2.1
Quality3.5
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake86
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
11
4
7
3
10
2
28
1
30
What Students Say
“Managed to make a very interesting topic dull”
JPN245 - 1.0 rating“Do not take this class if it is with this teacher, and he is also your section teacher”
JPN245 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.22 avg changeRatings by Course
JPOP2
5.0
(1)JPNALL
5.0
(1)ANTH466
5.0
(1)JPN425
4.5
(2)POL466
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
EAS466
5.0
HIST270
4.7
JPN465
4.0
JPN425A
4.0
JPN495B
3.7
Reviews (86)
Do not take this class if it is with this teacher, and he is also your section teacher. He does not grade fair and does not know how to treat his students!
Instructor is knowledgeable about his subject, but if you're a slacker, this is not the course for you. Contrary to previous comment, I thought he was fair.
The class is definitely not the easiest. Every Friday there is a discussion, a one page paper due and a quiz. The tests are all essay (sucks) and the teacher isn't that interesting. Good luck...
Hard class. The topic is very intersting but there is alot of reading that you must do to pass the course. the reading are 2-3 long chapters a week. A quiz on the lecture and a easy 1 page paper on a reading at the end of the week. There is a midturm, a BIG reserch paper and a final. The reasearch paper can make or break your grade. Very hard class
The class is easy. You WILL hate this guy. I guarantee it. The subject is awesome, but he sucks all of the fun out of it. McVeigh is the king of the ****s...
What a ridiculous man. His lectures were not easy to follow, because he never knew exactly what he wanted to talk about. The assigned readings were worthhile, but lectures et al were based on how he had felt about the reading, not about the reading itself. He did explore some classic anime/manga, but he never went into modern stuff.
too much boring reading. the class is on japanese culture and he refused to show movies!!! he's a little obsessed with random things but it could have been worse...
McVeigh sucks out all the life in an interesting subjects. Spends time reading word for word from his notes and can't even answer questions properly. In addition, the topics are really dated- like 80's pop culture.
McVeigh's lectures are very boring and dull. He talks about things not dealing with japanese "pop" culture and the class is plain a waste of time. As a classmate said, "how can a white hick teach about this"
No Comments
OH MY GOD... He gives the most boring lectures and he has the most horrible and illegible hand writing. I thought this class would be great because I'm extremely interested in the Japanese culture, but now I just want to show him how to work the white boards and then kill myself...
No Comments
He screwed up the class listings (I didn't even register for the class I'm in), screwed up the book list, put the class handouts in E-Reserves instead of D2L. Abusively condescending. Claims it's the students fault if he loses their paper. Boring and unintelligible lectures. Writes on the board then stands in front what he just wrote.
The worst class ever!!! Class is soo boring and the readings are even more boring. Plus you have to write a paper every week for the discussion based off the readings. He wears a cowboy hat and jeans everyday. If you already are an expert on japanese pop culture it would be an easy A, if you want an easy A pick a different class, But he is aniceguy
Class is run a little weirdly, but all in all a great professor. Plus he grades really easily.
This class is like being chased through a cactus patch by giant fighting robot, of which there is no mention in it. What's Japan without Giant Fighting Robots? Just an annoying gen ed requirement.
No Comments
He's a knowledgeable professor but is not a very effective teacher. The class was not too bad overall as long as you kept up with the syllabus, but he absolutely never reminds you when things are due so it's easy to forget to turn things in at the beginning of the term. But all in all it wasn't too bad as long as you study a little bit.
Worst teacher I have ever had. Do not take this class. He will make you want to hang yourself he is so boring. If you don't have a laptop don't bother with this class, it is the only thing that enabled me to maintain my sanity this semester. Total jerk about questions and grading. Very subjective and plays favorites. Screw that crap. This isnt HS..
When giving his lectures, he writes notes on a piece of paper projected with the elmo. I really think he doesn't know how to use powerpoint. If you can drop this class!
No Comments
No Comments
I would stay away from McVeigh if you can. Also pray you get a easy TA.
AWFUL! Avoid this class and teacher. The class is boring and the teacher is a complete jerk. He writes out all of his notes in class so they are hard to read and always out of order.Reaction papers due every week and hard quizzes in discussion,he expects you to remember every single word he says and gives no credit if you dont have his exact answer
Well, I actually like Jap. pop culture, but I did not like this class. The teacher is VERY word specific - you must write down, verbatim, what he said in class. Its also extremely difficult to tell what information is important and what is not. I would not recommend this class, to anyone. Even if you get an easy TA, you'll get F'd on the final.
horrible teacher, turned something interesting into something dull.
