2.6
Quality2.7
Difficulty39%
Would Retake93
Reviews39%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
21
3
16
2
21
1
25
What Students Say
“Honestly, avoid him if at all possible, or else tread carefully”
HARP101C - 2.0 rating“I would never take a course with him again”
AFST372 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
95%
Textbook Required
44%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.53 avg changeRatings by Course
SPAN386G
5.0
(1)LITOFISRPAL
5.0
(1)ISRPALCONFL
5.0
(1)ARAB386A
4.5
(2)ARAB383A
4.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
ENG450F
5.0
AFST462
5.0
ISRPALCONFL
4.0
HIST385
4.0
ANTH280
4.0
Reviews (93)
good professor, very engaging, but no apparent order or method to teaching.
nice guy....too nice....also, no plan!
He is really smart and knows what he is talking about. Lots of reading
extremely nice, intelligent & helpful. he knows many subject areas well. however, classes have little structure followed by lots of reading.
Very nice guy and the class was very interesting but there was a ridiculous amount of reading for an undergraduate course. The lectures themselves didn't seem to follow a plan and were often confusing due to the jumping around.
doesnt seem to have any structure, which makes the course easy. new to teaching it seems, but a nice man and indeed helpful
No course plan - he jumps all over the place. Loves to cite Henry James (esp. Daisy Miller) even though it has no relation to the class. Easy 'A'.
hated the class. definitely hated it.
Amazing class. While there is a certain lack of structure, there is a real encouragement of intellectual curiosity. He is as unbiased as is possible for an Israeli/Palestinian conflict class.
Excellent Professor; Really knows what hes talking about but does jump around from topic to topic so it can get confusing but easy paper writing grades
lots of readings, but an easy grader, jumps around from subject to subject, creates his own stereotypes and tends to put down other religions
This class was not planned out at all. We got into weird topics, god knows how. He is an easy grader though he has his own stereotypes, which he most definitely vocalizes. What I have learned...absolutely nothing!
I felt like he was very anti-semetic and loves to bash the United States. He has no course outline and spends tons of time just talking about random Israeli & American dislike for Islam. Not a favorite class of mine at all!
A very nice man, but a bad teacher. Makes borderline **** comments towards christians and jews without any literary support. class has absolutely no structure. Makes baseless claims about Islamic history to benefit his point. Very helpful in office hour
Drop! I'm a liberal, but hated him! His disorganized "teaching" made me lose interest by week 2. Disgustingly biased perspectives, rudely puts you down if you diagree with him, plays favorites, generalizes about the "West" every day, and is a know-it-all. People only take him because he's easy. :(
He is disorganized and the class lacks structure; nonetheless, he is a nice teacher and a very easy grader. Take him if you want an easy A, but if you want to learn I would suggest another class.
Not an effective manager of the class. No control over the class. You can get an A not reading 90% of the material for the course. Also, a tease. Tries to rile things up and never concludes it or gives a reason why he does this. Personally, fairly pleasant.
nice guy. His class may lack structure, but that is what I like about it. You can jump from topic to topic, but in the end, it all relates to the subject at hand. And he is not biased, and he does offer different points of views and allows everyone to be heard. As far as him being "anti-semetic," that's just absurd as Arabs are semetic.
Absolutely horrible teacher-avoid at all costs-NOT nice, very biased, not open minded, stay awaaaaaaaaaaaay
It's a shame that such a nice man who always makes sure all sides are heard is attacked with slander by **** fanatics who hate him because he is an Arab Muslim. He allows open conversation about the controversial conflict, and even assigns readings from mostly Israeli and Jewish writers.Whatever your views are take his class and challenge yerself
I've taken two classes with him and gotten B's both times. He's somewhat of a difficult grader. I personally liked him a lot as a teacher.
Doesn't matter how you do in your coursework. If he likes you then you'll get an A...If you sit through this class like you do every other then he will hold it against you and hold back your grade. Personally got all grades above B and in danger of failing because of "lack of class participation" - BULL**** EXCUSE OF A PROFESSOR
No theses, no organization, shifting expectations, random grading. He is intolerant and anti-West. A shame that Binghamton has chosen this man to teach the crucial subject of Islamic-Western relations.
