Alan Timberlake

Professor Timberlake is charming, as so many reviewers have already noted here, and his quirky sense of humor helped make a potentially dry topic palatable and even interesting. He might not have McWhorter's showmanship, but I looked forward to his lectures just as much. For the most part, lectures were centered around readings from a textbook by Andrew Carnie. It was refreshing to be assigned regular readings from the same textbook and not regret having purchased said text at semester's end (which is usually the case for me, because most textbooks are boring/irrelevant or rarely assigned). In response to the previous reviewer, A.T. is far from inept. I found his explanations thorough and his lectures very helpful in completing the problem sets. Just because he claims that he does not understand ambiguous parts of Carnie's theory, it does not follow that "he does not even have a handle on [...] foundational principals." It seemed to me he was actually pointing out minor weaknesses or inconsistencies in the Carnie chapters, only in his characteristically friendly manner. I agree that the linguistics department at Columbia is limited, but it's true weakness is its small size, not its current faculty. Timberlake is one of the most personable profs I've had over the past four years, and I can see him being a wonderful resource to anyone with an interest in graduate-level studies.…

While the lectures may be sporadic, any of Prof. Timberlakes linguistics classes are worth taking, even if only to finish his notoriously long take home finals. Expect 10-15 pages of very vague questions that are only slightly clarified by his corrections by e-mail. Granted, the grading of the courses are not harsh, despite the level of the complexity of the material covered. All in all, do not expect to learn anything from the lectures, but look forward to interesting problem sets and take home midterm/final.

TAKE TIMBERLAKE'S LIT HUM CLASS! If you're in his section, under no circumstances should you switch. If you're not in his section, switch into it immediately. This is one of the best classes I have ever taken. Ever! I came to Columbia in part because of Lit Hum, so I had very high expectations, and this class by far exceeded them! It was the perfect combination of every aspect of a college class: Timberlake was engaged, both with his students and the material, and absolutely brilliant; he was caring and kind and made an effort to connect to every single one of students; and he gave very little work (see Workload), and the work he did give was very well thought-out, so that one got a lot out of doing it--I learned the most in Timberlake's class by far out of all my courses, and had by far the least work. He's very understanding and knows that you don't get around to doing all the reading--but, that said, you want to, because the class is basically just a discussion, so in addition to participation being important, you simply want to participate, because the class is so interesting and you want to impress him, and that's kind of hard to do if you haven't done the reading, of course. The point is, don't sweat it. He's a lenient grader on exams and papers, and is mostly looking for original or interesting ideas that are supported by the text. Not difficult. The ONLY downside to Ti…

Throughout the semester, lectures became increasingly disorganized and typically had nothing to do with the reading or homework assignments. Mostly Professor Timberlake rambles, and sometimes it’s interesting but usually it’s not. At first I thought I could depend on the reading to get me through the course, considering the professor’s deficient lecture skills. But when the reading stopped relating to the homework a few weeks in, I had to rely on Wikipedia to understand the concepts and complete my homework. How sad is that? Also, the TAs were frequently a better resource than the professor’s lectures. I stopped doing the reading a few weeks in, and I ultimately stopped coming to lectures unless I had to turn something in, or I would bring other work to do other while there. I found my attendance at the TAs' office hours to be much more important to my grade. Really, I would not have survived the class without Amelia and Ben. The take home final was very long and parts of it seemed impossible. Beyond that, the class was actually not too difficult. (If you met with the TAs and used Wikipedia, that is.) I think it says a lot that I rarely attended lecture but still did well in the class. Before I took this class, I thought that I would pursue a concentration in Linguistics. Now I know that I do not want to study further in a concentration that is directed by this professor, but…

Alan Timberlake is the most offensively inept professor I could ever even imagine. It is already disappointing that Columbia has such a limited Linguistics program, but that Professor Timberlake is the head of the "department" exacerbates this disappointment even more. There is little hope for Columbia to ever be able to accommodate those who are truly interested in the field when nearly the only person who feigns teaching it does not even have a handle on its foundational principles, let alone the complex ideas that this foundation has generated and that are currently being studied by those who treat Linguistics as the rigorous science that it truly is. Few readings were assigned from those who developed key ideas in the field, and when these primary sources were assigned, it was obviously without any consideration as to how this -- highly complex -- material should be presented. Assignments were indecipherable -- Timberlake is notorious for this, which most people talk about as if it were a charming quality --, serving to be entirely uninstructive wastes of several hours. Assignments were hardly ever returned. One e-mail we received from Professor Timberlake read: "Various things have conspired to keep me from finishing your earlier problem set (too much other work, avoidance,...)"...

One, maaaaaybe two problem sets, take home midterm and final (much much longer)

Professor Timberlake. Pause. One of the most passionate professors I've had at Columbia. Knows a lot about linguistics and language(s), and is open to questions and challenges. He will answer your e-mails, talk to you after class, and give you all the attention you might want/need. True, he can be a little disorganized at times. NOT IMPORTANT!!!! It's minor, it's nothing, you'll forget this tiny flaw when you are faced with what he has to offer. The course covers a lot of material, and I found myself fascinated in every lecture! The readings are interesting, the work is pleasant and necessary. While I came to this class with an innate passion for language, I now want to get a PhD in Linguistics - major life decision here. I will always have Professor Timberlake to thank for this. Whether you're a language lover or a curious person, take this class! Be ready to work hard, but it'll be all worth it in the end.

Three problem sets, one take-home final. Although you had to get yourself in a bit of a 'Timberlake state of mind' to figure out what he was really asking in certain questions, if you played along there'd always be a worthwhile insight to follow.

I had a mixed experience in this class. Professor Timberlake is very scatterbrained and unorganized, which was funny at times, and annoying at others. He often made mistakes on the questions we had for homework, which can really change a problem in linguistics. However, he is clearly very intelligent and great to talk to in office hours or after class if you have questions or curiosities about the subject matter. I found the material very interesting, but class could drag on sometimes.

A few indecipherable, uninstructive "problem sets." Long and similarly pointless final.