This professor is very unorganized. The material is interesting but there is no real use for it. You should only take the class if you have to for a major requirement.

Wouldn't recommend this class unless you have to take it. Lots of busy work, I felt like I was in high school with all the projects and homework assignments. The material can be interesting at times. You have to use the books a lot & they are very expensive. Homework assignment every week, 2 group projects, 2 essays, and a final.

His lectures are completely unorganized and he talks about a lot of irrelevant information. He assigns way too much homework most of which is pointless and lacks support for the lecture. Only one test at the end but he makes up for it by assigning 2 essays and weekly writing assignments.

Lecture sides are unorganized. Tells you lots of stuff you don't need/irrelevant to homework or projects. Assigns work as if this is the only class you have.

SO MUCH WORK EVERY WEEK. He wont give you time to work on other class assignments

Interesting subject, and he does get the material across. However he spends a lot of time obsessing over how cool he is (you'll hear about how he worked on the Mummy and is best friends with The Rock just about every class). Lots of material to know for the tests, but he gives a comprehensive study guide. Memorize it and tests are easy.

He is a good professor but if you are not already interested in Ancient Egypt don't take the class or you will be board out of your mind. I was not interested so I found it really hard and boring. A lot of facts and random gods you have to learn for the exams so be ready to study.

Ancient Egyptian Religion is an awesome class and Prof. Smith is an awesome teacher! He tells you exactly what will be on the midterm/final and he's a really cool guy. Lectures are helpful and interesting but it's not terrible if you miss a few, as he tells you exactly what will be on the tests so you can look it up. Expect to do skits.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. i don't know why he's still here: if the admin knew just how cruddy he was, he'd be out in a heartbeat. ARROGANT LIL ISH. he seems nice enough in lecture, suggesting you go in to clarify material ... reality is that he doesn't answer emails and really isn't listening to you in office hours. serious jerk. disorganized & lame.

pretty easy class, homework every week but it was easy and quick to do.

COME ON! The class wasn't that hard. In fact, I missed every class except the first day and the day of the final and I ended up with a B. I remember this one TA let us email everything so I never had to print out the busy homework. There is only one test-the final (25%). I should have gone to class more though because there were so many hot girls.

I am sorry to any anthropology student who is obligated to take this course. He has a very ethnocentric bias in presenting information and also presents false information. HE DOESN'T KNOW HIS STUFF. For instance, he claimed that there are no archaeological dates for domestication in the South Pacific (NOT TRUE). DON'T SILENCE PEOPLES HISTORY!!!

class is 5 units and he makes you work for them. stupid busy work that takes u hrs to do. boring reading. he's nice enuff in class but not approachable during office hrs. really disorganized lectures and boring too. don't take for ge.

He was a very knowledgeable professor, but you cannot do well in this class unless you form a study group, 10-page project, mid-term and final are very intense (76 terms and 10 essay!) I also thought his lectures were very disorganized. It was very frustrating taking notes, trying to keep track of the chronology of what he was talking about.

He is extremely boring. He would tell lame jokes occasionally, but those jokes are not funny. The lecture are also useless. He just keep showing pictures of Egypt or Maya or whichever place the lecture is about. The textbooks don't help either. Basically you learn everything from the TA. Don't take this class for GE!

this guy is a trip. he knows his stuff. i guarantee he's going to talk about how he helped with Stargate and the Mummy movies. throws a lot of info at you, which you'll see in the study guides. a lot of memorization... if i could describe the amount of memorization in terms of weight, i would say it was a ton.

ACK! Study guide he hands out before the midterm and final have 50-60 short answers, 10 essays and 20ish slide ID's to memorize on top of a 10 page intense paper. By far the most work I've ever had to do at UCSB. If you don't have a laptop note taking is impossible. Everything he says (which is A LOT) ends up being something you need to know.

I have had this professor twice and both times he acted as though his class is the only one you have. With 4 mandatory textbooks and ridiculous amounts of studying for the exams, it is not worth taking his classes. Its cool that he was the 'go to guy' for Hollywood, but he's arrogant about that as well. Arrogance does not = good teaching.

DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER! He is horrible and extremely challenging. His tests were harder than any of my actual major classes. 10 page paper and 50% Final. Do Not Take!

Its great to see a man make a living teaching a subject he loves so much

He is the worst teacher I have had in my experience at UCSB. While his lecture style is entertaining, his manner of organization (or lack) makes it very difficult to take the detailed notes necessary for his extremely detailed and extensive exams. Don't take a class from him unless you love the subject and can't take it from anyone else.

An "A" is obtainable if you're willing to put in the time to complete the very long but very comprehensive study guides. Lectures are based on images he's collected, so they don't translate into organized and thorough notes (frustrating!) His attempts at humor are generally irrelevant, irreverent, and/or unfunny. Not recommended.

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Worst teacher ever, doesn't want to help you, doesn't grade fairly and teaches you inappropriate material, I would recommend not to take him if you don't want to fail, gives you a 10 page paper to write and doesn't give you any instructions other than the handout, wont tell you what he expects, VERY VERY BAD TEACHER, STAY AWAY