Seemed really harsh at first but then as the semester kept rolling he started to joke around a lot and the class became a lot of fun. Make sure to do enough of the reading to hold a discussion at LEAST for each class. Participate and you'll do great.

Great prof. Easy going and always willing to help out students. Lots of reading but if you don't understand something he will spend an entire class discussing the readings and answering questions.

You have readings every week that you really just need to skim. He initially seems difficult, but is far from. You just need to go to the lectures, then study an hour before the exam. He does bluebook exams, but grades them extremely leniently. Easiest A you'll ever get. Would take him again.

He is not easy unless you try. You have to participate and the test are really hard. My advise is just keep writing! You have to study so much just to get an A. I did do well but I had to study A LOT! Papers are not clear and tests keep you writing for ever.

The guy is awesome. He truly cares about the subject and his background(from Yemen but born in Sudan)lets him give you a new perspective on the topic. He loves cracking jokes in class and is genuinely a very nice guy. He'll go out of his way to help you(he cut into his lunch break to let me have extra time on a midterm). My favorite Prof. so far.

Had a pretty good time in his class. Learned quite a bit. I also liked how he included current events into the curriculum. He's a pretty easy going guy and is very smart. Can be pretty funny too. I recommend him.

Very fun teacher. His English is not complete, however after a week or so you learn to understand him. He is funny and makes the course interesting where other professors would fail. Communicates what will be on the exams and does not throw you for any surprises. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed going to class and thought he was a vary interesting professor. Make sure you do the readings and read the news, he likes it when you speak in class. He appears to be a hard grader at first but he is not.

Dr. Gasim was a great guy, his is english is rough, but after a few days you understand. If you participate you will do well. He is a great man, and to this day still my favorite professor. I highly recommend him. Just do what he asks and listen to him, you really will learn a lot. Respect him, and he will respect you.

great professor, make class time very enjoyable.

Class is boring for the most part. The exams/mid term is very easy because he gives you all of the information you need. He will go out of the way to make sure you understand the topic. Plus, I love his smile! Makes me not so awkward.

Hands Down Favorite Professor at GVSU! Very Smart Man. Broken English, but Becomes Easier to Understand. Don't Hesitate to Ask for Clarity/Spelling of a Word. Expects Attendance, but You Will Ace the Class if you are There Every Week. Has Jokes- Laugh! (Even if you don't Understand) Taking him for MES280 Because I Loved Him So Much! (Not My Major)

Extremely nice guy. Can be really funny and interesting. He explains all the lessons well, and includes his own knowledge from the ME. Easy grader on exams, and paper. Definitely recommend taking him!!

Professor Gasim is a very well versed lecturer. He explains his opinions well and makes sure he applies what he says to the papers and so forth.. except he only gives his opinion, really.. and grades by that opinion. Read the textbooks and skim through the news and you will be fine.

One of my all time favorite professors!! He does his best to keep class interesting and frequently uses jokes to lighten up the class. Make sure you do the readings and keep up on current events and an A is achievable! He really loves participation and takes attendance every class. I'm taking a class outside of my major just to have him again!!

Professor Gasim is one of the best professors at GV. He is very knowledgeable about the subject, considering he is from Yemen. He has his opinions that you may not agree with and his accent makes it difficult to understand his lectures sometimes, but he is still a fabulous professor. Make sure to attend all classes and you'll do great!

The more you write him and " impress" him the more points you will get on the exams. I got a 98% as an overall in his class and I only achieve that by using the study guide he gave us and google the questions. I add more to what he gave us in class and I end up having 95 and more on the exams. Attend to class and you might get some extra credits.

Gasim is so funny!!! This is not the easiest class, but it is definitely manageable. Not many things to be graded on, a few quizzes and papers and a group project at the end. For exams he gives you a list of the questions that will be on the exam. He also does not put anything in blackboard so you will not know your grade, but he is so funny

Professor Gasim is an excellent professor so dedicated to his students success. He contributed articles to key world media outlets and used to share them with his students during the course.

