This guy is a little out of his field; teaches history, but is an archeologist. Nice and helpful. His lectures TOTALLY Follow the textbook, making them of little extra utility.

Grades on 8 2-page papers. You don't have to actually attend class except on Mondays to get the paper topic and turn in the one from last week. The book isn't necessary-no exams,major papers. Lectures generally don't have much to do with paper topics.

He loves what he teaches and it really comes through in his lectures. He's great to listen to even if you don't really need to go to class. He's great!

fun proph

Very good teacher. Tough grader but fair.

There's no way to judge, and it's a PSU problem, not his. Classes have a hundred students, most aren't history majors or even interested, so everybody loses. At least he's funny.

Really loves and knows about what he's teaching. Grades fair and on content, personable, gives a good lecture.

He doesn't give very much in depth information- history buffs will be disappointed. The discussions on the readings are not very good either, but that is not his fault. Students seem to lack the comprehension skills needed to read ancient greek literature. Such is life.

funny, kinda makes lame jokes but hes cool

Good teacher, very informative and very fun. Easy to approach and knows his information very well.

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The easiest grade you'll ever get. if you don't pass his classes you need help

He is hillarious. I totally reccomend him. He may be a little odd, but it beats the alternative... which is sitting there FOR EVER in a class with a teacher that is both boring AND retarded

he knows ALOT about his subjects and he always gives great info. full of interesting sidebars and anecdotes. really good prof.

He was a cool prof. I had him a few years ago. He never took attendance, so I only showed up when our papers were do. I took 3 courses with him, Ancient Rome, Egypt, and Greece. The few times I did show up, he was very informative.

Great teacher, yeah a little strange but it really makes the class interesting. Easy class, write papers and turn them in... no need to attend! Great class!

He was great-- good sense of humor, only grades were 7 papers due. Good class

Armantrout is probably favorite professor at PSU, hands down. Each of his 300 level history classes consist of writing only seven, two page papers, and his lectures are incredibly interesting and informative. He's fantastic. Take his classes, this is not a suggestion

This guys is smart, funny, and really knows his topics. The best university cluster I could have chosen! He's approachable and easy to talk to, and the papers are so easy the way he lays them out, you can't go wrong!

Very interesting. If you don't know much about Greek history you should go to class to get "extra" info to write 7 weekly papers. Keep up with the reading. I knew nothing about the topic and got a B. I will take more of his classes.

He is a great professor who loves what he teaches.

Awesome professor. I LOVE his class. Attendance is only based on mentor sessions (1/week) so you don't HAVE to go to his lectures... but you'll WANT to for sure. He's a nice guy, intelligent, and extremely entertaining. Ironically enough, he even looks somewhat like an ancient Greek philosopher...

excellent teacher

Very straight forward class (no final, 7 two page essays) Armantrout's specialty is archeology. He gives out an essay topic every week & you can skip 3. Heads up that the essay topics don't necessarily get easier towards the end. I liked the class

Armantrout really knows his stuff, and he makes his lectures interesting. Attendance is not required, just the turning in of 7 weekly assignments, but I didn't want to miss a lecture. He was great.

Most ejoyable professor I have had, he's hilarious, and really knows his material. Keeps you interested and does a great job getting the material accross.

I really hated roman art history. I love art hisotry and for some reason I couldn't stand the material for this class. Somehow magically I still loved armantrout. He is cooky and brilliant and very helpful. If you get a chance, goto his office and talk with him, even if you don't take a class, he is a very worthwhile human being.

He's very helpful, it's worth it to visit him in his office b/c you'll get a lot of extra info. This class requires ALOT of memorization however, and I was surprised at how much time I spent outside class studying. Attend lectures every day, they're fun! Take this class only if you have a solid background in art history

Great professor. Charming, great sense of humor, intelligent, and a well rounded instructor. Would highly recommend his history courses to anyone that is interested in his Roman/Greek history. Never took an art history course from him as history is my major. He is hilarious! Lots of reading in his history courses...

Great professor, very funny and charming. His lecture is long and can be boring depends on how much you like ancient Greeks. But he's very easy to talk to. I got an A after doing all the works.

Armantrout is a really great professor. This guy really loves what he is teaching and knows his stuff extremely well. I really enjoy his demeanor and presence in class. He can really make any historical event fun and exciting, dropping in more modern and culturally relevant facts that make his topics resonate. He is just a cool dude too.

He is the man! One of the best profs I have ever had! He makes history come to life and is so engaging. Go to his office hours. He will tell you exactly what to do to get an A. There is really no excuse for not getting an A in his class. Wonderful prof. Highly recommended. FUNNY!!!

