<p>so I've created a thread in which I asked students to suggest professors worth taking, so now I'm going to go ahead and ask the exact opposite. which professors/classes should I NEVER take even under gunpoint? :)</p>
<p>come on guys, I know there were some classes that you wish you could go back and time and warn yourself about. I want to hear these!</p>
<p>I haven’t had a professor that I would avoid yet…some I would recommend over others, though.</p>
<p>OK, I can play this game. </p>
<p>Alfred Norman for ECO 304L. He is just a bizarre person. He is hard of hearing so he screams everything into his mic. He asks questions and calls for volunteers to come in front of the class to answer them. If they are wrong, he tries to humiliate them. He doesn’t use a book for class but instead sells his own CD which is difficult to follow and has only the most basic of information on it. You end up teaching yourself by various ways. Many people make an A but learn nothing. </p>
<p>Ernest David Sosa for PHL 301. I believe he is the head of the philosophy department and when I learned he teaches the plan II kids I though he must be pretty good. He is a horrible lecturer. After a couple of weeks, only about a third of us showed up for class on days other than test days. Many of the rest played on their laptops during lecture, occasionally taking notes when he would discuss something new. He repeats a lot and goes on tangents which do not apply to class or the tests. Thank god for my TA. I’ve never known of a worse lecturer.</p>
<p>haha, I’ll make a note to not take any of their classes. Unlike a lot of people I’ve met at UT, I’m not so concerned about maintaining a perfect GPA by taking the easiest professors at the college, but rather I’m much more interested in finding good professors who might give me the best learning experience even at the cost of a letter grade. </p>
<p>Are there any professors whom you guys would highly recommend taking? I’ve heard Penne Restad is a phenomenal history professor and I’ve heard that Alan Friedman is amazing, but other than that I’ve not gotten any real life-changing professors.</p>
<p>Anyone care to share any?</p>
<p>If you have a foreign language requirement to fulfill, try taking Vince Vanderheijden. I had him for German and this fall he is teaching Dutch. He is not easy but you will come out knowing more than you ever imagined.</p>
<p>Sheldon Ekland-Olson is an amazing sociology teacher. I took Life and Death decisions with him which was one of my favorite classes - though very emotional. The way he choose to teach the class (using updated documentaries, showing real stories, using current events) really really kept my interest. During his class was when I realized what I wanted to do for my career. </p>
<p>Also, if anyone is going to be an architecture major next year I would definitely recommend Charlton Lewis as a first semester, first year studio professor. I believe he also teaches second year as well. The one amazing thing about him is that he does not push his own style/preferences on your design and does not spoon feed you ideas as well. Also he is very down to earth and not super anal about what materials you have to use to make models.</p>
<p>these are all awesome contributions! Please, keep the responses coming! I know there are lots of incoming freshmen who are itching to know!</p>
<p>The class everyone says that everyone should take is Interpersonal Communications with John Daly.</p>
<p>If you see a chance to take a course with H.W. Brands, do it. He is a world-renowned history writer and an excellent lecturer, and is a Pulitzer finalist this year.</p>
<p>Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg teaches Modes of Reasoning for Plan II students–his class was rather boring but if you went to talk to him in office hours he was an amazingly interesting man. Plus most people can’t take classes with Nobel Laureates at their colleges. They may allow a limited number of non-Plan II kids into the class, and it’s definitely worth the experience–and he’s a pretty easy grader.</p>
<p>If you get a chance, take Thomas Pangle for government. I took his Might and Right Among Nations class. He’s an amazing professor, and actually very famous in the political science field. He does have some draw backs if you’re looking for an easy class and easy A (takes attendance, lots of reading - I had to buy 8 books for his class, no laptops in class, etc.). But it is well worth it. He blends politics with philosophy in an amazing way. There are even people that attend his lectures that aren’t even in his class.</p>
<p>Let me second the Interpersonal Communications suggestion by theloneranger. I haven’t taken it, but everyone I know who has raves about it. It is definitely worth looking into.</p>
<p>Or also on Pred’s line of thinking, Thomas Pangle’s wife, Lorraine Pangle, is also an excellent lecturer and knows her way with political philosophy.</p>
<p>The Pangles are the directors of the Program for Core Texts and Ideas, which is a nifty program COLA offers that focuses on the Great Books of western civilization.</p>
<p>Hi,
I’m a freshman majoring in EE and I was wondering what professors specifically
are good for EE 302 and EE 306?</p>
<p>Ive heard good things about McCann for 302. There is no other choice but Patt for 306 :P</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the workload involved in Anthropology 301 - Physical Anthropology?</p>