He gives A LOT of reading, However, you don't have to do it to do well in the class, so if you have time skim, if not just use it to fill in gaps. He speaks really fast so it can be hard to catch everything he says in lecture, but if you fill out the study guide for the ID's you should do okay. Quizzes are easy. Grades a little hard I would say.
He posts his lecture slides online which would be nice if his slides made any sense whatsoever. In all of his slides he has these arrows going up and down or left and right, so its very confusing if he means that these things are directly related or not because sometimes they don't seem to be, and he doesn't explain it well in lecture either.
I have taken numerous classes with Fogu, and they were always very reading heavy. I didn't do many readings anyway, and I did fine. (A/B+ average) He is very passionate about what he teaches and its reflective in his slides (must attend lecture to understand all the arrows ha) and grading. He's approachable and wants you to succeed! Love Fogu!!
Very theoretical/movement-based curriculum. He posts the slides online so you don't have to go to class, but good luck understanding them w/o a little explanation. I skimmed the reading & got a solid 85 on the midterm. Not difficult. No final exam, 6-8 pg paper instead. Overall relatively easy class & cool professor.
The material is interesting, but some concepts in this course are way too esoteric. Generally an easy class .
I took Professor Fogu for Italian Cinema and really enjoyed the class. I was in no way a critic of cinema or well-versed in Italian culture and history, but the class was interesting. Perfect for people of any major who are looking to learn a lot with little course load. Fogu has a great passion for what he does and it reflects in his lectures.
Professor Fogu is a great guy who cares a lot about his students. This class was taught in Italy, so i'm sure it was a little different than his normal classes, but the material was very interesting. His lectures aren't always that clear. But he will 100% help you understand anything you need to know if you just ask. He wants you to do well.
Professor Fogu is an AMAZING professor. He is passionate about what he teaches, as he has had experience in his field. You must watch the movies before lecture, otherwise you will not understand anything he discusses. However if you do watch the movies and read the novels, lecture will be enriching and he will help you understand them better.
If you prepare for the IDs he gives you before hand you'll be fine. He's a very nice guy, he genuinely cares about his students. Is a very, very fair grader. He wants you to succeed. If you don't get lecture that's okay because he gives you the topics of his exams before hand so just study those.
He's pretty good about keeping students engaged, but there are times when the lecture seems to drag on (but that's because of the subject matter, not him). The class isn't hard as long as you go to lecture, and there's no section, so that's sick.
The ideas you learn about are really cool, but warning: Lectures are super confusing. You need to watch the movies he assigns, and you don't have to read the books/pdfs online IF you go to class, because he did discuss the readings but didn't put them in his powerpoints. Homework/tests seemed hard, but he grades easy, b/c he DOES want you to pass
This seminar was pointless. The TA Brian was amazing but Fogu didn't make sense half the time and I really have no idea what I was supposed to have gained from that class. All of the reading and lectures were repetitive and Fogu never did anything, he just split us into groups and had us discuss the readings with each for 2 hrsweek. Don't take it!
He is very knowledgeable about the subject. However, its hard to follow without enough background introduction and topics' connections.
He was great but the material was dry. I did not particularly enjoy the books. If your Italian is advanced I would take it. Although if your Italian is not that great he is very helpful.
He is really passionate about the subject. Sometimes he forgets students are not as well informed as him. The books took forever to read but if you go to class he helps clarify the material.
Professor Fogu is a great speaker and attendance is mandatory or you will be completely lost because the power points are pretty confusing. Decent class to take. 2 quizzes (easy), a reaction paper, 1 midterm and final (both ids).
Hard to follow along. His lectures are dry and kind of unclear. A lot of the learner and piecing together of concepts I did myself. More of a history class than culture class. Once you get to the culture lectures, at the end of the quarter, the class got more interesting. Medium difficulty level. Fogu just makes it hard to follow and grasp concepts
I was amazed to stumble into this class on Southern Italy, a very unusual subject, taught by a man who has thought about it and knows everything. I recorded the lectures (because there is more than you can get just listening casually). Not an easy class, but one of the best I have ever taken. If you are going to Italy, you will be well-prepared.
Reading is required and lectures should also be attended. Prof expects effort to be put into assignments but is willing to talk and assist students with questions.
Fogu is such a great teacher. He's very passionate and a fair grader. There is a bit of reading but going to lecture definitely helps clarify. Helpful in office hours too. I would definitely take another one of his classes.
Difficult at times. Lectures are dry. Midterm was graded quite difficultly. Eased up on the final paper.
An interesting professor, however the paper topics are unclear and the papers were graded tough. He is helpful in office hours, but lectures are often boring/hard to follow. Good class, but his expectations are very high.
Came in knowing nothing about Italian culture, this guy is definetely interesting. He was intimidating to me at first, but it's only cas he's so darn smart. Lectures dry at times, I think it's just the course though. Take him, he's cool.
Easily the most interesting lecture I have ever attended