3.1
Quality3.0
Difficulty63%
Would Retake101
Reviews63%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
24
4
21
3
23
2
21
1
12
What Students Say
“Also, he doesn't do any of the grading on the papers his TAs do and they are truly tough”
PLSC389 - 1.0 rating“The books were really important, as were the movies”
ANTH166 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
38%
Textbook Required
30%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.72 avg changeRatings by Course
ANTH300P
5.0
(1)ANTHO380
5.0
(1)ANTH380S
5.0
(1)ANTH280A
5.0
(1)ANTH380
4.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
389
5.0
ANTH101
5.0
ANTH300P
4.0
ANTH380S
4.0
ANTHSECT
4.0
Reviews (101)
Very articulate, almost in an intimidating way. Always asks if the class will go with that A great guy overall
ok, his class was easy, but he is soooooooo boring i never went to class and he has no idea how to teach or what he is doing
hes a smart dude, very articulate like someone said. overall pretty easy course but a lot of work, 2 10 page papers.
Very interesting class, the best i've taken at this university. He is a superb professor and a very nice guy.
This was the worst class I've ever taken. The tests were kind of hard and the papers were very unclear. The class was so boring.
I loved this guy! He gave us the final exam essays 3 weeks before the final and went over them hundreds of times. The papers were easy to get a 100 on...This class was an easy A and it was very interesting
Knowledgeable, articulate, and appears to be intimidating, but what a sweet, gentle, and nice professor! He is not a dynamic lecturer, but if you manage to stay conscious, everything he speaks of is relevant and helpful (esp. as the final approaches).
He is very intelligent, kind, funny,and extremely fair. Overall his class was easy if you did the work. Lectures were a little boring but it was mainly b/c no one would bother to participate except for the same 3 people.Overall the course was interesting.
Great guy, easy grader.....a nice man who has a lot to say.
very inteligent and knows whats hes talking about, knows how to connect with the material and knows how to make you think
Don't listen to the previous person, he was great and fair grader. The person is upset because she did'nt participate as much and was constantly jealous of smart people in the class.
Did mediocre...but did everything last minute. Doesn't really give you a good idea of how you're doing in the class. Midterm is not a good determinate of performance. But he is a very intelligent professor and a good speaker.
Holmes is incredibly intellegent; he breaks down complicated material into digestable bits. He answers questions thoroughly and right on the spot. Workload is intense but you have freedom to do it when you choose. Funny but dry sense of humor. Makes you think. My favorite professor.
Way easy class, and Holmes is funny.. u know he doesnt want to be there as much as you dont but he does give his all which is important. some effort has to be given to the class but it isnt hard work just busy work.
Nice, interesting, intelligent guy- but the discussions start having a striking resemblance to eachother. Offers help but doesn't really emphasize it, it's up to you to meet with him and your grade will probably be helped by doing so. Can be very opinionated and will listen to your point but twist it toward his own.
Holmes really knows his stuff; he really seems to not want to be there though, but the class didn't really participate at all. He is a very intelligent and a genuinely nice professor, and he is very helpful when you ask for it. There is a lot of reading, but the videos were definately interesting. The class is a bit dull and vague at times.
His classes are REALLY GOOD. P.S. He is so sexy.
Needs to learn how to use Power Point but a great professor.
I've taken more than one course with him, and I love this man. He's also funny and thought provoking. I didn't think I'd like Political Anthro but I did. The work for that class is really time consuming but if you're into anthro then you'll like it.
a big no-no in college, he is awful, doesnt know how to use powerpoint and has a hypnotic voice, makes you wanna take a nap. if he's your teacher, you are very unlucky. my condolences
Professor Holmes is a great professor. He is definitely interested in what he works on and if you actually do the reading and listen to his lectures, you will learn soooo much.
I laughed as I read these comments as it appears he has mellowed with age. I took this class 17 years ago when he was in Houston. The hardest class I ever took, he bragged that he never gave an A. He was one of the best professors I ever had. His class was enlightening and challenging. He was also very funny. I give him my highest recommendation.
He is great but he wants too much, even books are graduate level.
political anthro - UGH. books in first half were fine, books in second half were awful. graduate level work for an undergrad class. says attendance isn't mandatory but you're screwed if you don't go, so go.
He is a great professor. If you have any chance to take his class, do it.