He grades pretty harshly, hard to understand, one of the MOST boring lecturers i have had at the u of a. not informative when asking questions. if you can GET OUT do not take this class with this professor unless you are ready to die of boredom. loses papers and blames it on the students...just overall no good, nice guy, bbaaaddd teacher
Terrible class. The worst I took at this institution. Grading was based on word-for-word regurgitation of essays that are incomprehensible. How about EXPLAINING them? If you disagree with the mysterious premises of these works, you are wrong and you get graded down.
Ughh. Terrible class, very boring. His notes are just lists. Pretty easy class though, if you memorize lists and give them back to him word for word. Avoid him, direct everything to the TAs. They understand how you feel.
There are no words to describe McVeigh. He has not lived in Japan for nearly two decades yet supposedly teaches pop culture. Lectures are about material from the 70s and 80s. Completely out of touch. Useless with material and condescending at that. Nit-picky and expects you to regurgitate his exact words on tests (seriously). DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS.
Unreal expectations, not interesting lecturer, needs to tighten belt, condescending, and overall just not a great teacher. I wouldn't take this class if I were you.
The man is on a power trip. He is way too picky of a grader. I was hoping to enjoy the class considering the class title sounds cool, but I definitely am regretting my decision. DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS! Gotta love the cowboy hat though..
I actually thought he was a pretty good teacher. He responds thoughtfully to everyone's comments (even the lame ones) during discussions and is a pretty nice guy. If you read the syllabus, you should've realized he's very specific about what he wants. Just copy his notes verbatim on the quizzes, and you'll do fine.
PLEASE don't take this class. I don't care if you like the material, it's not worth his grading style. He gives a single question quiz every week, and if you miss or are graded zero on A SINGLE ONE, your final grade goes down by roughly three percent. Very easy to heavily impact your final grade, and he doesn't allow any extra credit.
so i read all the bad comments on here and still decided to see for myself if the class was interesting... it wasn't. he puts a lot of emphasis on authenticity in japan and OLD pop culture... but nothing past the early 1990's. i'm not gonna lie, it was boring and he writes illegibly
The material is not hard and an A is easy to obtain, but his expectations are comical for a Gen Ed course. He has extremely warped views on the importance level of the class and is unforgiving on quizzes. It is also evident that his grading style is highly dependent on his mood. Avoid this teacher if possible--easy A if you can put up with him.
I wouldn't take this class unless you have a laptop and you can type fast. The problem isn't in his grading, it's the fact that his lectures tend to be unfocused and nonlinear. The notes barely make sense unless you add his explanations in almost word-for-word, and even then they're foggy.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Worst prof ever! Loved the topic, hate him. I worked really hard, took extensive notes and barely got an A. He is incapable of answering questions. Deliberately makes multiple choice exams confusing - it literally takes luck to pass! We never saw an entire movie. All neg reviews are accurate. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!
Content of class interesting. Prof McVeigh is one of the worst teachers at the UofA. ALL of these negative reviews are accurate. His teaching style is not very helpful in terms of preparing the students for exams. He stands in frnt of class & writes out scribbled notes on an overhead everyday - best of luck using laptop for notes. Exams = horrible
This teacher is horrible, you dont even have to come to class.just buy notes from notehall.com, because they are verbatim. I wasted my time in this class with no benefits. His tests are bull, and just about everyone else agree's. This class is like a white guy trying to teach about african americans, (because he think he is one of them). Stay Away
I see complaints about the materials, but he doesn't pick the books, the University does. He has tried to update the material, but they won't approve any new books. While the material is outdated, the themes are relevant. Don't take if you just wanna watch anime, it's an Anthropology class. Great for eliminating myths and stereotype about Japan
This course is great because it can be used to fill ANY of the slots in the EAS major... However, you will not learn anything. If you get him for the section SWITCH OUT. Get a TA. He grades by how well you can re-write what he said in class. Tests are silly, and also verbatim. If you take this class make sure he is not your grader!
The worst professor I have had. Not helpful and from the first day set a environment up of "I am not approachable or understanding. If you don't like your grade, deal with it." Basically just reads the book to class and exams are horrid. Gives no explanation for why points are taken off on written assignments. Mispronounces Japanese words Avoid him
This class is great, but don't take it with him if you can. He writes out all the notes even though he has printed out notes. His hand writing is terrible so the printed notes would be better. Doesn't explain things clearly. The TA's do a better job them him.
Worst Professor at the UA, he summarizes the readings and classifies that as quality instruction. Exams are 24 multiple choice questions of tricky non sense. Save yourself a ton of grief stay away from this sorry excuse for an educator.