Virulently anti-American and anti-West. Completely hypocritical and ignorant of any culture but his own. Essentially justifies terrorism by calling it "freedom fighting". Assumes all students are complete morons, but lacks any real knowledge on the topics he's supposed to be teaching. Has an enormous chip on his shoulder. Avoid at all costs.
Absolutely the most frustrating class I've taken in 4 years. Bouanani is unprepared for class- doesn't have direction or purpose except to propogate Islam. He hates the West and is incredibly ignorant of Western Christianity (he is familiar with Eastern). Pompous. Looks down on Americans,
The class is totally pointless. He has no organization and the syllabus is completely worthless because the grading is done at random. Not that grades mean anything anyway since they're based on personal bias. Basically if you want to learn about Arabic culture you're probably better off watching CNN than taking a Bouanani class.
The same as the guy below me about the history class. it's the same class and its totally disorganized and you don't learn anything. if he likes you he'll give you high grades on your papers without reading them.
This was allegedly a language class, but we spent most of the time discussing politics. The time that was spent on the language was far below the level for the class. Even though I agreed with his viewpoints, the way he presented them made me want to disagree with him because they were so absurd. Avoid at all costs, even if you like the subject.
Unfortunately, all these comments are true. I learned next to nothing about Islamic Spain from his lecture. Anything I picked up in his class was from the reading. Endlessly parades his anti-western sentiment...and yet, he lives in America and teaches in English! Definitely a puzzling fellow.
He is the worst teacher I have ever had. He has absolutely no skill in teaching. He does not follow the syllabus and daily lectures or lessons vary as much as the weather depending on his mood. Grading is completely arbitrary based on sucking up and getting into his personal favor. He is arrogant, rude, condescending, and actually insults students!
This class was an excuse for me to discuss Islam with him. He bullies everyone into silence by saying you're biased towards the west, even if you're ARAB! I couldn't stand his attitude even though he liked me and I got an A in the course. He makes you feel like a suck up if you say anything, but if you don't you'll be bored stiff. Beware.
class is difficult if you do not have any prior knowledge about Arabic civilization but class is interesting and bouanani is very helpful and approachable. he's brilliant and not arrogant about it. highly recommend taking classes with him!
I have a very Arab, very Muslim name. 1/2 my family is Muslim, and cousins are Arab. I asked if ppl. felt that a doc. shown in class was biased,then grilled for it. asked me if I was anti-arab/anti muslim. counterproductive to cross-cultural understanding. students come out feeling alienated from arab civ, not understanding, and more critical
This class is extremely easy if you give him what he wants. He has a strong view and as long as you act like you agree you'll get an A. The class is based on 10 short 1 page reading reactions and 3 3-4 page papers on anything of your choice. Basically the only reason lectures matter is because of attendance. Go to his office hours 1/2xs for an A.
Is an egotistical professor. In his class, your grade is determined mostly by whether he likes you and how well you pretend to like him back. Please try not to contradict him as his ego is overinflated and if you pop it, your grade will magically be lowered. Knowing this, enter at your own risk.
No Comments
He is a fairly easy grader, and his classes are fairly easy as well. Attendance is compulsory and he takes it very seriously. If you do all the assignments and act interest, you should do fine.
avoid his classes
easy class, he is very strict about attendance but if you write the responses and attend class regularily it is an easy A. other than that it is a fairly interesting course.
He brings a European standard to his classes here. Do the readings and assignments, go to class regularly and participate and you'll do fine. He can come off a little patronizing, but I've learned it's a cultural difference. I really enjoyed him as a teacher. It may seem tough at 1st, but stick w/it. I think that's to weed out lazy students.
He really gives so much importance to the attendance... If you do not attend more than 2 classes, your course will be automatically dropped... Actually, the subject in his class is interesting but the way he presents is too bad and boring exactly. One more thing, he is a kind of forcing students to tell only his ideas.Our ideas are not tolerated.
He really gives so much importance to the attendance... If you do not attend more than 2 classes, your course will be automatically dropped... Actually, the subject in his class is interesting but the way he presents is too bad and boring exactly. One more thing, he is a kind of forcing students to tell only his ideas.Our ideas are not tolerated.