This is the worse class in the whole world. I sit in teh class and struggle to stay awake! Even the Ta's apologize in our discussion he just rambles about nonsense and then the tests are not on the readings or the lectures! He should learn to use power points of be fired.
Very very boring. Topics were not interesting. Test questions were essay form and were usually confusing and did not come from the readings. But not hard class just VERY boring
Great professor! The nature of social anthropology is very subtle and depends a lot on personal interpretation which is why I think a lot of students have trouble with him, tests are easy as long as you pay attention in class and discussions and make an effort to understand the underlying ideas. Doesn't rely on powerpoint, which is a good thing!
This class was super easy. Holmes tends to ramble, but if you pay attention, he is quite interesting. The tests are directly off the readings, and all you need to do is have 3 ex from each book, and you're golden. Super interesting stuff too.
Prof Holmes is a brilliant guy. However, he teaches in somewhat of an unorthodox manner about the topics in an introductory anth course. In retrospect I loved the class, but at times it was frustrating because the class was more about analyzing than just knowing the information. I highly suggest taking this course, but not as a first anthro course.
makes you buy his book, and another book about him. cliche academic, more concerned with using uselessly big words than putting forward coherent concepts. assignments consist of two papers, both worded so that it takes an hour just to understand what he is asking.
So, he rambles about stuff non related, he doesnt go over what we should be getting from the books (6 books you HAVE to read) until right before the exams. He is only avaliable right after class and you cannot email or call him with questions. In all I will never take another class with him, he is just a poor professor but a genious.
funniest professor ever! loves to go on rants about the purple walls, his beard and opera. class is easy. must read books. dont need to attend class. great class. great professor. go to discussion session: very helpful. amazinggg class. easy.
He is an amazing professor and encourages critical thinking and brings up concepts in interesting ways. He really knows his stuff. He seems to kind of hate technology but I like it. All the books must be read but as long as you do that the tests are pretty easy. I loved his teaching style and I'm excited for my class with him next semester!
He seems like a strict teacher, but he's actually kind of laid-back and funny- he's really repetitive in his lectures, though. Don't forget to take a lot of notes- they're usually examples that can be used on the tests. The class is sort of boring, though- the books aren't so bad, but the discussion classes aren't so interesting
He is an odd teacher (he would normally be late to class). Although he has you buy his book, it is because he knows what he is talking about (keep in mind most books in the field are written by professors). Even though I disagreed with him I still got an A. Doesn't care about style on papers just show you know what you are talking about.
He came at least 5 minutes late to every class, was a bit too show-offy about his accomplishments, but overall a great professor. I'll admit I had difficult keeping up with the reading, but by going to class & taking detailed notes, I was able to write my papers well enough to earn an A. It helps that Holmes is funny, in an odd sort of way.
I loved 166 with Holmes, so I took 364 which I also loved. He definitely knows what he's talking about, and he has a lot of interesting stories about his fieldwork. Lectures are not mandatory but extremely helpful when taking exams or writing papers, and reading is a must - keep up or you'll get swamped. Great courses, I highly recommend them!
HUGE curve in this class. Did not read the books but got an A. Only thing helpful about the lectures were the movies shown.
The lectures were boring and didn't get much from them. Really only need to go to class for the films. Tests are RIDICULOUS unless you study really well for them and read/understand the books. Discussion is the only part where you actually learn info pertinent to the tests. But he's a really nice guy. Asks a lot of questions in lecture :(
Knowledgeable and experienced professor. Attendance very rarely taken (by sign-in sheet when it is). If you love anthropology you'll be interested but if not you may find the level of reading to be a major chore. He's a funny and nice guy who knows what he is talking about. 6 books to read, 3 films to watch; 2 long essays that count as tests.
He's clearly very knowledgeable, just not about socio-cultural anthro. He tends to lecture about his own research instead of the reading. I never went to lecture except for the movies since my discussion section was really helpful. Very heavy on reading but some of it is really interesting. Not really a worthwhile class.
Do not take this class; too difficult for no reason - only sees things from his view - 6 annoying books to read. Doesn't talk about anything relevant in lectures. Depending on your TA it's hard to get a good grade. Stay away if you can.
Go to discussions and never lecture. The lectures were the biggest waste of time. He talks about things that usually have absolutely nothing to do with the books, the class, and most importantly the final. Easy good grade ONLY if you are willing to read six long annoying books just to have him never talk about them.
