mcnamara is one of the best profs i have had so far. very interesting lectures and great film choices. he cares a lot about his students and making the industry less daunting. the course itself was very easy and i enjoyed showing up, graded only on attendance, midterm paper, and final paper. both papers are straightforward and easy to write.
Mr. McNamara is a great professor; I love his teaching style and lectures. He makes the course interesting, but he is giving out a massive amount of information. His lectures are dense, and the papers are graded strictly, pretty unfair I would say.
He means so much to the film department at UCSB. Can say there is a lot of respect and love for this man.
Very knowledgeable. Lectures have all the materials you need for writing papers, which is basically all your grade consists of. He posted slides/lecture notes which kind of made going to lecture unnecessary, even though he was a good lecturer. Very tough grader -- he wanted us to get better as the papers went on, but seemed a bit unfair sometimes.
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Talk about information overload! In trying to simply ideas and concepts he actually overwhelms you with tons and tons of information. Lectures are not that bad but slides are always filled. Super monotone so it can be hard to stay alert after the first hour.
One of the best profs in the department, very knowledgeable and passionate. Can be a bit forgetful with posting assignments and readings but the class is easy. Beware of which ta you have, the grading criteria can be a bit confusing so go to office hours. Lectures are long but interesting, while not on zoom attendance is optional.
Professor McNamara is easily one of my favorite professors I've ever had the joy to learn from. He is enthused in the curriculum he teaches and truly cares about his students well being and adaptability. He takes the time to make sure his students are happy and absorbing his knowledge.The only downside is the TA's grade harshly. Awesome guy!
Professor McNamara is one of my favorite film professors at ucsb. His lectures are clear and very easy to understand. There is very little classwork and two papers for the course and the readings and screenings are fun like Harry Potter and Clueless. He is also very understanding of student's lives and often pushes back due dates.
His lectures are clear and easy to understand. Lots of examples and film clips to demonstrate some abstract examples. His offers much help regarding papers. The instructions of paper are specific, and his even shows how he might write the paper. Really a gentleman and caring teacher who know what he is doing.
96 was my favorite class I have taken. It was definitely challenging the papers are graded harshly and you are warned many times that you may not do as well as you are used to but the content is great and McNamara is wonderful as well. He makes an effort to be accessible, his lectures are thorough, interesting and clear, and overall a 10/10!!
The best professor I've had, reinspired my love for film. Papers are extremely challenging and graded harshly, but Professor McNamara genuinely cares about improvement in writing and his teaching. He chose super interesting screenings and the lectures were amazing too! Couldn't recommend him more.
Professor McNamara is an amazing professor. He is clearly very motivated and interested in the material and loves to teach. He is very great at answering questions and caring for students! 96 is a tough class but honestly so enjoyable! Take his classes!
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 :)
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.
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!
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.