Reviews for John M. Newman
Average Rating:| terps1218 Course: HONR219X Grade Expected: A- January 19, 2012, 2:27 pm | This class was the worst one I've taken in college. I took it because I thought it would be an easy way to knock out my history credit, but it was awful and horribly boring. The professor didn't engage with the class so it was basically just him rambling the whole time. The papers (two 8 page single spaced papers and one 12 paged single spaced) are daunting and a waste of time because he basically just wants you to use his book as a source so he can hear you say he's right. The final was absolutely ridiculous but overall he grades easily and you can get by. Do not take this class if you think it will be easy and interesting unless you are EXTREMELY interested in the subject. Actually even if you're interested in it I still wouldn't recommend taking it. |
| jnt14 Course: HONR219X Grade Expected: B- December 27, 2011, 7:36 am | This class was awful. I took this class as my history credit to get it out of the way and also use an honors credit, but it may have been a mistake. You have to write four papers throughout the semester: one 2 page paper, two 8 page papers, and one 12 page term paper, all single spaced. There is also a final exam. You can basically not know what you're talking about at all in the papers and still get an A on them. I expected to actually learn things about Jesus himself in a historical sense, but all you do in the class is go over parables and whether or not they may have originated with Jesus. I would not recommend this class. |
| Dylan Veraart Course: HONR219X Grade Expected: B- May 24, 2011, 4:33 pm | I BOMBED this class' final at MOST (I ran the calculation mid-test) I got a 49%. There was a paper I didn't turn in and somehow I got a B- for the class. The class is engaging but somehow if it doesn't engage you you'll still get a great grade. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: May 20, 2010, 1:06 pm | Kinda boring. The stuff you learn about is from 15 years ago, so its not as exciting. 3 papers, around 8 pgs each, and then a final exam. And that's it. I don't think he ever took attendance. Most of the time he just sits in class and reads stuff out loud. Bring your labtop to play games if you're going to go. Doesn't care if you come late either. And it doesn't go until 6 o'clock either, it goes until 5- except on the day you have the final. |
| ecdysis7 Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: A- May 11, 2009, 8:56 pm | Here's what you learn in the class: Ramzi Yousef, an Islamic fundamentalist, may or may not have been involved with the Oklahoma City bombers, Ted Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. That's it! That's all you learn! Seriously, this class is a waste of time. He spends most of class ranting about his pet conspiracy theories, and will dock points for trivial things (one of my papers went from an A to B because I forgot to include a cover sheet). If you're really interested in the issue, take the seminar with Smead instead. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: May 11, 2009, 8:45 pm | I enjoyed the class, and found Dr. Newman quite informative. He certainly knows his stuff. I only read one of the books entirely, and still have gotten A's on all the papers. The final was a bit long, but he seems to be an easy grader. Also, he lets you out of class 60 to 90 minutes early every single week, which is a huge plus. I would recommend this class. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR248W Grade Expected: A- May 4, 2009, 11:38 am | If you're looking for a class on the culture/counterculture of the 60s this is not the class to take. The majority of the material focuses on JFKs involvment in Vietnam and his assassination (most of which is presented from a rather biased viewpoint) The class requires 3 papers (3, 7, and 10 pages). The 7 page paper on Vietnam takes is VERY time consuming and takes much more than 7 pages to cover the material requested (my paper was 12 pages and a classmates was 21). This paper also requires the use of Newman's book as the primary source. As in any class, when a professor requires you use a book he/her wrote it is just obnoxious and arrogant. Outside of that papers are graded rather easily. The lectures are fairly interesting which makes up largely for the negative aspects of the class. It is imperative that you take notes during class for the final. The final includes 9 essays which pretty much cover all the learned material. Overall not a horrible class but very biased and far from what most students expect. |
| bihbih Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: A January 28, 2009, 3:35 pm | There are clear pros and cons to this class. The class is overall easy, and he doesn't take up the full class time so you end up having very little lecture. If you are interested in the history of terrorism/counterterrorism facing the US for around 1989- 9/11 then you will find the readings interesting. There is a lot of reading that is assigned especially for the first half of the semester. Not all of it is necessary, in fact there were some books that he told us to purchase and never made us use. Also he makes you use four books outside the course material for the three large papers. After all that though, just follow his instructions for the papers and you'll find he is an easy grader. There is also a final exam, which i bombed but still got an A minus in the class. Also the actual lectures are very boring, he basically says the same things over and over for the entire semester. With all of that though, I enjoyed this class because course material was interesting and the grading wasn't bad. |
| fiddlerkrt Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: A- January 21, 2009, 11:34 pm | I would not take this class if I were you, since you have to buy so many books. This class is not worth that much money. The lectures were pretty boring, but he is a fairly easy grader when it comes to papers. Make sure you don't do the papers at the last minute. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR248W Grade Expected: A December 15, 2008, 6:27 pm | Don't take this class if you want an unbiased and complete view of the 60s. It's mostly about his conspiracy theories on JFK and on Vietnam- interesting, but not the historical overview I was looking for. There's also a lot of civil rights and pop culture involved, which is cool. It's a ton of work- lots of reading, three papers, a final that consists of nine essays. He is also a little bipolar. Sometimes he's friendly and receptive, and other times he's looking at you as if he has no idea who you are or why you're speaking to him. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR248W Grade Expected: A November 17, 2008, 11:20 am | Dr. Newman is a bit dramatic and loves sensationalizing the class. That said, he does know quite a bit about the 1960s and is passionate about the era. The readings are interesting but long, and although reading is "required" and will help you appreciate the material, there are no quizzes and you will be fine not reading. Our class always got out about an hour early or more, which was nice, and class was made up of lectures and the occasional movie. Lectures are kind of random and disorganized, but can be interesting. The workload is very easy. There is an oral report about songs, a film paper (5 pages), a paper about JFK and Vietnam (6 pages), and a final term paper (10 pages). Grading is easy. |
| xinio64 Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: A- June 2, 2008, 7:50 pm | The material itself was interesting but the lectures were kind of boring. I heard the Honors department is cracking down on his grading so actually try in his class if you sign up for it. |
| a778999 Course: HONR279N Grade Expected: W April 8, 2008, 10:29 am | Interesting class but the workload was too much (three 10-page papers and a final). Also, don't be fooled by the grade distribution. The Honors department has been cracking down on grading and now less than half the class gets As. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR248W Grade Expected: A January 22, 2008, 10:17 pm | He is very knowledgeable, lectures can be interesting if you're not asleep. Attendances are not required. Just make sure you write decent papers, there about 4 essays and 1 final research paper, and you should get an A. Text is $100, and not worth it, either borrow/share from someone or check out the library. |
| Krispy Course: HONR279O Grade Expected: A December 16, 2007, 6:11 pm | Overall this was a very good class. The readings for the class were interesting. As for the professor himself, he is overall fairly good. Not the greatest I've had but solid. His lectures are somewhat hit or miss. Sometimes they are extremely interesting, sometimes they are completely boring. He is extremely knowledgeable about the topic (Counterterrorism) but often falls into making the same points over and over. You can call for help in the class but I personally have not tried. If you write the essays to his specifications (the class has three) then you will probably get an A. Overall the class is very good, and I recommend it. |
| Anonymous Course: HONR248W Grade Expected: A December 8, 2007, 7:10 pm | Hes full of himself and only wants you to agree with his strong opinions. His lectures are confusing, most of the time I had no idea what he was talking about. He says to call him on the phone if you have questions (instead of e-mailing him) but when you call him he is condescending and obnoxious. He gives a lot of As however. I don't recommend the class because you won't get a lot out of it. |