Great professor. Really nice guy with tons knowledge of general Anthropology. Although his lectures aren't exactly centered on the books all of the time, you can still learn a lot for him. Especially for the final. If you're not interested in Anthro, don't take the class instead of complaining throughout. Read the books, TA's spoonfeed you answers.
His lectures were completely useless and the TA even told us that she had no idea what he was talking about. only reason to go to lecture is he sometimes gives test questions out, but if you have a good TA, don't bother going to lecture, the readings are really important though.
I don't know why people are saying he's really easy or really helpful. As a political science major, I was very excited for Political Anthropology. But I sat through the class every day and he barely touches on the actual content of the book or teaches anything related to the topic. I emailed him a couple times and have gotten no response.
Not very clear. Confusing.
Not helpful or clear. This class was based on two assignments he wrote as vaguely as possible. Terrible lecturer and boring content. Spent a great deal of time discussing only his work. Worst part was when he asked the class to define ethnography on a test while saying that we could not use any existing definition and that he couldn't define it
Decent. He's smart. Good for in depth talks but not the best "teacher", per se. Good for a quick A/B+
This was a horrible class. He doesn't really explain what Social Anthropology is. His TA's aren't helpful at all. I felt only 2 of the 4 books we had to read were about social anthropology or gave clear examples of what social anth is about. One of the others was fiction, the other about marine biology...I don't recommend this class.
Social anthro had many interesting books and Holmes did his best to interest his students and make them look at the books from different perspectives. MUST read for this class. Be prepared to really think and answer open ended questions on tests - you must recall and analyze specific details from texts and films. TA's were very hit or miss.
Very vague, ambigious lecturer. It seems as if he was making up the material as he went. Tests were all essays which resulted in literally just spitting back whatever he said in lecture because of how many different ways the topics could be looked at. Very opinion based
The books were really important, as were the movies. Sometimes he gave lectures that had nothing to do with anything you would have a quiz on (like Italian opera), which I was interested in, but I'm an anth major. When I tried to contribute in lecture he would cut me off mid-answer, so that was frustrating. Interesting class, thoug.
This class goes by both ANTH and PLSC. Worst class I've ever taken in Bing. Cannot understand a word he says even with microphone. Have walked out of multiple classes due to his condescending, snarky, unfriendly, off-putting attitude. Heard this class was an easy A, but I have no idea if that will be possible. Extremely full of himself. DON'T take!
There's really no need to show up to the class, he doesn't say much that helps write the only two papers in the class. Expects you to read 8 books some of which are graduate level and the last three are only really assigned because his name is in them. Also, he doesn't do any of the grading on the papers his TAs do and they are truly tough.
This is honestly the toughest class I've taken at BU. Yes, you learn alot but you need a lot of time for this class to even do okay. You are literally analyzing everything beyond what the book even does. Prepare to think. 2 take home papers 12-14 pgs and participation is all you're grade is. The TA's are never on the same page, and not helpful.
He's pretty awful, but not hard. His lectures are short but poorly organized, and he doesn't explain what any of his concepts are. He expects students to ask questions so they can grasp the material, but tells the students instead that ethnography and anthropology are things "learned by doing". Then asks you to explain what they are in your papers.
Holmes assigns 100+ pages of reading from ridiculous books each week. Two out of five of the books are absolutely impossible to read and are graduate level books. Lectures are irrelevant and have nothing to do the readings in which the three exams are soley based on.
Lecture is extremely boring but we are usually let out about a half hour early. You meet with his TAs for Friday discussion where attendance/participation count for 20% of your grade. The readings are tough but TAs help you understand it. The 3 tests are all essays about your readings, but its nothing unmanageable. Not bad for a gen ed credit.
Lectures are irrelevant, don't need to go unless watching a movie. Discussions are very beneficial. Readings are long and convoluted but somewhat interesting.
Reading the books and attending discussions are essential to passing. Lectures were pointless, unless a movie was being shown. Holmes seemed busy with work outside of teaching. TA's are way more helpful!
He is an extremely smart man that sometimes has trouble conveying his subject. You must be prepared to read extremely dense material as there are only 3 tests that are fully based off of the books.
Be prepared to read large amounts of pages in a short period of time!! He is very repetitive in his lectures and most lectures are irrelevant. Go to the discussion classes; they are very important to get more insight on the books and the scenarios.
Rambles in lecture about literally nothing relevant to the test, basically an English class where you read a book and have a test on it.
