Dr. McNamara is one of the best professors I've ever had at UCSB. I've taken 4 film classes with him and my only regret is not taking more! He's a great lecturer and clearly cares about the subject matter and his students. HIGHLY recommend all of his classes, especially for screenwriters!
Professor McNamara is seriously the best professor I've had in the department. His Shakespeare class was amazing. I wasn't even really a fan of Shakespeare before, but I've gained a real appreciation for his plays from Professor McN. He is so helpful and I feel like he actually reads student essays; he always has insightful feedback.
Love the professor, but the class was extremely difficult for me. Lectures were around 1 hour long each, but it could take me up to 2 hours to take notes on them since they were very content-heavy. The grading was harsh, yet I would argue, fair and helpful. There was only one A across the first two papers (70 students, 140 essays, one A).
Dr. McNamara was one of the best professors I've ever had! F96 was a great class with great selections of films to watch and his lectures expanded on them greatly. He has a very efficient way of teaching and makes sure each and every one of his students absorbs the material. I can't recommend this class enough :)
This class sucked. The lectures were extremely painful to watch. 10% section attendance, 30% MT, and 60% final. The content of the exams were fair, but there was a massive time crunch on the MT. Didn't even get to finish the exam. Professor seemed really uninterested in teaching. My TA was really snobby too.
I'm not sure if it's microbio, but the way he taught it was super dry and bland. Take notes on what he says in class because the slides are mostly pictures. The tests have both on-the-surface questions and doable application questions. There was not a lot of time for the midterm. You can use notes for his online class.
Took during pandemic fall 2020. It's a 5 unit class, so it was tough, namely in regards to essays. There were 4, 2 which were revisions. However, he was really understanding, so he kept lectures concise (3x/week) and I actually felt engaged. 2 weekly forum posts (class+section). Understanding, witty, charming professor. Would take again!
GREAT professor, super understanding, really encourages and helps students to do their best. Respects everyone's pronouns! Super accessible outside of class and will absolutely let you use him as a reference on job applications. Cool dude. Always has three different beverages with him at all times
FAMST 144 was one of the best classes I've taken at UCSB. A lot of fun, papers were completely manageable and dare I say somewhat enjoyable to do. Very interesting movie list. Overall a great class. I would take any class with McNamara.
The midterm is 40% of the overall grade, and the final exam is 60% of the overall grade. He mostly tests from his slides and from his lectures, so make sure to listen to what he talks about during lecture, just in case the information may not be in the slides. Overall, the class is a solid mix of memorization and concept application.
Best film class I've taken! There is easy weekly readings of fun books like Harry Potter. Watch a film on one day and lectures and group discussion on another day. No textbook and no quizzes. One weekly online discussion that's 3 sentences & 2 papers. No in person final. McNamara is a very caring, devoted, and inspirational film teacher! Take it!
I love his lectures! He is hilarious and loves when students are engaged and ask questions. There was only one midterm and one final, both are a mix of MC and open ended questions. If you go to class and listen you have nothing to worry about. He is an amazing professor and really well respected in the micro community.
This was a great class and he really gives informative and comprehensive lectures
Dr. James McNamara is warm and approachable. He creates a friendly class atmosphere that helps to foster enthusiasticand often insightfuldiscussions. I'd recommend taking his classes. I mean, who doesn't want to have some fun while they learn?
Best professor in the department. Would take anything with him.
This class is 40% midterm 60% final, however he allowed the final to be 100% if it improved your grade. A lot of what he tests on is what he says rather than what is on the slides (so go to class), though everything is in the text book. He doesn't want super specific answers on his tests, just to see that you understand the overall concept
Class was very interesting, but the entire grade was from a short midterm and final, meaning each question (even multiple choice ones) were worth around 1.5% of your class grade which is ridiculous. Reuses questions so if you're in greek life and have access to test banks then congrats you have an advantage over everybody in the class.
Avoid this class if you can, Idk why other people before say its easy; probably before he rewrote his entire test banks to confusing MC and written w/ explanations. Sure wish I didn't listen to you fools on here! It just dropped me from a 3.7 upper div GPA to a 3.0 now...
Awesome prof. The course has a TON of information you need to know but Hayes does a good job teaching. He copies questions from old tests and the practice questions he gives out. Super funny, and a bit of a smart alec, but great for learning microbio. Go to his office hours
there is alot of information that you need to know, but it isnt really hard if you can keep up with the studying. he does reuse all of his exams, so if you can get ahold of them, you are pretty much set. he is funny, and easy to approach. seriously tho, try to get his old exams
his tests are not really hard if you know the material. the only thing that makes this class hard is that there is a LOT of info, and it's impossible to know all of it, so it's hard to know what you will be tested on. you NEED to go to class! write things down, tests on stuff he says in lec.
Really helpful to premed students, was an ex-medschool student and will give lots of advice. Approachable. Not an easy class but a good class where you can apply what you learn to the mcats.
s'06 was his first time teaching 108c. he started off timid, but by the end was cracking jokes and making snide comments left and right. made for an entertaining class. he holds review sessions himself, those were fun. His m/c are tricky, tests are tricky. but he's fair in that he only tests what he teaches in class. so take good notes.
Class started slow, then picked up towards end of quarter. His first time teaching 108c so we needed to cut him some slack. Really emphasized knowing drugs and medical ailments for those interested in medical professions. Midterm/final reviews always good and entertaining thanks to 'Those guys' for their contributions. Recommended!!