To agree with what someone already wrote, he brings a European standard to the classroom. If you're lazy, don't take it. He's very precise, especially about language. Papers and presentations weren't demanding at all. Can be patronizing, but don't take offense. He really cares about Arabic history/culture and knows what he's talking about.
Islamic Cultures was an interesting class, but on several occasions, it felt that his biases affected the learning environment of the class. He made some pretty bad judgements on western culture, Judaism, and Christianity. On the plus side, he is available for office hours and has creative discussion ideas.
He's a good guy who knows more about his subject than you will ever know about anything. Miss 3 classes in a row or 6 total and he will drop you like the habit. Each missed class up to 6 is 2.5 points off your grade, Great guy, though. Passionate and fair-minded.
VERY STRICT BUT HELPFUL
He was somewhat peculiar as a professor. I took this class in Fall of 09 with him and thought of him as a bit rude. I am a Muslim and I used that to my advantage to bond with him. LOL Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Easy class, easy papers and his textbooks are a total waste of money. I spent about $200 :'(
I learned a lot in this class because I did not know much about the subject. Bouanani is arrogant and sometimes unclear. The writing assignments are easy and you will get a good grade if you do what he wants. Don't miss class or your grade will suffer. I recommend this class for its content NOT the professor.
This is my fourth class with Professor Bouanani. Overall, he is very helpful, always available and willing to answer any questions. If you do what is required of you an A is easy to get! Just make sure you go to class EVERYDAY and make sure to go to his office hours!! He really enjoys talking with students.
I took a history class with Dr. Bouanani back in 2005, and I found him passionate, insightful, and demanding. He is keen to detect the play of western attitude systems toward his areas of expertise, and challenges students to think outside their native comfort zones. Very accessible to those who show a heartfelt interest in the subject matter.
Most arrogant and condescending prof I have had. Attendance is mandatory yet all he does is show youtube clips of Moroccan life. Did not learn a thing from this course. Seems to base assignments on what's easier for him to grade. I was so excited to take this course and learn about Arabic culture - NOPE. I would never take a course with him again.
He is extremely arrogant. He often makes offensive comments about American culture and American people. His class is boring, though the actual information os quite interesting. If he presented the information differently maybe I would have been more interested in class. I would never take a class with him again.
I honestly think that Bouanani is a nice professor. He is biased though. He believes that all that he says is always correct. His response papers are ok, but his presentation was a lot of work. We are to do partner presentations. My partner and I spent a lot of time doing that. I would recommend this class to everyone. He sheds a great insight.
He's really unclear, not very well-informed and doesn't respond well to criticism from his students. If you have him, make it a higher level class; he shouldn't teach freshmen or sophomores. Don't talk back to him, because you'll end up in a debate you don't wanna fight. Honestly, avoid him if at all possible, or else tread carefully.
Dr. Bouanani is a rude man. He does not speak very good English and is insecure about that fact, often thinking his students are trying to fool him when they are just asking for fairness. Unfortunately he is not a fair man. He should not be an educator. He gave the same lecture week after week, never integrating readings into class conversati
Condescending and rude to students, constantly interrupts us when we talk. only one test, short midterm. lots of writing that's essentially "busywork." Not clear on grading criteria at all, received points off of papers with no marks. Very subjective professor in general.
the class is pretty easy, except for the partner presentation at the end of the semester, its a lot of work, but I found the the professor to be a pretty easy grader. The readings became less emphasized as the semester went on, but the lectures were pretty interesting overall
DO the work and you'll get an A. The problem is he's a terrible teacher. He's so arrogant. If you don't agree with him he'll drop your grade. Doesn't know how to teach Non-Muslims about what Islam is. He doesn't know how to explain any Islamic concepts. When asked why women wear hijabs he said "because it distracts men". CANT STAND HIM.
Arrogant, rude, annoying, and boring. Skip this class it's not worth the pain. You have to be there or he drops your grade.
Arrogant, rude, annoying, and boring. Skip this class it's not worth the pain. You have to be there or he drops your grade.