Brilliant professor but damn you better do the work, also his lectures can be a bit dry but really valuable
Holmes is very intelligent but sometimes has trouble explaining his thoughts and ideas to students. He can be very confusing. Friday discussions are where you're really able to grasp what he talked about with your TA. The TA does all of the grading, so just try to get a good one!!
Prof. Holmes is one of those extremely brilliant teacher that if you're not as brilliant as he is it could be quite difficult to follow him. His teaching assumes students understand the "obvious" connections between concepts so he doesn't need to explain them. But if you can keep up, he's seriously one of the most brilliant scholars seen in BingU.
Holmes goes with the flow during his lectures. I showed up for probably less than 10% of the semester and managed a B. Grade is entirely based off of two papers which are long and drawn out. Going to your TA's office hours is a must if you want to get a good grade on them. Got a D on the first paper but pulled it up with the second one.
Absolutely horrible professor! The books he chooses are too long and confusing and he expects you to read them in a week or so. The lectures are boring and not very useful, honestly a waste of time. The two papers for this class were my most time consuming assignments all semester.
there will be no clear grading guidance, no clear reading guidance, and prepare to regurgitate what he says exactly in class because he is only there to promote his own ideas. The midterm and final are ridiculously hard since there is no clear objective for the class.
The only reason I stayed in this class was because he brought his dog to every lecture. Doug does not prepare anything for the lectures and opens the floor to discussion, so it is essentially an English class. The books are very interesting, however the discussions are always very dry and he has a way of preaching his opinions instead of teaching.
His lectures were extremely boring. He taught his own ideas only and had a way of making you feel incorrect if you voiced your own opinion. However, I rarely showed up to class and was still able to easily get an A by following the reading schedule on the syllabus and showing up for tests.
Only 2 graded assignments throughout the semester, so it's important that you read the class material. It's an interesting class and I would take it over again if I could. Holmes is one of my favorite profs I've had, he's entertaining and he brings his dog to every class!! If you have a chance to take one of his classes, take it :)
Brings his dog to most classes and the man himself is more-or-less approachable. Graded based on notes on readings and two papers. Lectures are mostly based on readings and ideologies represented therein though he presents his own analysis with which the student may or may not agree. Unclear grading rubric, but read and you'll be fine.
Holmes is a wildly intelligent and kind professor, and his class is very easy as long as you do the readings. He expects that you participate, and as long as you make the effort to do so, his class will be very enjoyable. Would definitely take a class with him again!
Great professor who is passionate about anthropology! Brings his dog to class which is a plus!
He brings his dog to nearly every class, so that's always a plus. His lectures were very dependent on his own work, and they had a tendency to drag and become boring. He almost always dismissed us half an hour early. The papers were long but were graded easily. Its easy to pass the class without attending lectures and just completing the papers.
Hes a professor kind of more on the older side interpret that how youd like Not accessible outside class as he doesnt respond to emails. TA for this sem: Blake McCabe > intimidating and not as understanding (no nonsense or excuses or life problems fr type person)
His class is very off-putting at first. Super disorganized. It's more of a discussion than a lecture. But Doug is an amazing professor and person, and cares about his students. Just show up to class, participate, do your assignments (there's only like two), and you'll get an A. I can't stress how important it is to just participate in his classes.
GUYS TAKE ANTH 166!! class is set up as a discussion, you just listen to him spew. very interesting books and topics, never was stressed in this class or felt the reading was a burden. two assignments: midterm paper and final paper. class is an easy A if you follow along and somewhat engage in convo. None of my stress is from this class, 10/10 rec.
A very smart man, and funny, but be ready to f-ing read and write. READ the books I promise you you have to. I love him but the class is HARD. I feel smarter having taken it.
Alright. Where to start. Youre assignned like a million books, films and music pieces, which you literally must read to do the written assignments. Theres only two of them: a 12 page midterm and final where you just write down what he says in lecture. If you don't go to class you will not do well, simple. But he is incredibly boring.
Only take this class if you are a good writer. He counts participation as a major part of the grade, but there are two papers on all of the material we read/see/hear. He tries to make you think, yet cuts off students every time they try to say an idea. Overall, good class if you are able to connect with him but otherwise don't bother taking it.
Be prepared to read! This semester we read 6 books, watched around 6 movies and listened to 8 music pieces. Attendance is mandatory and you are graded on class participation. There is a 12-page paper for the midterm and a 12-page paper for the final. If you go to office hours he will give you feedback on your paper so you can do well.
