Reviews for Gregory Stephen Metcalf
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: AMST429G Grade Expected: B? December 21, 2011, 12:52 am | An interesting man for sure. He does tend to ramble, but I found him to be funny. This was a class about sitcoms, so the subject material was enjoyable. He was a bit of a flake, but I felt the ideas he gave about sitcoms were interesting and could essentially be recycled in the form of midterm and final paper ideas. So take notes on what he says, he writes nothing down. I feel like he grades papers on whether you have facts right, not on the arguments themselves, so it was pretty basic. He cancelled a midterm paper for us so 60% of the grade is on the final paper so I have no idea what my grade will be, but I don't forsee it being lower than a B. If you want a class with not a lot of work and to get some laughs out of it, I would recommend him. I understand the criticisms about him, but I enjoyed the class. |
| Anonymous Course: AMST429G Grade Expected: December 11, 2011, 2:04 pm | he's probably the worst professor i've had in my 4 years here. he doesn't take his job seriously at all, so i don't know how any of us could possibly be expected to take the class seriously. he didn't stick to the syllabus by any means, it took him 2 months to grade a 4 page paper, and he literally spent entire first hour of class rambling on about nonsense every time. it was honestly painful to sit through. |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: May 18, 2010, 2:33 pm | Professor Metcalf is a nut. Literally every class we spent the first hour listening to him ramble on about something that had nothing to do with the film. He even went on about his conspiracy of the JFK assassination. The films were basically horrible until the end of the class, where they were actually interesting. I was a student just looking to get my HA out of the way and this class real is all about interpreting films, which is not for me. The two essays were basically how well can you bs. They were kinda impossible and the TA, Joseph Byrne, was just okay. We rarely had a discussion of the actual film and our discussion went over the time constantly! |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: May 16, 2010, 11:34 am | I picked this class because I thought a film class would be cool. Turns out, it was terrible. To start, Professor Metcalf is an absolute nut. This class was only one day a week, where he lectured and then we watched a movie. His lectures were terrible and boring and filled with his crazy conspiracy theories. He just rambled on about nonsense for most of the time. Until the last few weeks of the class, the films were terrible. The last few films were pretty good and entertaining but all of the other films were very boring and it was hard to stay awake. Joseph Byrne was the TA and he wasn't very good. There were two classes at the beginning of the semester where he didn't even show up because he was on a different schedule. He never came to class prepared, and we never got everything accomplished that he wanted to, even though we would be let out 5-10 minutes late every time. The grade consisted of two tests (midterm and final) and two papers. If you just write something down for your essays, you will get a B because they can't argue with your opinion. If you put effort into your essays, you will probably get an A. The tests weren't hard either. |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: A- December 2, 2009, 11:23 am | I picked this class because I figured it would be alot more interesting than any of the other HA courses. I was right. Metcalf is a great professor who knows what he is talking about though as others have said he does get off on tangents alot. I went to every film screening. Early on the films are somewhat boring and I did fall asleep a few times early on, though as the semester goes on it gets much better and much more interesting. Metcalf posts all the readings on ELMS as links to reviews and articles about the movie that is going to be shown in class, which is really nice because it means that you do not have to buy books. I had Joseph Bryne as a TA and he is probably one of the best TAs I've ever had. He was quick to respond to questions about the course or the paper and really helped to understand the concepts of the movies in Discussion. Every discussion period you have to pick one of many questions which he develops about the movie and certain ones are picked and posted on a blog, and you are required to post a comment about one if your writing was not picked that week. I found this to really help me to understand the class. I would highly recomend this class to anybody looking for an HA CORE course. |
| updawg Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: A May 24, 2009, 10:12 am | This class was absolutely amazing for completing a core. Going to class, I found was optinal. I did go to about 80% of the classes but fell asleep during every movie. Go to discussion! I learned everything from the TA, Rebecca who is super nice. The papers take a long time to frame together but can be B.Sed easily. Got a B+ and A- on the two papers. Exams are easy. Make sure to take this class instead of a music or art theory to fulfill your core!! |
| omgitsalexis Course: CMLT214 Grade Expected: A May 23, 2009, 5:38 pm | Prof. Metcalf is paranoid, scatterbrained, and awesome. The man knows his stuff. You could ask him anything about any film and he most likely has the answer. After leaving this class I definitely have learned a lot. Take this only with Metcalf. |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: May 21, 2009, 10:45 pm | Definitely recommend taking this class if you need an HA core. It was a super easy class, but really interesting at the same time. Exams were mostly written/essays, so that was kind of annoying; however, they're graded extremely easily so it's kind of impossible to not get an A or B on the midterm and final. There are two papers throughout the semester, one was 3-4pg and the other was 5-7pg. Not hard at all, and the TA was helpful if you needed someone to read over your paper and give you suggestions. Like everyone else said, Metcalf is eccentric and goes off on tangents a lot but he's a really entertaining guy to listen to and I never missed a lecture. |
| littleflower5 Course: CMLT214 Grade Expected: B March 26, 2009, 5:45 pm | I went into the class not knowing much about film, but having gone through half the class so far, I am learning. Professor Metcalf is incredibly knowledgeable! He really knows his stuff and so does his TA Joe Byrne. The class is interesting and you will learn a lot about film that you probablly didn't know. Professor Metcalf is a bit eccentric though. He is very negative and always paranoid about something. Many find him very funny and enjoyable to be lectured by. |
| wassupgirl Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: A December 9, 2008, 5:44 pm | CMLT280 was incredibly easy, but also intellectually stimulating. The Films are good, but some of the art films are bizarre and slightly disturbing. Metcalf is hilarious and his lectures are very interesting and helpful. He digresses a lot, but that is what makes it interesting. He really knows what he is talking about, and the TA for the class, Rebecca, is super smart and really helpful. Grading is easy on the one paper, and exams are also a breeze. Take this class! |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT214 Grade Expected: A- December 8, 2008, 10:32 am | His classes are enjoyable and you learn a lot about movies and other random stuff. Definitely agree on his tangents, and at least twice you'll be late for your next class. He clearly doesn't get enough sleep and always has a 2L bottle of some diet soda during class, usually finishing it. it's kinda impressive. His exam had like 4 multiple choice questions a short answer and then a long essay. It wasn't too bad though. Watch out with your TA, especially if you get Joe Byrne. If you don't make it to discussion, he takes it out on your papers and gives you a lower grade (plus secretly hates you). It is kinda cool watching movies in class though. |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT214 Grade Expected: Aļ August 23, 2008, 8:56 pm | he's awesome but goes on tangents all the time, but it doesn't matter. his class usually last really long cos film screening is included. His grading is not that hard but make sure you get a good TA, and that matters. |
| OneManArmy Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: A January 22, 2008, 3:25 pm | One of the best professors at UMD. CMLT280 was a breeze, the films are really good for the most part, and the papers are graded easily. Just don't use wikipedia for a source and you should do fine in the course. |
| Anonymous Course: CMLT214 Grade Expected: A December 20, 2007, 10:51 pm | He's interesting, but digresses often. Once he rambled on for half the period, and then said that he knew he was rambling, and was doing it for some specific reason. He's kind of out of it. If you are a good writer, you'll do fine in any of his classes. His exams are not bad. |
| gdonald Course: CMLT280 Grade Expected: A December 20, 2007, 10:28 pm | Metcalf is a former hand model and current genius. He is one of the greatest professors you will ever have in your college career. I never missed a class because each one of his lectures is like a unique work of art that will never be reproduced. The tests are easy, the paper is short, and the films are fantastic. |