ANTH V1008

2 essays (very general topics)+attendance/participation to recitation--> 30% 1 midterm 1 final midterm and finals are extremely time-consuming and nerve-wrecking. I really take my hats off to the people who can do well by not attending to this class.

HUGE midterm HUGE final, 8 quizzes, 2 short essays

midterm, final, optional paper (will boost you grade! you'll know wether to do it or not once you fail or don't fail the midterm), readings ( a lot -like a said, not necessarily necessary)

Piece of friendly advice: consider really seriously before taking this class. This is my first review on CULPA but I had an urge to do it for the people who intend to take this class in future. The overall structure looks fancy, 4-5 major civilizations but there is a fundamental problem with class organization and grading. I personally found it very disorganized class with not so much clear focus. I mean, the professor seems hands down a knowledgeable guy, an expert in the field but the problem is the course organized all over the place. That really puts so much pressure on midterms and finals. When the midterm and final approach, there are tons of information (i literally mean it), nitty gritty details and you just get so much frustrated by everything. As someone who attended almost every lecture and asked questions, I spent hours, even days to prepare for both of them, plus essays and still ended up with B. I really have no idea how people actually get A in class. Part of urge to write this review comes from that grade, tbh because I really think it was unfair, considering so much work I've put into the class. There should be a better, less subjective way of grading system for the class. I understand TAs are all PhD students but absolute dependence on TA's subjective opinions on every single components of the grade isn't really the best of giving out objective grades. What y…

One of the most intense classes i've taken at columbia, meaning you had to constantly keep up to date on the readings, the quizzes (there are 8 or so over the semester) and the midterm and final were really really hard and required massive studying efforts. if i hadn't taken this second semester senior year when i was taking only one other class for a grade and one pass/fail i do'nt how the hell i would have juggled this along with another class with even a mdoerate workload. i personally didn't find the material that interesting but you can decide for yourself before registering if you think ancient civilizations are something you'd like to study. taking notes in class isn't really necessary since he just repeats the stuff exactly as it appears in the readings, and he's also a really nice guy generally but a little aloof, so get in good with your TA early on cause you will need their help

The material for this course was very interesting. Prof. Gifford is sweet and funny and cool - a lovable man. But his teaching style borders on boring-He basically teaches the course from a printout of notes that contain a lot of facts about the culture you are discussing (though of course there is no actual discussing in this lecture class). Yes, class definitly was boring at times. But, look, I honestly learned some really great, interesting things that i will probably remember for a long time. it's a pretty decent way to fulfill your major cultures requirement, especially if you don't have a specific culture you want to focus on. This class will give you a nice overview of 6 different cultures, mostly ancient ones, but the things you learn about them are very relevant to the current culture of each area. Don't make the mistake i did by not doing the reading AND not going to recitation sections. You should pick one, and i definitly think that going to recitation is more helpul and time-efficient. The best way i found to navigate this course (and i tried several ways) in order to get the most out of it without wasting your time, is to go to class and to recitation (which will basically just review the important (i.e. test-relevant) material)--and then you dont have to do the reading. its just too much reading to do when you have a full course-load.

it is what you make it. no hw, but if you dont study at all tests can be very stressful. 2 7-10 page papers both due right before exams 1 midterm consisting of id's and essay 1 final consisting of id's and 2 essays.

6 quizzes (5-10% each) 2 short 3-page papers. final with essay questions given out weeks in advance.

Weekly readings, midterm, optional paper, and final.

I have such mixed feelings about this class. I am just finishing the fall 2017 semester of this class and i think at different times in the semester i have both loved and hated the class. let me break it down for you: The Lectures: The lectures are literally going to be your least favorite part of the class. The professor is pretty much just going over slides. There is always an outline of the lecture given ahead of time so you can follow along as well as all power point slide shows. These don't serve as a good representation of the all the information thrown at you in this course though. Professor D'altroy knows his stuff. He throws a huge amount of information at you in each lecture in large part just from the massive amount of knowledge he has in his head. he clearly is passionate about the subject and extremely knowledgeable. This format of sitting for an hour just looking at slides listening to someone speak is indeed incredibly boring, but its also the most important part of the class to ensure your success. if you want an A you need to attend because there is no source wether it is the book, recitations or all the youtube videos on the web that are going to encapsulate what you need for the exams as well as terrance's lectures. Take notes every lecture, ask questions and try your best to stay attentive and you will be fine. The readings: they were a mix of fairly intere…