Participation is needed and he takes over you and corrects what you say. Only 2 papers each 12 pages and he is very confusing because i went to office hours and eh said my work was great and i was doing too much and then i Got a c+ in class.
Participate at least a few times during class so he gets to know you and you'll be fine. It's a lot of reading so don't fall behind, but you will learn a lot from him. It's clear that he is very knowledgable about his field and respected in it. The only downside- no electronics in class and reaching him by email isn't s efficient.
Honestly a pretty cool guy and an interesting class, but you are only graded on participation and two papers. I could see him not fitting into everyone's style of learning, so attend class and do your best to participate in a thoughtful way in order to stand out positively. You may have to adapt to his more old-school approach to teaching as well.
Douglas is smart and funny, but if you aren't ready for a ton of reading, do not take this class. You MUST stay on top of the books in order to know how to participate in class, along with completing both of the 12 page papers. You CANNOT do the papers last minute, trust me. Would avoid if you have no previous interest in the subject.
He makes his discussions interesting, but the amount of work he assigns is insane, especially considering that this is just ONE class. We read ~6 books, listened to 4 pieces of music, and watched 4-5 movies (most >2 hours) as homework over the course of the semester.
ugh. tons of required reading + films for an introductory course. graded by participation and 2 papers which require you to talk about all the readings, at least a little. wants a large intro course to be an intimate seminar despite that format really not fitting the set up. asks for participation and then cuts you off. at least he brings his dog
Took the class as a gen-ED in fall '23. There's a lot of reading, but it's easy to fake your way through the class if you know what you're doing. He brings a dog into class that just wanders around. But keep your phone away, Doug will make a big stink about it.
While the content was interesting, the class is set up in which participation counts for 30% of the grade. It's a con for people who don't talk much in class. Keep up on the readings as they're crucial for the two ten-page papers you'll do during this course. The good thing is that Doug brings his dog, Hugo to each class.
Smart man. A lot to learn from him. Anthro of money Lectures can be a drag but it's a class that's worth it as you step out of your comfort zone and learn a lot of things you didn't expect to. Seriously just participate in class even if you don't know what you're talking about. Go to office hours at least once and the A is yours.
This is my second class with Prof. Holmes, Anthro of Money. Participate and take good notes as those count for a good chunk of your grade. I didn't participate much in his Political Anthro class but if you do a few times, you're golden. Class is a drag as it's on Thursday night but it'll be worthwhile due to the content.
This class won't be hard if you don't mind reading a lot. Overall, the class isn't bad, and the professor is nice. Do the extra credit if you won't participate much in class; I should've done that. Also, attend all the lectures even if they aren't technically mandatory; it will help as you'll need them later when completing the major assignments.
Professor Holmes is very nice and this class wasn't hard. Attendance isn't mandatory but lecture content helps when writing papers. Class is graded on 2 papers, extra-credit, and participation (make sure he knows your name). There is tons of reading and movies to watch however they are easy and manageable. Holmes gives feedback on papers.
do the readings. watch the movies. And come to class because it helps with the two papers you have to write. but other than that the class is not too difficult. He offers to review your drafts before submitting so make sure you do that so he is familiar with your name/face - it matters. It's really important you at least read "some" of each book.
Seems very nice but rambled a lot without really explaining what he was talking about. Also, we didn't receive a single grade back until well past the grade change deadline (more than halfway through the semester) so I had no way of knowing how I was doing. I'm glad it worked out and the class wasn't actually too hard but I didn't like not knowing.
He is a very nice guy but he loves to ramble and go on tangents that you most likely won't understand. Grade was based on 2 10+ page papers and participation, but class size was like 75 so idek if he knew who was who tbh. Class is based on like 5 different books and movies so lots of time dedication outside of class. He did end class early tho.
Be ready for a heavy workload - lots of reading, films, and participation required. Attendance is a must, and the two major papers are no joke. But the discussions are engaging, and using unstuck study for study prep really helped me stay on top of the material.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
38%
Textbook Required
30%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.72 avg changeRatings by Course
ANTH300P
5.0
(1)ANTHO380
5.0
(1)ANTH380S
5.0
(1)ANTH280A
5.0
(1)ANTH380
4.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
389
5.0
ANTH101
5.0
ANTH300P
4.0
ANTH380S
4.0
ANTHSECT
4.0