Professor Smith is a really nice person, but his lectures and his syllabus requirements are kind of all over the place. Just don't be afraid to ask him specific questions in class about what you are confused on and you'll be fine.

Horrible course. Lecture is worthless. You have a graded section and play that requires out of class work. The tests are difficult and the studying is just rote memorization. Avoid this class and professor like the dead religion he teaches!

Abysmally disorganized, and disjointed lectures make the ID-based tests an exercise in detective work. Students must piece together information for a single topic from a multitude of details mentioned in various lectures. And don't get me started on the group project. I'm insulted to be paying so much to be assigned middle-school level projects.

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.

Lectures were fairly interesting. He told us exactly what was going to be on the midterm and final which made an A possible with a lot of studying. The final was 50% of the grade though which seemed unfair-- 25% was the midterm and 25% was a play we had to act in...

Ancient Egyptian Religion was a disappointment. The material was interesting, but Prof Smith has the most disorganized lectures ever, which made the class horrible.

Best professor I've ever had. Dr. Stuart made sure that we did the readings he assigned us, posted study guides 2 weeks ahead of time, and was always available for office hours. He explained things in a way that never made me feel talked down to. If you have any interest in the history of Egypt/Nubia and archaeology, I would highly recommend him!

Pros: An amazing professor who teaches his class very well. His lectures are fun and engaging. He is always willing to meet during office hours He gives out midterms and final study guides ahead of time so you have time to memorize for the exams. Cons: Not an easy class, you need to do the reading and the studying to get a good grade.

I would not take this class if you are just looking to fulfill a GE requirement and are not actually interested in Egypt. This class was way harder than expected and requires A LOT of memorization.

NEVER TAKE A CLASS FROM THIS MAN. His lectures are just him talking aimlessly and you don't know if what he's saying is just him talking or actually important. The whole grade is a midterm, final, and 10 page paper. He expects you to know as much as him, he's has 35+ years of experience... Avoid at all cost.

Great Professor! Through his lectures you can really see he loves archaeology and wants to share that passion with his students. Weekly written assignments and iclicker in lecture is required, but they're both graded on participation so it's not bad. Two papers that were a little vague but TA's are really helpful.

I couldn't help but fall asleep most lectures because it was dim and he had a really relaxing voice. He has some interesting stuff to say but the course itself is underwhelming a lot of the time. Very nice guy and respected in the field. Super easy class, theres a weekly assignment that is a little annoying but relatively easy. He should do ASMR.

Do not take this class if you want an easy GE. Attendance is mandatory through iclicker. Professor Smith does not respond to emails so if you need to excuse an absence good luck. Essays are NOT easy - super random prompts that were not discussed in lecture or section AT ALL. Would not recommened.

Professor Smith has an organized teaching style, but the class can be a mixed bag. Lectures are dry, but engaging with the material and doing well on the papers can get you an A. unstuck AI was a lifesaver for essay prep.

Smith is pretty okay depending on the person. It's not a lot of homework, it just depends how you go about it. I didn't read the textbook, and the weekly paragraph of 200-300 words is actually easy to meet. His lectures are kind of like rambling to me, but they get the job done. 2 essays that are do-able but def a little tedious. TA matters.

I was so excited for this class, but it was near impossible to do all the work for this and my other classes. There's a hundred or so pages of reading every week, plus 200-300 words of writing, and weeks with 1000+ word papers still had that on top of it. 5 credits is supposed to be more work than a regular 4 but that was just impossible.

Nice dude who is passionate about what he teaches. Most of grade besides 24% section participation was a group project, two papers, and a two part in person final Exam. A lot of reading and writing and you need to be interested to do well

If you're not somewhat interested in archaeology, this class will be a pain! You NEED to attend the lectures to understand his slides + iClicker. There are weekly readings, study guides, and written reflections. Section attendance is mandatory but extremely helpful. The class consisted of a group project, two essays, & an in-person 2-part final.

I dont get why people are complaining about the work load its a 5 credit writing class of course there is a lot of writing. Attendance is mandatory for both lecture and section, can really mess up your grade if you dont go to either. Ask the TAs all your questions bc they do the grading. Interesting enough class for a gen ed

Lectures are kind of all over the place and rather boring. You learn about a lot that you will not remember but luckily you don't need to, to succeed. There were 2 essays and one project, all of which you can do well on so long as you put it in the effort. Final also isn't very demanding, two essay questions provided ahead of time.

Nice guy, very passionate about the subject. However, the slides are completely unintelligible if you aren't closely following along with the lecture (which can sometimes be hard). He assigns a ton of content for the weekly study guides, but it isn't to hard to get through if you space it out throughout the week.

The lectures are so boring and not well structured, but they are mandatory. We have a lot of assignments (weekly reflection and study guide) and also gives work over break (an essay and two assignments over Thanksgiving). His grading criteria is clear and it's not that hard to get a good grade. Spare yourself from lectures and endless study guides

Really interesting guy, but attendance is mandatory and lectures are hella boring. Easy to get an A. Class is mostly based on three papers and there are no tests. All the papers are essentially lined out for you, and it's relatively easy to get a good grade. TA's are really willing to give help.

Some of these poor ratings make me think these students haven't taken a University course before or are just angry they didn't get a higher grade. Dr. Smith is a great teacher! TA's are always partially in charge of your grade for such big classes. Lecture slides are not going to replace actually reading the books. Take notes and show up.