Brinkley Messick

Brinkley Messick is not a helpful or supportive teacher, his lectures were just him speaking about his own research. He did not ask students questions, or if he did, he asked them really briefly and then continued with his own research. He would ask a question about the readings and then no one would IMMEDIATELY answer and then he'd go back to going on and on about his own research. Like two people were engaged in the lectures. It seems like his research was super interesting, but it didn't feel appropriate to the class that he just talked about it and didn't try to teach us really. He didn't facilitate discussion, he just forced people to talk randomly sometimes after not engaging them in the classroom, and then people felt embarrassed, upset, hurt, and not like students trying to learn. I really think a new professor would teach this course so much better, or an improvement needs to be made to help Professor Messick understand. I'm sure he is a kind, smart, good person, but he did not teach us well --- it felt really alienating to hear him talk only about his own research, and then to feel not comfortable asking questions. It also felt really upsetting to think that he didn't really care about us learning or struggling, he just wanted to talk at us and then tell us we didn't know enough. When we turned in our midterm project proposals, he prided himself on explaining that th…

Completely awful. Avoid. Worst professor.

I was wary of taking this class because of Messick's negative reviews, but turned out to be an easy A and wasn't nearly so bad as I had expected. He could be rather pompous at times (some story about how he saved some ancient fatwas from being lost forever stands out in my mind) but overall he was well-spoken and fairly engaging. Lectures covered very general but surprisingly interesting themes from Muslim societies throughout history and the world; the final asked extremely broad questions as well. He does constantly write the names of dead old anthropologists who wrote books about harems and stuff on the board, but you don't have to read them. I did sometimes wonder if the material we were covering was outdated in focus. My class was not full of curvy "doe-eyed" suck-ups and I never really got the sense that he was creeping around or anything; he actually was most engaged with the GS grandpa types. Overall offers a very broad, occasionally interesting survey of the subject for next to no work besides the few horrible days you spend realizing that you shouldn't have procrastinated on the papers. Nothing to complain about.

I learned how to build a syllabus, run a class, provide feedback for my peers, and plan an event.

In my first semester at Columbia University(Fall 2016), I enrolled in Professor Messick's "Arabia Imagined" class since it partially fulfilled Global Core requirements. I never ceased to be impressed by the breadth of Professor Messick's knowledge on rural Arabia. His lectures were priceless. He taught us the most intricate details about Middle Eastern societies and always shared a wealth of his personal experience while he was serving as a Peace Corp in Yemen. I have to say I was apprehensive about this 4-point course because the syllabus contained a lot of reading but Professor Messick's continued support throughout the semester helped me understand the basics of this subject. We had to write a brief proposal for the Midterm which he graded generously. He always gave me feedback on my papers and granted me appointments outside his Open office hours. I was surprised at how he gave me appointments as many times as I needed during the semester because as the head of the Department, I knew he was a very busy scholar. I not only earned my first A grade in this class but it was the most rewarding experience to learn from someone as knowledgeable and experienced as Professor Messick. Several of my classmates I met afterwards told me they also did remarkably well in his class. A number of students in Professor Messick's class received A+ in this course. Personally I would recommend…

This is true that Messick cannot help with Arabic and law. In addition to not reading closely his student papers (though the help rendered through his close reading is doubtful in any case), he cannot help with social and anthropological theory (simply because he himself does not seem to know any). The gazillion books that he assigns on his syllabi is a joke as all of them are from before 1980 and almost all of them are not connected to anthropological theory. His pathetic attempts at flirting (mentioned in detail by other students here) with his (very 'nice' and 'sweet') female students make him into a total joke. His constant disappointments from his (trophy) female students explain his bitter, vituperatively sarcastic, and sadistic personality. It's his own fault though for prioritizing 'sweetness' over 'smartness' and ignoring the brilliant students. Read some of the dissertations he has passed and you will see why he has become this laughing stock. And he must know this too. Poor, sexually deprived, morally depraved, pathetic thing! Messick is more interested in hoarding more and more students (of female nature, mostly wide eyed stupid does) than in serious mentoring of serious students. He found excuses to email me and I almost felt coerced to see him (given his powerful position as chair) and I felt sort of pressured to ask him to be my adviser. He uses his power to "co…

If this professor really has a lot to "learn and enjoy" it is interesting that one of the previous reviewerers could not mention a single attribute of Messick that would lead to "learning and enjoying." Truth be told this professor is the most arrogant and unpleasant person I have seen at Columbia, who creates a toxic atmosphere in the classroom. He is unaccessible and unpredictable and very flaky in his inside and outside classroom etiquette.

Overall, I would recommend writing a senior thesis in anthropology. However, if Professor Messick is leading the thesis seminar, I would recommend pursuing an independent study project instead, as there would be ample opportunity to work one-on-one with a professor who would be actually invested in the student's work.

Well, it's Fall 2016 and not a thing has changed with Professor Messick and his droning lectures and his fascination with himself. His never read a paper, never give a straight answer modus operandi is still in effect and I think it will never go away. He simply cannot be bothered to give a coherent answer to a simple question. My "what would you like us to focus on in evaluating the readings" (2 pages every week, read and graded by the TA) was met with a blank look and an "Oh, just give me your take on it." before he moved away from me (clearly ending the not yet started conversation) to fiddle with the podium he likes to stand next to. The man continues to be super impressed with himself and most of the assigned readings are either from his oeuvre, such as it is, from someone he knows (and likes, he never once mentioned another anthropologist without acting as if they were besties) or from someone who cites him. He remains entranced with Yemen and regularly speaks of his time there, even showing slides of pics he took while there - in the 80s! By mid-semester, myself and at least two classmates were entirely disgusted with the class. Frankly, if this course wasn't satisfying a global core requirement, I'd of dropped the course and taken the W. He did read our mid-term papers, but he provided such scant feedback you don't know if you were on track or not. He didn't touch our…

Words can not describe my contempt for this man and his teaching style. He was my MA thesis advisor and I want my money back! He NEVER read a SINGLE word of what I wrote, though kept giving As and Apluses to all my papers. But when I confronted him in office hours, he would have NOTHING insightful to say about my writings, as if he had never read them (his PhD students have told me, far too late, that indeed he never bothers to read anything). He also seems to fetishize Muslims in general and Muslim women in particular. This leads to very arbitrary standards of who he "likes" and who he does "not like." Like a student noted for his wife's (Karen Seeley) Culpa review, his classroom conduct is highschoolish at best. Since he never reads what his students write, how can he prioritize students? He cannot! This leads to huge frustrations and confusions for his unfortunate students. We can never tell how to impress him (though again he seems to have a "soft spot" for pretty middle-eastern women). I also think (and some other women students agreed with me) that he is a damn chauvinist! Even if he is good to the some students (mostly women), it is in the most patronizing and condescending manner. This man really nauseates me, and I hope I never encounter him again. What a nasty, patriarchal bastard! Just an unpleasant person and teacher. He is definitely threatened by smarter students…