<p>Does anyone know anything about Professor Childers (haven't heard anything about him/her), and/or Professor Renzi (haven't heard anything good about him).</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I took a Conwest with Renzi in the spring of 2005, and it was one of the worst classes I ever took. Not only is he insufferably boring, he is also an arrogant pig - demeaning, condescending, and rude.</p>
<p>And, yes - I guess I have nothing good to say about him either. ;-)</p>
<p>lol. wow. if you dont mind me asking, what did you end up with in his class.</p>
<p>I got an A-.</p>
<p>you said that its boring and he's rude, but how is the class (extremely hard, lots of work but fairly easily, etc.)</p>
<p>There is a ton of reading, and the reading is very dry (Oedipus, Plato's Republic, that sort of thing). Every week (or maybe every two weeks, I don't remember), there was a graded writing assignment on the week's reading. That was a bit much. The class had weekly recitation sessions that were discussion-heavy. Students were expected to be able to speak on any portion of the relevant material, and the nature of the debate was highly "philosophical", arbitrary, and abstract (I always found it silly.... "is that chair a chair, or is it an illusion of a reality of a chair in another bla bla bla..."). Renzi was unhelpful both in lecture, as well as during office hours. He used intimidation tactics to keep control (offering "amnesty" or academic probation to all students for an alleged plagiarism threat that was never defined). </p>
<p>If you check something like ratemyprofessors.com, you'll find that Renzi is very polarizing. Some love him. Some detest him. Don't take my word for it. I would approach the class with caution, though, if you have other options.</p>
<p>And, when this question has been asked in other places (like at the NYU livejournal), it's been widely said that Renzi is a very tough grader. I didn't have that problem, but it's something to keep in mind if that is important to you.</p>