[HIST 0237]
Chinese Philosophy

Rate This Class

Professor: Wyatt D

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (7.7%
Average (61.5%)
Valuable (30.8%)

Material

Friendly (30.8%)
Average (23.1%)
Competitive (46.2%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (15.4%)
Average (76.9%)
Fascinating (7.7%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (15.4%)
3-5hr (53.8%)
6-8hr (30.8%)
9-11hr (0%)
12+ hr (0%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (15.4%)
Average (0%)
Easier (84.6%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (92.3%)
No (7.7%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (46.2%)
No (53.8%)

Evaluation Comments for Wyatt D

  1. Wyatt was a nice guy, lectures kind of boring but that's just because I didn't have too much interest in the subject. Exams were hard but he was pretty fair.
  2. Wyatt is an interesting guy, he clearly knows an incredible amount of information. His lectures are scripted and very boring, but this is interesting because at the end of class he will ask for questions, and his answers to the questions were almost always way more insightful into the material than the lecture. I had a hard time understanding why he couldn't be like that all the time. (Also I agree with the above comment, he has a very enjoyable sense of humor when it shows.) There's an inordinate amount of reading, but you don't have to do it all. He picks a number of introduction books which all cover the same thing so I picked one or two that I liked the style of and just read those. Exams were challenging and required a lot of blue-book writing, but I thought they were fair. I enjoyed the research project at the end of the semester (on a topic of your choice), it's a nice opportunity to explore something you found interesting. The biggest factor into your grade is the final, (40%). Be forewarned, if you are an avid reader of Western Philosophy, this class might drive you crazy, Eastern Philosophers rarely "prove" or follow of logical discussion of their believes, which can be somewhat of a culture shock.
  3. There were a total of 4 evaluations in this class: 1 response paper, 1 mid-term, 1 final and 1 final paper. The first of these was due 4 weeks into the course and was not returned until 2 weeks later, after I could no longer drop the class---which I really wanted to do! The material was interesting but the lectures themselves were painful. In my opinion, the worst part was the exams; I felt like he was trying really hard to trick us. I knew the material so so well but then the exams would ask questions that I never had any idea I was even supposed to know. I worked hard in the class, but it definitely lowered my GPA, despite it being a random distribution requirement fulfill-er.
  4. While I found the material to be very interesting, how it was taught to us was extremely boring. Though Professor Wyatt is a great professor and guy, his lectures were tedious and monotonous. Also, you will not be able to keep up with the readings for the class, though if you go to the lectures and carefully take notes, you don't necessarily have to complete all the readings for the exam.
  5. No Comment
  6. Take a book out from the library on Chinese Philosophy, grab a cup of coffee and read for an afternoon and you'll have a much more enjoyable experience than I had in this class and you'll probably learn a little more too.
  7. great class. good introduction to topics in chinese philosophy.
  8. Most people will find Wyatt's lectures monotonous dry, and I won't argue that. But there is an easy way to get through this class without putting forth too much time or effort. All exam material is based on lecture material. Do not buy the books as you will never need to touch them. I took this a step further and recorded all his lectures on tape and before exams would sit through them and fill in notes that I didn't catch the first time around. Got an A in the course. Approaching this course from a normal perspective and reviewing notes/readings will make your life difficult.
  9. I wanna elaborate on what the last person is saying. Don't fall into the trap by reading everything as Wyatt told you. His exams are all about his lectures. The only exception is that he takes some quotations from reading materials. But it is still unnecessary to do the reading. While the lectures are a little boring, you will still have a good grasp of Chinese philosophy throughout history.
  10. The course offers a pretty standard survey of Chinese Philisophical/ Intellectual History. At times the vast amount of information seems a bit much (esp. around test time), but rewarding overall. In terms of Wyatt, I thought he was a solid teacher. Don't expect blatantly charismatic lectures, but instead a subtle sense of humor mixed in with fairly dry lectures. Definitly rewards effort, and is extremely well-versed in the subject matter.
  11. I enjoyed the class content very much. However there was a lot of reading that perhaps wasn't necessary. I would have liked it if the class went more in depth and spent more time on some of the subject matter.
  12. This is a cool class with lots of funky Zen stuff going on in it.
  13. That it's a great way to get introduced to Chinese Philosophy in general, and Confucius in particular. The topic is really excited and fascinating. Grading was, to my mind, fair, comprehensive, and well structured. The only thing that might be a drawback is the lecturing style of the professor who reads his lectures from a prepared script. So however exciting the topic, and you tired, this lecturing style doesn't help.

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