Randall Balmer

Randy is a wonderful, charming professor and I thoroughly enjoyed both classes I took with him this semester. His lectures consist of easy to follow (although not posted) powerpoints, with added commentary and explanations. Sometimes the lectures can get a little too theoretical or outright boring, but Professor Balmer is often outwardly apologetic about this and really tries to make the lectures interesting. He is a seriously respected scholar in the field of American religion, so you'll be able to get some really detailed information about some of the topics with which he's worked the most. He's always willing to see students during office hours. You WILL NOT PASS this class if you do not do the reading. He pulls many multiple-choice and short answer questions on exams directly from the reading. The reading is usually directly related to what is discussed in lecture. Some books are painfully boring but on the whole they're not that bad. Missing lecture isn't the worst thing, but make sure you get detailed notes from someone else. In the past, Professor Balmer gave out study guides prior to midterm and final exams, but as of Fall 2011 he has ended that practice. He made the midterms way too tricky for both classes. As a response to students' grief over their bad midterm grades, he offered the class the option to double their final exam grade if they completed a 2-page review…

First, I have to make it clear that Professor Balmer is one of the most genuinely nice people I have had the privilege to meet. He is always available via email or during office hours, is incredibly accommodating, and is always willing to hear you out and help you in whatever way he can. That being said, I was extremely disappointed with this class. It had the potential to be really great, but unfortunately a few things sidetracked our ability to get through the syllabus. First, though this was a strict lecture course, Balmer would repeatedly spend at least half of each class fielding questions and listening to irrelevant personal anecdotes from students. While I think it's great that he was able to facilitate discussion, it's also the professor's job to know when to tell students to see him after class so he is able to finish teaching the material for the day. Second, one of the class assignments was to create a powerpoint and present it to the class. While this assignment could have been successful in a much smaller class, it was a terrible idea in a class of 60+ students, and because of the presentations not only did we not get through most of the syllabus, but what we did cover, we had to rush through with barely any analysis. It's important to keep in mind though that this was Balmer's first time teaching this class, so if/when he decides to teach it again, he may change…

I do not have enough nice things to say about this man. Religion in American Culture I was very well structured, the material was interesting, the workload was very reasonable, and I have never meet anyone more enthusiastic about their subject matter than Randall Balmer. He is always full of stories, and wants to make sure he has earned the class's attention. Class was always thought provoking and I can't wait to take Religion in American Culture II. He is also a very reasonable and kind person when it comes to individual problems. The readings are interesting, but not a necessity. He has all the information he wants you to know on power point slides, but he won't test you on the details, so don't bother writing everything down. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and think Randall Balmer is a great teacher!

I loved this class. Though it was clear that Professor Balmer did not know every little detail about Mormonism, he knew a lot and was always willing to admit that he didn't know. He taught a lot of the basics of Mormonism and I encourage everyone to take the class. The workload wasn't bad, though the reading was often heavy. It was really interesting though, so a lot of the reading was easy to get through. Everything we learned was really interesting. There were no papers, because he said that the course was very reading heavy (1 book a week), which made life easier. Professor Balmer was always really entertaining and nice. Our TA, Todd, was always helpful, too.

I enjoyed this class. I think Professor Balmer is a talented teacher as far as his ability to connect to students. He was able to elucidate the main facts and themes of American evangelicalism in a way that seemed to strike the right note with everyone in the class. He was also extremely friendly and helpful in office hours when I went to talk to him. On the other hand, I didn't find his presentation of the material challenging at all. In part this may have been due to the fact that we didn't have too many thought- provoking discussions, in which his main points were challenged or a different perspective offered. Also, there are times when you will think you're back in high school-- movies, excessive power point (where everyone proceeds to copy down every single word that is on the screen and thereby delay the class), and really, really easy exams. The most challenging part of the course was the research paper, which I found very worthwhile. Overall, I do recommend this class if you are interested in American religious history. You'll learn and probably enjoy yourself.

Somewhere between 50 and 200 pages a week. More often a few chapters of a book than an entire book at once. Religion in America: Two 4-6 page response papers (topics posted 1-2 weeks in advance), 40 points each. Midterm exam 45 points. Final exam, 45 points. Discussion (Pop up discussion class every few weeks. Attendance is what counts.), 30 points. Evangelicalism: Research paper - proposal, 10 points; paper 70 points. Midterm exam, 60 points. Final Exam, 60 points. Discussion (Pop up discussion class every few weeks. Attendance is what counts.), 30 points.

midterm and final (noncumulative)... the multiple choice is tricky, but doable one 4-6 page paper choice of doing either the class presentation or writing a 5 pg book review

This class is one long simplistic powerpoint presentation. The minimal amount of reading (almost all at least co-authored by Balmer) meant that it was really a course on Balmer's view of American religious history. Each day consisted of him flipping through powerpoint slides, waiting as the class copied down names and dates, and then reading the contents of the slides more or less verbatim. He presents US religious history as a serious of bullet points. This felt like a high school class. Sparse on analysis, heavy on apologies whenever he happened to accidentally overburden us with 'too much theology.' Never mind that this is a religion course. Intellectual lightweight is correct. Academic disappointment.

easy midterm and final- only multiple choice and IDs, a short in class presentation that was pretty simple. Lots of reading, but it didn't have to be done until exam time...

Easy- 1 research paper, midterm, (non-cumulative) final. The exams were mostly multiple choice with a few IDs.