It doesn't matter WHAT your major is, after a few weeks he WILL make you want to be an archaeologist! Unlike so many traditional profs in his area, he is always ready to point out that so much of the subject is comically conjectural. The perfect blend of professor and stand-up comedian.

Armantrout is one of the best teachers at PSU. He is so funny, so engaging, and you can tell that he loves teaching. He is very helpful in office ours too. One thing - there is a lot of reading in his courses. Take classes from him if you can - you will value your education much more.

If you only take one History professor at PSU, make it Armantrout; the guy is awesome, funny, and has a way of teaching every class that makes it a blast to attend. On top of that he teaches his Art history classes in parallel to his ancient history series, so if you're interested in both you can get double the bang for your buck. Recommended.

Sure, he is a nice guy but he can't control a class. All it takes is one obnoxious students and the focus is gone. I took his classes twice because it only consists of 7 papers. I didn't attend class the 2nd time and got the same grade. The kids he has grading his papers are clueless. If you just want "neato facts", this is your guy.

He is a funny liberal guy and looks like a Greek philosopher. I wasn't interested in the class when I signed up, but he did make it enjoyable. The man is smart and witty but does not control the class too well. There was one student that he led talk way too much. He knows Greek history and literature very well and I learned a lot. good prof for SIN

It is sort of brilliant. If you're looking for a great introduction to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome you can take Armantrout for a year, write 21 papers and that's it. Once he lost control of the class I'd just bounce and write a paper. He is a really nice guy but condescending. Thought we wouldn't know what a "pyrric victory" was.

Armantrout is the man. By far the best lecturer i've ever had.-f you have aany interest in classical history take one of his coursers. Be ready to put in some thought paper wise. Go to class, take notes, and read. Also go talk to him in his office good coversation will ensue.

One of best professors I've ever had. You'll never fall asleep in class and you actually learn things as well and he also has lots of witty jokes. If you're at PSU and a history major you should go out of your way to take this professor. I'm signing up for 3 more classes next year

Class is a ton of fun. Great lecturer, really knows his stuff, witty and keeps the class interested. HOWEVER, the workload is honestly too heavy for a university studies class. 3 (harshly graded) papers, group project, bluebook final, a boatload of reading. I'm sure hes amazing for HST classes, but a bit overwhelming for a required non major class

He can be an entertaining guy but he will assign a lot of readings and quizzes. (Not too bad if you know the main plot of the reading) Hardest thing in the class was the final. Very Enthusiastic about his lectures and tells fun facts to students.

I am a pre-nursing student and have taken his history and art history classes for a year and a half because of how great a teacher he is. He is always willing to help, makes all of his instructions clear, and has very compelling lectures. He is one of the greatest teachers I have ever had and recommend him to everyone!

He is a great professor. Very knowledgable, helpful and pleasent. Pretty easy class, although a little bit of a tough grader. His lectures are interesting and he's got some good jokes. I would highly recommend him.

Really enjoyed this class. I agree with other posters that the reading load is fairly heavy for a SINQ class, but it's worth it. His lectures are interesting and he can be very funny, he reminds me of an older Conan O'Brien. Somewhat difficult grader, but if you work hard you'll almost certainly get an A, and you'll learn quite a lot.

I would recommend this professor, he is very pleasant, easy to understand, & helpful. Assigns 7 2-pg essays which make up your total grade. Tough grader but gives you plenty of chances to rewrite an essay. Very knowledgeable & his jokes make the class enjoyable, not boring.

He is funny and makes lectures enjoyable, but the people who are interested in Greek History tend to be weird and spoil the experience. People who suck seem to be drawn to him. I did not like that he gave very little incentive to go to class, especially after the 7th week, as you only need to write 7/10 weekly essays. Mostly art history knowledge

He's awesome!

George is super funny and gives really engaging lectures!! His SINQ class has an Ancient Greek focus, so it was right up my alley. Good texts and fair amount of assignments. I would definitely take a class with him again just for fun.

I'm a science major, but this guy was one of the best professors I have ever had. Cannot recommend him enough!!! He is super smart, witty, and makes history applicable, fun, and necessary! If you don't take a class from him, you've wasted your time at PSU. Also, he doesn't make you buy a whole bunch of useless textbooks. Go to class, have fun.

The professor is hands down amazing. I will be attending his classes without paying next term just to hear his lectures, unfortunately I cant afford the added HW load on top of my other classes. To succeed in his class read Pomeroy. Pomeroy will cite the other readings and you can use that in your papers.