Gasim is a nice professor and he likes to help his students become well educated about the Middle East. Greta class!

Dr Gasim was one of my favorite professors last semester. He really cares about his students. You MUST do the readings, he loves it when you mention the reading and current news in class. He gives a lot of extra credit for participation. I would not hesitate to take another class with him!

Prof. Gasim is like your goofy outrageous uncle. He loves to have fun in class, and is a great experience. Participate your ass off and you will be fine. An easy way is to say whats in the news. Very tough grader with not too many grades but if he likes you, you will do well. Dont be afraid to ask for help. Not a guaranteed A, but worth taking. :)

Professor Gasim is a great professor and well-published. I heard he is also a Fulbright scholar with impressive knowledge about the Middle East. I feel sorry for him from the way a few racist white students at GV interacted with him in class , who I think have biased views about the Middle East. Respect him and will gain his respect too.

Dr. Gamal Gasim is from Yemen. I enjoyed his class very much. But it required a lot of readings . My only problem in this class is not about this professor but with some students who are very racist towards the professor. Sorry Dr. Gasim, American students are better than these students. Thank you for your passion to teach us.

Prof Gasim is an excellent instructor. He really cares about his students and very knowledgeable. He allowed me an override yo his class because it was full very early during registration. I am so glad I had him as my professor. Do the reading and you will do fine.

Great online course. A lot of work, six research papers but learned a lot. Thanks.

Great class and wonderful discussion. Truly enjoy it.

Participate in his class and you will be fine. Read the news everyday and also do the readings. Overall he is an easy going guy.

This is the best gen and online course I have ever taken at GVSU. You learned a lot about the ME and improve your research skills. Highly recommend.

Excellent online course. But if you are so lazy and not interested to learn, then maybe this course is not for you.

I did enjoy MES 201 very much. Highly recommend.

Took MES201 online. I learned a lot, it was very dense course and did a great job of covering the Middle East in 6 weeks. The course load was high, but not too difficult, and consumed a lot (most) of my free time. He is a tough but fair grader and gives good feedback. Overall he is a well-rounded professor that is passionate about what he teaches.

Nice class. I like that we discuss news every class.

Professor Gasim is very knowledgeable. I took his online course and would not recommend if you do not like writing. However, he is not a tough grader. Also, you do not have any test in this course.

My only complaints are that he doesn't understand that a high match percentage doesn't mean your paper is plagiarized- I'm pretty sure he doesn't look at the report. My citations matched the same others had used and I got marked down, even though this class was online and I didn't know anyone. You do learn a lot about the ME & fulfills 2 gen eds.

Overall a very interesting course and a nice professor to teach it.

He is very light hearted and actually uses the criticisms people give and change how he teaches. If you are like me and like getting 100%'s in his class this may not happen. Repeatedly gave me 39/40s because he believes there is always room for improvement. You have to get a 90 or above for an A, so he has an A,B,C grading scale but no minuses.

Weekly discussion 400 words. Two responses around 150 words. Six 4-5 double space page essays. NO exams or quizzes. He gives great feedback on everything. It is a lot of reading and writing, but totally worth it. Easiest class, you just actually have to put in effort so it is time consuming. Extra credit discussion at the end too.

Incredibly knowledgeable, really cares about his students and their understanding of the topics. Will give extra credit in class. Papers were pretty easy. Sometimes can ramble but its usually funny stories. Online discussion boards easy to do. Readings were average for an upper level poli sci course,

Dr. Gamal is a nice and very knowledgable professor. He is very helpful too. Just ask him or see him I his office if you need help.

Nice professor and great class. I will take him again. Learned a lot.

Very decent human being. I liked the way he talked about the importance of higher education.

The ME is an interesting region you will learn a lot about it.

The Middle Arab east is an interesting region for us. I learned a lot from class discussion. Do not miss classes.

I liked Dr. Gasim's bringing news to class every day. I went to see him in his office and he is super helpful.

Gamal Gasim is by far one of my favorite professors. He would start class every day with discussions on current events and it was clear he cared about the stuff being discussed. He assigns readings for every class and he is very clear that he doesn't want the readings being blown off. The readings never made me dislike his class or him though.

