Slow pace, but very detailed analysis. I guess he is a very good teacher for students who can pay attention consistently in class, and this class I'm taking only has three students, so you have to be extremely alert at all times. Anyway I am really loving his class right now.
Such an easy class, the only reason I didn't get an A is because I never went to section (it was my only class on Fridays) and never did the participation assignments which are really easy (but also easy to forget about). Just read the material, pay attention to lectures because he will repeat important info VERY often if you do, and go to section!
He is so disorganized with boring content. Speaks soooo slow that you can easily forget what he said last sentence. He even count the attendance of lecture! Ridiculous!!!!
Its hard to pay attention when every other word he says is "um". I had really high hopes for the class but his lecturing skills are dreadful.
Take this class if you are a progressive interested in current events or the middle east. Otherwise he is very liberal, assumes you know much about the middle east already, and the reading and lecture can be very dense if you lack interest in the topic. On a personal note, he's a very nice and intelligent man and gave out coffee and cookies!
He was completely unorganized, the slides are pratically useless. The books were vaguely on topic of middle eastern history. Taking this class was pointless, i was interested in the material and learnt practically nothing and I'm not a bad student. AVOID!
Great professor. Very knowledgeable about history as well as current events in the Middle East. Fluent in several languages and keeps class very engaging and interesting.
Facts: hes not just bias, but so subjective in his teaching to the point that the other side does not exist. His slides include the names and dates of a person who died. Speaks in incredibly articulate language the entire lecture, which is very hard to follow, and you write Furiously. However, has a redemptive grading policy, and is a very nice guy
Garay is the nicest professors, that unfortunately cant teach well. Really biased, okay but still a great guy. I got a B on both test and somehow ended up with an A so that was pretty cool. You ready some intense stuff and movie time is always fun too. Take if you like middle eastern history
Interesting Reading, Important Guest Speakers. Fun Movies. SUPER HARD tests! Quiz, Midterm, Quiz, and Final. Nice guy- gave us cookies the day of the Final! HOWEVER, he is a horrible professors who says UHM mill. of times, lectures have nothing to do w/readings, hard to follow what he is saying. Hard to stay motivated for good grade w/bad teaching!
I LOVED HIM, STILL DO. ANYONE WHO BASHES HIM FOR BEING A BUSH-BASHER OR SOMETHING RIDICULOUS LIKE THAT CAN YOU KNOW, GO TAKE ANOTHER CLASS. HE'S THE BEST TEACHER IN THE WORLD AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED. IF ANYONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH HIM THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME. I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE HATING HIM BECAUSE OF HIS VIEWPOINT. HE'S ENTITLED TO HIS OPINION
3 weeks into the course: I am completely uninspired by this professor. I am Middle Eastern, I have lived through the material he's teaching & cannot help but feel my blood boil @ the contradicting BIASES that he shoves down our throats. Total liberal Bush-basher.. he covers loads of material packed in 1 hr, and manages to squeeze in 200 UMs & Uhs!
class is useful.definitely an area we all should know more about. wasn't that thrilled with his teaching, but he does know quite a bit. could have been much more interesting in the hands of a more skilled prof. not difficult, but LOTS of reading- 70% of which is interesting, other 30% is useless.all in all, take the class. you might learn something
Reading is very important, the multiple choice questions are tricky...Many times, all answers are right & you should pick the "best" one. He is very knowledgeable but slides are disorganized/off topic. One fun habit in lecture was to make an "um" count. Reached over 30 in less than 5 minutes once! But the class is very interesting & relevant.
Nice guy, kind of an odd professor. You have to go to lecture if you want to do well in the class. Uses the books as a tool. Lots of reading. Tests are fairly hard, gives you essays in advance but the multiple choice questions are obscure and hard. Knows what he's talking about though and always makes the class fairly interesting.
He's a nice guy and the movies he plays are very interesting, but the lectures tend to be boring. Also, he throws pretty difficult exams.
yikes, this professor seems like a nice enough guy, but too much stuff in this class is based on stuff he thinks you should already know. he never finishes or follows through on topics either, got confusing. not my cup of tea. this would be a good class if you are REALLY into the politics of war.
Easy class if you do the reading, power points not that helpful, have to pay attention to what he's saying, is biased but its not that bad, pretty interesting, some of the multiple choice questions are on rediculous obscure facts
The teacher was very very opinionated. He'll try to shove his ideologies down your throat. Since he was so biased, I cannot say I learned as much as I could have because I can't believe everything he says when he is constantly twisting truths to get his messages (i.e. anti-Bush, anti-Israel) across. But it was an easy B+
worked hard for that A, got a B. Only difficult bc he tests you on details. Extremely uninspiring prof, boring & very unclear. Difficult and not worth it. the end.
Forget the professor, this guy has the hottest TA on the campus I have seen so far. She is serioiulsy a middle eastern version of Nadia (from American pie) I would take the class over just to see and talk to her again. Most underated TA i have seen, and thanks again to Wednesday Hump for how to tap that teaching ass-sistant.
He isn't challenging but he is hard because he tests you on minor uneccessary details. His class is alright but he does not test you on the lectures so you don't need to go to class really.
Very good survey course. Extremely fair. Not going to be an expert on ME affairs from it, but you'll learn some useful stuff. Very nice guy.
He is super boring.........