I am planning on working with him again.

Workload:
Assignments were very open and straight forward. There was a moderate amount of work and the professor was very flexible.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1568
Submitted: 2006-02-01
Alan Lebowitz | ENG0191F - HEMINGWAY&FAULKNER | English

Review:
Edelman is a smart man, but his literary theory is stuck in the 70s. The focus is entirely on the sexual themes in the novels, which gets really old. Lectures weren't terribly engaging, and the class was pretty dead. He made interesting points and gave good overviews of the authors. Not my favorite class, and missing class was really easy-- probably a bad sign.

Workload:
Reading pace was typical to easy. You read the greats by Hemingway and Faulkner, that's for sure. Two papers, graded fairly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1569
Submitted: 2006-02-01
Alan Lebowitz | ENG0191F - HEMINGWAY&FAULKNER | English

Review:
Lebowitz is a smart man, but his literary theory is stuck in the 70s. The focus is entirely on the sexual themes in the novels, which gets really old. Lectures weren't terribly engaging, and the class was pretty dead. He made interesting points and gave good overviews of the authors. Not my favorite class, and missing class was really easy-- probably a bad sign.

Workload:
Reading pace was typical to easy. You read the greats by Hemingway and Faulkner, that's for sure. Two papers, graded fairly.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: English


Review ID: 1552
Submitted: 2006-01-29
Greogry Crane | Thucydides | Classics

Review:
The Professor was very professional and interesting. I class was amazing, enjoyable and highly recommended for many students to take this challenging class of interrupting Greek. I would gladly take this class in the future, again.

Workload:
The work load is very intense considering the fact that the Greek interpretations where most difficult. Overall, the learning process was incredible and helps create my mind to think at different levels and look at the world in a very new way.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Political Science


Review ID: 1533
Submitted: 2006-01-19
Barbara Grossman | DR0033 The American Musical | Drama

Review:
Barbara was very enthusiastic about the course. Every day at the beginning and end of class she would be playing music from one musical or another so we could get exposure to things we had never heard before. Barbara makes the class very interesting, and all of her powerpoint presentations are posted on blackboard.

Workload:
There were many readings assigned, all of which were helpful and informative, but everything important was discussed in class, so missing a reading didn't hurt your grade. Reading did help on papers. Barbara is a very fair and understanding grader, and her assignments are always open ended so you can tailor them to your own interests.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics


Review ID: 1520
Submitted: 2006-01-11
Leila Fawaz | History 181-LF Seminar: WWI in the Middle East | History

Review:
Senior seminar taught by perhaps the best professor at Tufts. Professor Fawaz sincerely cares about her students' learning and furthermore, their progress in the course. Also she really encourages class involvement. This seminar was on World War I in the Middle East. She brought in guest speakers from various deparment and other universities too. Each student chose a topic related to WWI in the Middle East and gave a 25-30 minute presentation on their subject. Then each student wrote their seminar papers. Counts as either History or IR senior seminar, possibly both.

Workload:
Assigned 2 books to be read as general survey on WWI in Middle East. Don't need to read these books depending on the subject you chose. Grade based on attendance (1 class per week), presentation, (10%) and final paper (90%). 25-30 page final paper. Professor not the easiest to get in touch with outside of class, but was willing to stay after class to discuss paper issues. Due to her commitments with Fletcher and the Fares center, I wouldn't recommend this class to any student who needs constant contact with their professors. Other than that, hands down one of the best professors at Tufts.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: History


Review ID: 1516
Submitted: 2006-01-10
Geoffrey, Gardner | expository writing | English

Review:
Although Geoffrey is highly enthusiastic about his class, he does not tolerate others' views. If you take this class, beware of having to listen to his rants for an hour and a half straight. The jumble is frequently seen throughout class on the student's desks to help them tolerate the incredibly boring class. I would not take this class and it was a waste of my time.