Very light hearted professor who challenged us to think critically about the ME. Do the readings and do not miss classes.

Dr. Gasim is very smart and fair person. I liked his push for us to do talk about news and the readings every class.

Gamal Gasim is a great professor who cares about his students. He loves interacting with his class, even early in the morning. He would always keep our class active and is one of the nicest professors at Grand Valley.

Very nice class. Well organized.

Easy to follow class. I like his routine where every week you know what to expect. Never miss any assignments and deadlines.

I had him for the summer online class. No exams or quizzes, only we had to write short papers and post comments to discussion forums. Manageable workload and straightforward requirements.

The Middle East always in the news and this what made interested in this class. It really opened my mind.

I took this class online and with all what is going with zoom fatigue, I really loved the documentaries and lectures we had to watch. Very good videos.

No exams or quizzes. We have to write short papers. I enjoy writing and I really prefer papers better than tests. Would certainly recommend.

Good class, Just turn everything before the deadline because he does not allow for late assignment.

I took GS1201 lat summer with Dr Gasim. I like writing and I earned an A easily.

Nice class and well-structured. Learned a lot.

I did not know anything before about Arab politics. This class opened my eyes. I like writing and the class was manageable for me. No exams or quizzes.

Do not miss any deadline. Yes, his course does have exams but you have to write short papers.

Really enjoyed this class and learned a lot. Simple and well-organized. I appreciate that he is consistent in his due date of assignments.

I had him for my summer GSI201. We studied a number of global issues. I enjoyed the videos and short papers.

I enjoyed his posted public lecture on Yemen and his selection of videos. No exams or quizzes in this course.

I loved his class. No zoom fatigues like in my other classes. Respect him and you will learn a lot.

If you are lazy and want to do nothing then do not take him. He is very easy grader and what all he wanted from us is simply read and do our assignments on time. Highly recommend.

Great summer online class. No tests only short papers.

My favorite professor so far. He not only knows the materials very well he also writes regularly to international media like Aljazeera. He is very welcoming and supportive when you talk to him. Highly recommend.

I have heard awesome things about Gasim, but I had him online so I don't really know much about him. He seems nice and his class is easy. He's just super strict about due dates. No extensions and no late assignments allowed. Not too bad though, his class is easy so that isn't the end of the world.

His MES 201 online class was a lot of readings and writing. It helped improve my writing skills. enjoy it.

We wrote short essays and participated in forums. That's all.

I had him two years ago and Dr. Gamal was really knowledgeable about the Arab world. He also liked to know his students.

Not only I learned a lot about Arab culture but this course helped me to be good in time management.

I like the way we talk about news in class. He seems very knowledgeable about world events and write to media quite a lot.

Professor Gasim is overall a fantastic prof. He is very knowledgeable in the area of political science and teaches it well. He is very funny and made going to class fun. Not too hard either, if you do everything he says you'll do fine.

best class I've taken. He's funny and always keeps things interesting. He grades very easy and gives you an A on everything as long as you turn it in on time. Only had 2 exams and they're easy because they are written responses. Respect him and he'll respect you and help you pass his class. Topics in this class were also interesting. easy A

Just make sure you never miss a deadline for any assignment. He is really strict on that. But he gave us an opportunity to earn an extra credit to make up for any missing assignment.

I have no complain at all. I love writing and hate exams and quizzes. The load is very reasonable for an online course. Well-organized and easy to het an A.

Very good professor. I enjoyed talking to him in his office. Kind and helpful.

Easy class if you just do your work. No exams or quizzes. I learned so many things about the Middle East.

Dr. Gasim is a very knowledgeable professor on the Middle East. He is funny and kind. I will recommend without any hesitation. Just do the assignments and you can get A easily.

Very easy class. Just show up every class and do not miss the deadline for your papers. Very very easy grader. I got an easy A.

We had to write 5 short papers and weekly forum discussions. Nice and easy organization. No complaint.