While he keeps office hours, he's awful at answering emails. Participation & attendance matter for class, but he has some wonky ideas about his own subject matter. No structure to lectures, given to long spiels about whatever he read on Wikipedia and has us watch pointless videos that have no bearing on the material.
Professor Bouanani seems strict (there's a TON of reading and attendance is really important) but his lectures are pretty free-form and he's eager to help you understand the material. As long as he can see you're working hard, and you take the time to talk to him in office hours, expect to do well and learn a lot.
This professor was very rude and arrogant. I don't recommend anyone taking his class. He is disrespectful and cuts his students off when they participate. His class material is barely related to what he tests us on quizzes and tests. He's disorganized. Overall, just a horrible professor and person. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS.
Bouanani is condescending. He is always right no matter what. You can't argue with him because you're wrong. His tests and quizzes make no sense. You have to read like 7-9 different books. Some are actually interesting, but he makes them boring.
I like him, he's kind and very knowledgeable. I wish he would lecture more, as I'm an oral learner. But overall he is a good professor, tells you what you have to do to pass. People might not like him as he is more traditional in thinking. Don't let personal feeling blind you to the fact that this class isn't as bad at all when taking it.
At times this professor can be a bit harsh with his words, however, I found that this sparked better conversations between him and his students. He is extremely knowledgable and you can learn a lot from him if you just speak to him. The class is not a hard class though. Just show up, listen to his lectures, and read the books. It was not hard.
Clearly unprepared every day, random overly-complicated busy work assignments, didn't follow the syllabus at all. Gave vague explanations of assignments and would forget about them by next class. Expected us to read 8 books but never discussed them. Discussions go off the rails. Everything he does is off the top of his scatterbrained head.
Disorganized, disrespectful, and can't communicate well with his students. Assignments are vague and lack explanation. Readings assigned are not discussed, defeating their purpose. His grading is subjective and he gets annoyed when asked for clarification. His syllabus is inaccurate and his values influence students grades. His teaching is poor.
Take good notes you'll do fine! The amount of required readings (seven) may be intimidating at first, but he briefly goes over the text and information you need to know for quizzes in class. He gave 10 quizzes (20 pts each), and he would literally write the answer in certain questions. He also gives a fair amount of extra credit within each quiz.
Extremely disorganized. No PowerPoints, no rubrics for papers. Its almost impossible to know when he wants papers and assignments and what hes expecting. He is not even clear about how far we should be in the readings and what we should read. Would highly recommend not having this professor.
Bouanani was, hands down, the worst professor I ever encountered. I wanted to be compassionate towards his experiences of racism, etc., and I was, but he was incredibly disrespectful to students and at times, plain offensive. He said uncomfortable things regarding religion and race. He did not respond well to criticism. I should have reported him.
Prof Bouanani is a great professor in the classroom, but he is not adept at technology AT ALL. Would take 10+ min to start zooms every class. But overall he is a very knowledgeable and caring prof. Made effort to memorize everyone and their life's story. Truly one of a kind��
Heres an honest review. He is unorganized, he doesnt go based off the syllabus. Youll have 4-5 quizes (multiple choice & usually the answer could be in the question) He assigns ch reviews to students. Towards the end, there will be a book rev, final paper sentation. He is lenient & gives extensions. Chill prof, however many essays. i wud recomm
Professor Bouanani knows what he is teaching and is a great lecturer. I think that many of the lower ratings come from people who signed up for the course in hopes of an easy low-effort A. Put in a little more than the bare minimum and you will do fine in his courses. Office hours all the time, easy way to ensure an A.
He is a really nice guy and knows what he is talking about when it comes to Arabic countries. His quizzes are easy and you do have to read a good amount of books but as long as you take notes on everything, you'll be fine.
The professor is nice, clearly knowledgeable about his subject, and is good about giving extensions/being understanding skipping class when you're sick. The only thing that bugged me about him was he moved UP the due date for our final project by three days five days before it was due. Otherwise a good professor, just get started on your work early
The class was very unorganized during lectures because he doesn't use powerpoints and he goes off on tangents where you can't really tell what direction he's going in. He doesn't stick by the syllabus for readings or talk about them in class, but will expect you to have read the book on a random day he decides to talk about it. Tests aren't too bad
Great professor. Just be in class, participate and get started on readings and assignments sooner than later. Test are multiple choice and fairly easy. He's good about giving extensions, which helps so much during finals week. He's extremely knowledgeable about his stuff. I've never had a bad class with him, some may disagree.
