this guy is smart,and knows his stuff. the class is very interesting and made me switch from comp sci.he doesnt kiss students asses and when someone comes up with a stupid idea,or challenge,if it doesn't make sense he wont just let it slide like most profs.he'll shoot u down.hard to get an A.I knew EVERYTHING and got a B+.A- on 1st essay, B+ on 2nd

The clarity in which he presents the material (not always the easiest material to digest by the way) is second to none. Great lectures, very organized,and very helpful. One of the best professors I have ever encountered.

He is very clear and fair. He does have expectations, but they are reasonable.

He grades papers pretty hard, but tries to scare you at the beginning by saying he is harder than he actually is. Final was super easy. Lectures are somewhat interesting, but they are online, which means you don't have to take any notes. Not necessarily the easies or best class, but not too bad.

Loved going to class just to see the TAs suck up and laugh at his extremely British intellectual jokes. Most organized professor I've ever had, but make sure your TA isn't Craig because he's completely incompetent.

Holden was a great professor for Phil20c and will actually keep you awake during lectures. He takes a very active role in teaching, extremely prepared with Powerpoints and presented theories pretty objectively. One of the best Phil profs out there, and a good class. Grade depends on TA, but paper topics not too bad. Oh, and English accent.

Take him. You won't regret!

Class was not too difficult, he posts all of the lecture notes online. I found him to be really unpleasant, so I stopped attending and still did fine. If you're not interested in philosophy you might find the content more challenging.

His lectures were easy to understand and apply to the required paper and exams. Would you take him again

Holden can be a hard to follower lecture, but he is very knowledgable and very easy to talk to. Pay attention in lectures or go to office hours. He is a tough grader if you do not know what he grades by, talk to him in office hours. midterm, term paper, and final. Def gotta put in work

Thomas Holden is a really awesome professor. You can tell by both his in class presence as well as his feedback on papers he takes his time with students. I learned a lot about Berkeley in his class and would say hes great at making difficult material approachable.

great class; treats students like adults and keeps lecture super interesting. make sure you read! only a few pages assigned per week. he's english too... best philosophy class (maybe best class in general?) I've taken at UCSB thus far. take him!!

A little intense, but lectures are incredibly clear and well organized. Gives handouts for each class in upper division classes so notes aren't vital.

Amazing. Had a lot of fun in his class. He took an otherwise boring subject and made it interesting. He's pretty easy on the eyes, too ;) Not too much reading, one midterm, one term paper, and a final.

Holden is crystal clear in his explanations - he is also one those professors who has the uncanny ability to anticipate the problems you are having. He can explain away any of the discrepancies between the material and your thoughts. He grades very fairly-his courses are difficult only because the material is difficult and he won't inflate grades

Concise and energetic lectures. Stimulated class discussion well. Humor is desert-dry in the way that only Brits can be. Not given to long, tangential forays like many Phil professors. One of the best the Phil department here has!

Professor Holden presented the course material in a very interesting, intelligent manner that made me genuinely enjoy coming to his class. He's a smart guy and he takes time to get to know the students he's teaching. Overall, I would definitely recommend.

This is a professor with charisma and style. His was one of the few classes in which my mind never wandered. Holden really brings dead philosophers back to life. He has a very British sense of humour, and injects dry often subtle jokes into all of his lectures. Great guy, great course, I would recommend him for any *serious* philosophy student.

Holden is a great professor. Many find him tough, but he makes his expectations very clear, and so you have no excuses if you don't deliver. He is remarkably articulate and knowledgable about the issues under discussion, and brings the material to life. Great sense of humor too.

Prof. Holden has created the best of all possible courses on Leibniz! What is an otherwise esoteric and complex topic was made approachable, thanks to his highly organized and enthusiastic teaching style. I'd recommend him to any serious student of philosophy.

Great phil professor. Engaging, clear and organized. He gives you questions on exams in advance and is very willing to help. He keeps a great balance between lecture and discussion. He seems to really care about what the students have to say and always finds a way to clearly link it to his lecture. And I just love witty british guys

Very engaging and lucid teaching style; more organized and systematic than other phil profs. Genuinely attentive towards students' understanding. Materials were appropriate and relevant to current affairs in int'l relations. Somewhat tough grading, but not a problem if you put in the effort proactively. (Took this class S'05 but forgot to rate.)