He is from the Middle East and knows a lot about it. Very helpful and fair. Do not miss classes and assignments. Easy class to learn and get an A.

Excellent in-class discussion. Very kind and fair professor.

The course is very interesting and informative. I got to know a lot about many global issues. Nice professor and seems to enjoy teaching very much.

I would definitely recommend this course, I learned a ton about the Middle East and the grading criteria was very clear. Each week there was a discussion post due and every two weeks there was a 4 page paper due. While it may sound like a lot, it was super manageable and Professor Gasim was super helpful whenever I reached out. Great class!

Professor Gasim is one of the most highly educated people I've had the pleasure of being taught by. His upbringing and world knowledge supply a class that educates from an unAmericanized world view and provides an enlightening perspective. Teaching style is old fashion, no technology in class. Slight language barrier but I have ADHD and I was fine.

I took this course as a freshman and I really enjoyed. Easy A if you just did your assignments which are not that hard. Kind and caring professor.

Extremely knowledgable professor, just show up to class and do the readings and you will easily get an A. If you are interested in Islam or politics in the Middle East, Professor Gasim is very willing to discuss after class or during his office hours. He also gives extra credit for several things like learning all of your classmates names.

An amazing professor for an introductory class. The class was just lectures, note taking, and class discussions. He was super caring and gave lots of extra credit. He did give out readings that went along with 3 essays throughout the course of the semester. One thing he didn't like was the use of technology of any sort, but otherwise amazing!

I love Gamal. He is so funny, caring, and takes time to get to know each of his students. Overall just great energy. No technology and his lectures can get a bit off topic, but it was usually because of a funny story or joke that was entertaining and helped us get to know him better. He took questions off of the exam for my class bc he liked us lol

Professor Gasim is one of the best professors at GVSU. I was surprised by the comment of one student who said he left the class. I have seen one student who was disrespectful for Professor Gasim and very rude no to the professor and other students as well, This student was so bully. Professor Gasim is so kind and knowledgable and very very smart.

Professor Gasim is very knowledgable and he really wants all of his students to learn! Someone was complaining that they had to leave class, but many of us felt that the student was rude and overstepping boundaries and classroom expectations. Overall this was a pretty easy course and as long as you turn everything on time, you'll be good!

Professor Gamsin is a great online professor for MES 201, spring semester. For a course that condenses 15 weeks of material and puts it into 6 weeks, he does a great job! if you do the work and try you will be fine! - 2-3 books for this spring course are NEEDED to complete work. - Required to do 2 discussion posts a week for credit.

Professor Gasim runs a challenging but manageable MES201 course. The workload is heavy, with required discussions and papers, but he offers extra credit. Attending lectures is crucial, though they can be dry. unstuck study was helpful for efficient study prep.

This was the best summer course I ever took at GV.

Super nice guy really just wanted you to learn! Every exam was exactly what was on the study guide and he gave lots of opportunities for extra credit. A couple of essays and discussion post but other than that the work load was light. Would recommend!

Professor Gasim is such a great guy. He makes his lectures super interesting, cares about his students & is very passionate about his field. His accent makes it hard to understand him but he is really understanding and nice. He is a bit strict on due dates but assignments & short papers are pretty easy, have easy guidelines and he is an easy grader

I've never written a review before, but I had to share how much I loved this professor, who remains my favorite even a year after taking his class. He is inspirational, caring, knowledgeable, and passionate about learning. He shares his personal experiences and additional insights from outside the coursework that are both interesting and beneficial

Such a sweet guy who cares about you and your grade! I enjoyed his class it was mostly online and understandable. He's a funny guy who always has good jokes. If you do the assignment on time you will succeed.

Dr. Gasim is an outsanding professor who so passionate about his class and wanted us to learn and move to great grad school and not just think of grade. He is very kind and great professor. Will highly recommend.

This professor is great, the class is written and reading heavy, with supplemental texts being provided to read, no textbook. He is very knowledgeable about the topics and passionate about his job. Attendance is mandatory and wouldn't be wise to skip. I would definitely take him again