Reviews for James Z. Gao
Average Rating:| aralchen Course: HIST480 Grade Expected: A- April 23, 2011, 5:41 pm | History is supposed to be marked by change over time: development, progression, evolution, you name it. The prof, however, decided that he can conveniently squeeze ancient Chinese history into a few unrelated segments and call it a class! What bull - this was a huge waste of time; I can honestly say I learned very little of the change ancient China experienced as a culture and learned a lot about how to sleep with my eyes open. Unless this terrible structure changes, I won't recommend this class to anyone. On the bright side, the midterm questions were given ahead of time as a study guide and he gave us an option to either do a paper (bleh) or to do a presentation on two short stories (guess which the class picked). It was a rather stress-free class but it wasn't easy - overall you should have known something to get an A. The prof is very reasonable and accommodating, but this is not a review of his character (I'm sure he's an interesting fellow outside of class). I really can't say anything good of his teaching style. |
| jme Course: HIST285 Grade Expected: May 12, 2010, 4:12 pm | I liked Professor Gao. He is a little hard to understand sometimes, but if you sit near the front it helps a lot. He is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and his review sheets for the exams are great. Also, my TA, Bill, was really good and willing to talk to you. |