Richard John

The workload is challenging but greatly helps the student understand the texts. Dr. John gives several chances to rewrite their work and improve their grades. Two essays and a midterm and final, as well as weekly discussion posts.

CC with Dr. John is not for the faint of heart, but for those who want a truly meaningful CC experience. Dr. John teaches each of the texts with a passion, helping his students thoroughly engage and be interested in each reading. Class discussions are meaningful, and I made many friends through this class. Dr. John teaches a CC that quickly became one of my favorite courses. I would highly recommend this Professor.

The workload for this course is demanding because Professor John actually expects students to do the reading (not the norm unfortunately with most Core classes). This class is rewarding if you're willing to do the work. To succeed in this class, you will have to read everything, especially fall semester. If you're not willing to do the readings, this class may not be for you. Reading for one class is typically between 75-150 pages, and it takes me a minimum of two hours to complete it, but usually more than that. This course is entirely discussion-based, so if you do not do the reading, it is obvious to everyone. Weekly discussion posts are required. Unlike in other courses, the discussion posts are a very helpful exercise, and the Professor integrates the posts into class discussions.

This class has been the single most important class for me during my time at Columbia. You will not find a CC professor that devotes more time and attention to their students than Dr. Richard John. Professor John is incredibly knowledgeable about all the CC authors, and he lets students lead the discussion while providing helpful pointers. His love for the course is infectious, and he puts a great deal of effort to making sure the class has a sense of community. CC classes usually only have one outside-of-class event per year, but we had 4 events: three dinners at Symposium, and one tour of the Met. In this class, you will become friends with your classmates, which I have found to be a rare phenomenon at Columbia. The friends that I have gained from being in this class are perhaps more valuable than any one thing I have read on the syllabus. Even as a philosophy major, I would say that I have enjoyed reading philosophy in this course more than I have in any of my philosophy lectures. Professor John will always say that he is more of a historian, but he will undoubtedly equip you with a rigorous foundation in philosophy.

Heavier than average. 2-3 papers per semester, midterm, and a final, as is standard, but Richard assigns LOTS of extra readings, some of which are mandatory, others optional.

I disagree with the previous reviewer who states that RRJ plays favorites and is impatient with students. This is just my subjective experience, but I got the opposite impression: he really wants to see all students succeed, even ones who are struggling. When I was in his class, I was at a very low point in my struggle with mental health issues. This severely interfered with my ability to perform academically, and I covered it (poorly) up by pretending not to care, by pretending I was slacking by choice: bragging about never doing the readings, joking about how lazy I was, putting on the persona of a class clown. But Richard didn't yell at me or hold it against me. He tried to hard all year to reach out to me and encourage me and try to bring out the best in me. And despite my own best efforts, I came away from the class feeling that I'd learned a great deal and grown in my understanding of the texts. That said, my class absolutely was full of the "classic CC kids" and it did get kind of annoying at times. Particularly in the fall semester, I felt this toxic atmosphere of one-uppmanship in which students vied to show off their extensive knowledge and ~profoud intellectual appreciation~ and to me it felt like it was not out of a genuine desire to add to the discourse, but just to show off, suck up to the professor, and flex on each other. One guy in my class even harassed me in…

haha lots of readings 2 essays/semester (with no clear grading rubric/no instructions except to "make an argument") 1 Discussion post a week midterm final extra credit (if you are his chosen favorite at office hours!!!)

Richard says he's been teaching for 35 years and that he knows how to teach and what counts as good student work, but honestly he just plays favorites. He has no rubric for grading any essays, he just gives you a grade at the end. On the midterm and final essays, he told some students that all he does is read and if a certain point is compelling he gives you 2 pts until you hit full points. There is no format. If you ask him how to do better on essays, he just tells you to include more historical context and he doesn't help you further develop your argument. He spends way too much time in class on historical context too. We spent an hour and thirty minutes going over the history of the Qur'an. If you read the texts and don't really understand them, you shouldn't expect to be able to understand them after class either (Richard someone expects you to know it though). He also cuts students off all the time and doesn't let them formulate complete thoughts. Once you start to say something he automatically thinks he knows what you're saying he tries to explain it for you but sometimes he's way off. Additionally, if he asks you to explain your discussion post and you have to pull it up because you don't remember what you wrote, he just skips over you and is like okay never mind. When students are talking and presenting their points in class, He gestures with his hands like "ok keep m…

More than most CC classes. There will be extra readings. In order to keep up with class discussion you will actually need to know the reading well. The essays are long and strictly graded and the exams require a significant amount of preparation.

I can start off by saying that Professor John's CC class is not the place where you go if your goal for CC is to skate by doing as little work as possible. I had him for 2nd semester, and it was a significantly most intensive course than my CC class first semester. With that disclaimer, Prof. John is an engaging, skilled professor who's class was not only fascinating but truly impacted the way that I view the world. Every class truly allows for a comprehensive discussion of the text and leaves everyone with a deeper understanding of the material covered. Prof. John does not shy away from conveying his opinions about the text but leaves room for dissenting students to disagree. The classes tought workload ensures that a large number of the students who stay in are genuinly interested in the subject matter. The net results is that class discussions are sophisticated and infomative. The best part about the course is Prof. John's dedication to teaching it. As he will tell you repeatedly (and he means it) he is always happy to go meet over breakfast to discuss a text that students felt was missing from the course material or to engage in other discussion outside the classroom. In short, if you are looking for the easy A, this is not the class for you. But, if you are looking to get the most out of CC, look no further.