Replacement professor for PLSC380. Admittedly put into a challenging position to teach a class he didn't plan on, but easily the worst professor I have had at Binghamton. Incredibly boring & pointless lectures, not actually pertinent to the course material, and impossible to reach outside of class.
As others have said, class is a little disorganized since he doesn't adhere to the syllabus or use slides. He assigned two essays due the last day of classes and had annoying criteria for them but overall workload was very manageable. If you do the readings and participate you will ace the class and do very well on quizzes and papers.
Great professor! Very intelligent, personable, and interesting.
The guy is pretty funny, but a bad teacher. Doesn't know how to contact outside of class, blatantly made rude statements to people, the coursework is heavy, and his lectures do not help whatsoever.
Professor Bouanani, although having a wide range of knowledge regarding Africana studies, struggles to focus during unorganized, confusing lectures, instead changing topics and discussing unrelated personal experiences. Few homework assignments! Lenient grading policy (excluding projects)! NO required attendance!
Completely unorganized and targeted students with personal questions. He would go off on a half-hour tangent only to give us a 25 question quiz on topics we've never discussed. He even ignored his own syllabus and grading criteria...he's a decent guy but a bad professor. Try taking a different prof if you can.
I really wanted to like this professor and i felt we built a good connection throughout the semester. end of the semester i had gone through some personal matters and he refused to extend final deadline despite receipts and additional proof of a genuine reason of needing to turn it in late. brutally strict at times. I would avoid if it's a gen ed.
he never once followed the rubric or graded anything online. he fully made up assignments in-class that we would have to complete by the following class. everything was a grade but where did those grades go? beats me. the guy is nice - I won't lie - but he's a deeply frustrating professor to have.
Should've reported him. Doesn't follow the syllabus but also isn't clear. Rarely discussed readings in class, and gets mad when no one read (nobody knew which book). Announces things once then blames students for messing up. Questionable race/gender comments and doesn't respect students. REFUSED to properly say a girl's name because HE disagreed?
He means well, but way he teaches never sticks. Did not learn almost anything due to very tangential lectures. Says to read, but then does not give quizzes on text. Horrendous with technology, but class is mainly based on participation and going to office hours (Show that you care). Did not post any grades throughout semester so be prepared.
Genuinely awful professor, his lectures were poorly organized and often irrelevant. He relied heavily on student participation and wouldn't move on unless he got the answer he was looking for, but was often asking about topics no one taking a 100 level class would know. Didn't answer emails, threatened failure for most my class, avoid at all costs.
Expects you to read hundreds of pages by the next class. Talks down on students and refuses to pronounce your name right if HE feels that that's not how YOUR name should be pronounced. Very disrespectful and condescending to students. Does not follow the syllabus, Will make up assignments with brand-new due dates in the middle of class. Do not take
Personally, I really liked him. He cares about his students and he makes it easy for them to do well. I will say he doesn't follow his syllabus to a tea, but its not like he completely derails from it. There are about 4-5 quizzes, if you go to class, take a few notes, and skim the readings, you'll do well. Papers are super easy too! Overall easy A!
His lectures are extremely unorganized and I don't think he has any sort of lesson plan. The class itself was easy to pass, but if you don't show up he is impossible to contact outside of class and he just randomly says when assignments are due in class. He is very condescending to people who have different opinions than him.
Class and papers were easy but professor was rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional. Professor had unorganized lectures. Quizzes were annoying because there were some questions that weren't or very briefly talked about in class. He doesn't go over what's going to be on the quizzes and aren't given review guides so take really good detailed notes.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
95%
Textbook Required
44%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.53 avg changeRatings by Course
SPAN386G
5.0
(1)LITOFISRPAL
5.0
(1)ISRPALCONFL
5.0
(1)ARAB386A
4.5
(2)ARAB383A
4.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
ENG450F
5.0
AFST462
5.0
ISRPALCONFL
4.0
HIST385
4.0
ANTH280
4.0