My current history professor has repeatedly made insulting comments about my class and my school’s student body, and he frequently demeans the university itself. These comments have bothered me throughout the semester but I assumed I was just being thin-skinned and should get over it. As a freshman, I wasn’t sure if insulting statements and profanity were common among some professors but I hadn’t had others like that. However, today in class he dropped two f-bombs in addition to saying that ‘all journalism is bad’ and “some of you in the school of media and public affairs and bulls**t might disagree with me.” Relevant info: I am a journalism major and he is aware of that. Also: our midterm consisted of essay questions, and I would have gotten 100% had he not circled half of one of my essays based on readings he had assigned and marked it “not relevant to this class.” When I talked to him about it, he gave me 5% back (for a B+) because I made a good case for myself. In retrospect, I am suspicious of the grading because he evidently hates my major and his grading is clearly subjective.
Overall, I am thinking I’ll get a decent grade so that’s not my main concern. I am mostly trying to decide whether to file some type of complaint with the department/dean after the semester ends. (Bonus: I also learned that my friend records the lectures to study so I would be able to provide proof of all of his comments if necessary.) Is this worth pursuing; and who would I go to at my school in order to address something like this? Thanks in advance 
Be careful about using a recording to make your case. Depending on what state you are and what institution you go to, it may actually be illegal or at least, against school policy to record during lecture.
Just make these comments in the annual review, in rate my professors.com, and move on. HS teachers using the f bomb would be reportable.
I would talk to the head of the department about what is going on…they may not be aware.
I would definitely approach the department head and dean about this, before the end of the semester if possible, if you think that there is truly some prejudicial behavior going on that might affect your grade, since that is really unfair. If you’re not concerned about your grade but are concerned about future students having the same experience, consider approaching the department head after the end of the semester, but in either case tread very carefully.
Also, most universities actually do pay attention to the end-of-semester course evaluations, so make sure you fill yours out honestly and completely. It’s a really good way for the university to know whether yours is an independent case or a pattern of behavior on the part of the professor.
At my school, students can see prof and course evaluations before enrolling in a course. Is there something similar there? I’m curious if you could see yourself whether this prof has a history of bad reviews
I’ve only had one professor who swore in his class, but it wasn’t all the time, only in certain situations. He didn’t hate anything about the class, but it didn’t make the students feel uncomfortable.
If I were you, then I’d make an anonymous complaint about it because everyone gets bothered by something, no matter what it is. The overall goal for you is to feel comfortable in your classes.
I’m sorry but this is just an unreasonable expectation for any college student. This professor sounds like a bit of a jackass but he hasn’t attacked you personally and has even been willing to adjust your grade upward when you presented your case to him. What exactly do you think you can accomplish by “reporting” him to the department head?
This is college. I’m not impressed by professors who drop “f bombs” in class but it is not so unusual that a teacher who does it will be disciplined. If this guy was attacking you personally it would be a different story but not everyone respects every major (obviously not on cc) and the class will be over soon. Move on and try to not be so sensitive.
@Joblue So, going to your classes even when you feel uneasy is quite an unfortunate situation that’s completely unavoidable to you?
I’ve never had problems in any of my classes, so, the better you feel, the happier you’ll be.
On an extra note, not everyone has thick skin, so telling people to just get over it may not be the best option for everyone.