Workload:
6 2-page essays and 4 6-page essays


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1503
Submitted: 2006-01-05
Nien-Hsiang (Miranda) Chen | CHN0003 | Chinese

Review:
Chen Lao Shi is an excellent teacher. She is very accessible out of class, makes the material understandable, and has more patience than a saint. Her assignments are not tough and she is very understanding if you have late work or other circumstances which makes it hard to do an assignment on a certain date. She is clear and truly invests herself in each student's progress. I am looking forward to taking Chinese 4 with her.

Workload:
Daily character quizzes which you just learn to get used to, two oral interviews, two oral presentations, short homeworks for each lesson, three 3-unit tests, and a VERY comprehensive final. It sounds like a lot of work, but the assigments are all pretty easy. Tests count for a lot, but a generally pretty straightforward. The pace of the class is quick, but not overwhelming. And if you have issues, she's easy to get a hold of. Make sure you show interest and enthusiasm and she'll take to you.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Philosophy


Review ID: 1486
Submitted: 2006-01-02
Howard Malchow | HIST0014 - Race, Nationalism & Modern Europe | History

Review:
Professor Malchow was a very knowledgeable professor with an extensive depth of European history. However, this was in no way your typical history class. Instead of looking at typical details, we focused on themes and philosophies that contributed to the changes in nationalism and national sentiments, which were the causes of the creation, rise and fall of various European nations. The course started around the 18th and 19th centuries and then spent most of the type in the 19th and 20th centuries. The second half of the semester focused on using these theories of race and nationalism to analyze WWI and WWII and the Holocaust, as well as the racial views of European nations in the last 30 or 40 years. Professor Malchow could be a bit boring in the lectures, but listening was a definite benefit for your papers and the midterm exam. The material covered in this course was EXTREMELY fascinating!!! He was very nice, if you get a chance to speak to him. I loved this class!

Workload:
It felt as if most of the reading was packed into the 1st half of the semester. The work consisted of a 5 page paper, a midterm exam, recitations, 3 film critiques and a final paper (10 pages).


professor rating: | course rating: | major: International Relations


Review ID: 1470
Submitted: 2005-12-27
Cliff Shelton | EXP0026F | Experimental College

Review:
Excellent Class. I learned so much. Shelton's teaching style is very relaxed and discussion oriented...but somehow he manages to be very effective as a professor. He is a Fletcher student, but is already a very good educator...

Workload:
Moderate.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


Review ID: 1476
Submitted: 2005-12-27
Hugh Gallagher | Intro to Modern Physics | Physics

Review:
An overall great class with a great professor. The material is very difficult, but very interesting, and Professor Gallagher really tries to make it comprehensible. He has a lot of enthusiasm and personal experience as a particle physicist to share.

Workload:
Reasonable amount of reading, one problem set per week.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Physics


Review ID: 1454
Submitted: 2005-12-24
Dale Smith | HIST82 - History of Early America: 1492 - 1763 | History

Review:
I found this course not only boring but really hard to get a good grade in. The lectures are dry and the professor is unfriendly and condescending. When I went to see her during her office hours, she was not at all helpful. I really wanted to drop the course but didn't want to have 3 credits for that semester.

Workload:
The essay questions were extremely broad, often covered 200 years worth of history, and had to be completed in one class period, which made it hard to write a good detailed essay. She graded really harshly, without providing help in her commnents or during office hours. I was always really good at history but did badly in this course because I just could not figure out what she wanted.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Undecided


Review ID: 1423
Submitted: 2005-12-22
Stephen N. Sarikas, Ph.D. | Bio0004 | Biology

Review:
He was conserned about how we were doing and he was approachable. He was a good lecturer. He wasn't dry or boring. Even though the classes were long they weren't unbearable.

Workload:
Most of the class were graduate students. It wasn't easy but it is possible and once you get it, it not bad.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: Biology


Review ID: 1433
Submitted: 2005-12-22
Hugh Gallagher | Physics 13 - Intro to Modern Physics | Physics

Review:
Insanely good and high octane. We went quickly through a lot of stuff. What a good class.

Workload:
Quite a bit of work, but worth it.


professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A


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