HORRIBLE INSTRUCTOR....worst i've ever had.All of these comments on how he is so terrible are 100% accurate. I REALLY tried in this class and ended up with a C. He is pretty much just a jerk who doesn't care if the whole class is doing poorly because he thinks its everyone's problem except his...DONT TAKE THIS CLASS
Very rewarding class taught by an absolutely ridiculous instructor. I don't think I've ever worked as hard in any other class in my collegiate career. Apparently takes joy in shafting his students; is incapable of expressing simple requirements (but is a stickler for them nonetheless). All that said, he's extremely intelligent and taught me a ton.
HORRIBLE CLASS!!! Do NOT take it! McVeigh is very unorganized when i looked back at my notes they made no sense and were out of order. Memorized everything he lectured, did all the readings, went to every class and all i could pull off was a C. Just do yourself a favor and drop the class.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! All of the negative reviews are 100% accurate. McVeigh thinks that your world should revolve around the class, is incapable of answering questions, and is totally unapproachable. His lectures are boring and super unclear. He is definitely the worst professor I have ever had, so get out of this class if you can.
Holy Hell he is by far the worst teacher I have ever had in anything. All these negative reviews are right on target. The tests require verbatim recall of his lectures. This would be fine if his lecturing wasn't extremely poor quality. Stay away from this guy by any means necessary.
I will probably receive a B in his class however I was shocked by how picky he was with his tests as there seemed to be a trend of only making 50% of his questions pertain to class material. He made a seemingly fun topic dry and uninteresting and at the end of the day I was disappointed in this class. DO NOT TAKE IT!!!
McVeigh is the worst professor I have ever had at the UA. He is not helpful, even in office hours. His lectures are all over the place and his exams are very detail oriented. I am an A student with a science major, and I have managed to get a D in this art course. If you can avoid this man, do it.
Not a class to take if you're looking for an easy A. Although all the material needed to know for the tests come from lecture, he makes the tests extremely confusing with answers that all sound the same. He is overly picky when it comes to what he wants and penalizes you for it. DON'T TAKE!
This was probably the most challenging yet rewarding class I've taken as a college student. It is not by any stretch of the imagination easy. However if you put in the effort and attend the office hours you will pass.
This class is not too hard, but it is not fun at all when it should be. McVeigh makes it really boring. McVeigh is one of the worst professors at the UA; he just does not know how to teach, and he is not approachable. I would suggest not taking any classes with him, especially this one. Nice guy, very intelligent, terrible instructor.
This class is not for the half-hearted. This class fulfills both a Tier 2 Arts and the Genders/Diversity requirements at the same time, but you have to put considerable amount of work into getting a good grade. His tests are like 24 questions, which are taken out of lectures and readings. His lectures highlight the readings. Be on top of both.
I have had Dr. McVeigh for three courses, and every one was a wonderful experience. However, his courses are not for lazy, non-serious students. The pop culture course is easy if you attend, take decent notes, do the readings, and pay attention. It's sad that so many clueless students don't take advantage of his incredible knowledge. Your loss!
245: The class is easy if you are serious about college. Its less about Pop Culture and more how to analyze it. 425: A very good course for learning basic analyzing skills. 466: Once again this class is more about concepts of nationalism than it is about Japan/China. The bad reviews are 1-2nd years that care more about a degree than learning imo
I wish I woulda read these comments earlier.His tests are just insane. He uses word trickery, and his lectures are just so unorganized and confusing. Please avoid this class as I wish I would have.
To start I am an "A" engineering student. I put more effort in this class than my 300 level engineering courses just to get a B. This is a GEN ED. class for most, not an anthropology class. I have gone in to his office hours questioning why I got a question wrong on a test. Best part, HE DID NOT EVEN KNOW! No points back as well! He is bad. Run!
It is this teacher's goal to have you fail his class. Purposefully makes it near impossible to get real help with concepts. He also teaches the class with the most bias I have ever seen. This man is an egotistic fool whose only goal in life is to promote himself and give you a failing grade. I seriously advise you NOT to take any class of his!
I don't know why people are saying this person is a good teacher. He is the worst teacher I have ever had a class with! Lectures are pathetically structured. Tests are organized to maximize the chances you fail them. Definitely not worth the trouble for the credits! Trust me, your GPA will likely suffer if you take this class.
Just finished his pol 466. I will start off by saying that I am not defending his teaching- it's still boring and confusing. But he has chilled WAY out. Still stickler for rules and instructions, but do/skim the readings you'll do fine. 2 papers, 2 responses every monday, take home final. Solid A.
This class was ridiculous. I am an A student and a history major who actually does the reading, attends class and takes notes, and I couldn't even pull a good grade. His lectures are unorganized and hard to follow, and his tests do not reflect what was taught in class. Please save yourself a lot of stress and choose a different professor.
Not that bad. This is a dictation class. Write down everything he says in bullet point format no matter how insignificant. Make sure you read the questions VERY carefully as they are worded very similarly. I made out with an 85%. Not a bad teacher all in all, his content was worthwhile but his grading/evaluation methods were terrible.
The homework saved me, but the way the class is set up there's no point to showing up or doing anything really, since the tests seem to be largely unrelated to anything that he talks about in class or the readings. All of the test averages were failing, which made it feel more like a physics class. Avoid.
This teacher is the worse teacher I have ever had. If you DONT WANT AN EASY class, take McVeigh's class. If your Major is intense as it is, DO NOT ADD THIS TEACHER! HE IS THE WORST EVER! Save yourself the trouble
DO NOT take this class if you are just looking for the credit, or if you know nothing about manga and stuff like that. This class is hard, and I found it hard to pay attention to since I could care less on the subject. You also have no idea what is ever going to be on the tests, which is a majority of your final grade. Terrible class in general.
I took this class because it would fulfill two gen-ed reqs and because I was interested in the subject. If it weren't for that, I would have dropped this class. He is unclear while answering questions and his tests are even more muddled. It was cool getting to watch some movies once and a while though. I would not recommend this class.
This class was horrible. The professor takes the class way too seriously, considering it's a gen ed. The tests aren't easy and the paper is ridiculous. Plus, you have to buy three books for the class. Take another class if you can.
This is not an easy Gen Ed, but after failing the first two tests I managed to get off with a B (final overall grades were curved). The tests are multiple choice (non-cumulative final) but kind of tough. You don't really need to do all the readings, but make sure you spend a decent amount of time studying the power point slides before the test.
If you do the assignments and attend the study sessions the class is pretty easy.
I think it's a really good course for learning Jpn pop culture and manga. We watch anime during class and discuss it. You should be serious for the class, then getting an A is not hard. That's what I did. Also have study sections before exams, very helpful!
The course focused mostly on methodology and application. All the exams were take-home and the weekly assignments made up the majority of the grades.
This is a history course. It's very easy to get grades!! We don't have any exams. Final is a presentation!! Lectures r interesting!!
McVeigh was an okay teacher. The material/ lectures were interesting. We watched a lot of anime. There are 3 textbooks, 2 of which can be found online via the UA library site! He doesnt take attendance.There is 1 major research paper, and 3 exams, which were really tricky. It's hard to get an A, take this course for the fun of it,not for good grade
Managed to make a very interesting topic dull. You can tell he doesn't care about his students or what grade they receive.
Easy class so long as you study! All tests are from certain readings from the books and most information can be found in the powerpoints that he posts online. Tests are all multiple choice and were NOT cumulative (including the final) which makes for some easy tests. Research paper was simple. Just do the work and the class is fine.
The class was largely discussion based and the lectures were clear. Also, the tests were take home exams, which made life a bit easier.
Worst teacher I've ever had. He takes the class too seriously for a gen ed requirement. The research paper was awful; I put a lot of effort in and received a bad grade for it when I've easily submitted worse papers to other classes and received a good grade. The exams are tricky and don't apply to the key concepts learned in class. Not recommended.
He reads very deeply into every aspect of what he lectures on. Tests are hard because he will try to trick you with answers that are so similar. If you don't remember the EXACT words he uses to describe something you will be screwed!
This is a TERRIBLE class. Atrocious. I was really excited to take it because I love anime, but the class was worthless. He assigns readings, which he then turns into powerpoints, and then lectures on them. Assuming you do the readings, he is wasting your time with the lectures. Your grade is made of weekly papers (worth 1pt.) and the exams.
Prior to taking this class I was very interested in learning about Japanese pop culture. However, McVeigh has managed to make a fun topic very dull. He reads off of his powerpoint lectures, which can be found via online portals, so going to class is not very helpful. Discussion sessions, however, are extremely helpful. LOTS of heavy reading.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. no matter what. this class was awful. prof mcveigh has completely incoherent and confusing lectures that were out of order and unable to follow. he was rude and condescending when students asked questions. his exams were meant to trick you and not gauge what you've learned and the questions are absolutely horrible.
McVeigh speeds through notes, contradicts material presented, and writes very tricky exams. I feel like the tests weren't testing my knowledge of the material, just being misleading.
He grades really harshly on participation points. This is asking questions and making comments almost daily. Participation is around 20% of your grade. As someone who isn't a history major, this was difficult since its a HISTORY class that tells you dates, and what happened. So be warned, have a history book memorized and can ask accordingly.
Class Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.22 avg changeRatings by Course
JPOP2
5.0
(1)JPNALL
5.0
(1)ANTH466
5.0
(1)JPN425
4.5
(2)POL466
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
EAS466
5.0
HIST270
4.7
JPN465
4.0
JPN425A
4.0
JPN495B
3.7