Armantrout is an excellent lecturer and clearly loves teaching. He doesn't give a breeze class, but is super encouraging to help students with their research for papers, etc. 1 warning, visit in office and you'll end up chatting for an hour! But do it for help anyway, esp if yr an art hist nerd!

Awesome professor! His lectures are engaging and well planned out making it easy to take effective notes also he throws in a little bit of humor just to keep you awake and on your toes. Does assign textbook readings but by no means is it overwhelming at all! Extremely helpful outside of class and is always willing to meet with students.

Although he was pretty funny, I at times questioned the appropriateness of his jokes - then again, we were in a Greek history class. The amount of reading and papers assigned surprised me for an inquiry course, but grading was easy as long as you hit all of the requirements.

Absolutely amazing. Inspired me to get my Masters in History. Thank you!

I really enjoyed his class and lecturing style. I'm a visual learner so it was nice that he lectured with pictures of ancient sites/structures and maps instead of powerpoints with notes. There are 7 papers for the term (no mid or final), and allows rewrites in case you didn't do as well as you hoped. Will definitely take classes with him again.

Great lecturer, nice guy. Knows his stuff and is one of the best profs I've had so far

Very knowledgeable; You can tell he really loves to teach. No tests, but 7/10 short papers assigned are required. Gives only one topic, so hard to get inspired, but they're easy enough. Does short lecture on topic before it's due. Does not accept late papers, but lets you rewrite the ones you've turned in. Gives feedback on all papers.

Makes the lectures funny. He does take attendance most the time, so if you want to go for an A, go to all of the classes. You do 7 of the 10 weekly 2 page papers, but he does not hand out A's left and right. You need to read and also can add in lecture content in the papers, but it's a good class to take for UNST. No tests or quizzes. Take notes...

Very cool professor. I thoroughly enjoyed Armantrout's class. he discussed the weekly readings and told us what parts to focus on in order to write our papers. Do note much of the class is based from the assigned texts. You can cite the lectures, but the texts are the main source for a good paper. He's also very helpful so go to his office hours!

Armantrout loves to give B's, he almost always does. If you want an A, be prepared to work for it- otherwise he doesn't really fail people. The classes are based upon 7 papers that you write (out of 10 possible prompts.) Participation isn't a part of the grade. He is a great guy, really entertaining and knowledgable. He is a total gem. I love him.

Not an easy A - you'll definitely have to dedicate some time to reading and formulating decent arguments. Interesting topics and lots of primary sources. Says his main goal is to improve his students' writing abilities. This guy is awesome, his lectures are entertaining, and he is friendly and approachable. Bonus: each paper can be re-written once.

Sarcasm level maxed out but knows what he's talking about. Be ready for weekly quizzes on the slides from the week before. Requarding assignments, he is lenient but still specific with what he want. Cite anything you write that is't your original thoughts or suffer a well deserved F.

Professor Armantrout is really smart, and he isn't afraid to show it. He's funny, though. Course work is average. There is a lot of reading -- beware. A paper is assigned weekly, and these papers make you think. Don't expect to get an A on every paper. Most people averaged A- to B-. Attendance isn't mandatory, but he often gives tips on papers.

His lectures are fascinating, but you only need the info from the 2 textbooks to pass. There are 10 papers throughout the term (you can drop 3) and no tests. Every week there is a topic and you write an essay for it. That's it. Unfortunately, his grading is unclear. I kept getting 89, 91, 90, 88 on my papers and couldn't tell why some were As & Bs.

I took Dr. Armantrout's full year of Ancient World (Ancient Near East, Greece, Rome). The format is straightforward, lectures with a powerpoint. However, his lectures were very informative and often funny. Your grade is based on 7 essays, assigned weekly. He is not an easy grader, but offers rewrites and helpful feedback for improving your score.

Found his grading was very structured and somewhat generous given that you can correct what youve submitted. No traditional testing, but take your papers seriously. Sincerely prefer an archeologist rather than historian - my experience is that historians have far less flex in their thought process. So, this guy is definitely focused on learning!

George is pretty funny and a great professor. Graded on submitting six, 2 page papers which you can rewrite for a better grade. Plus one, 4 page paper. Only negative is that he's very liberal, otherwise definitely take him if you don't mind writing papers.

Paper assigned each week(9) but only have to write 6 of them. Then a final 4 page paper. Lets you redo each(besides final) for a better grade. Tough grader, my papers are always a B and I consider myself a good writer (might be a bad historian!) He is very liberal and really lets you know it unfortunately. However, overall I would take him again!

Professor Armantrout is a great professor that is very detail oriented and asks for specific information. He's a fair grader; if you're a strong writer that is analytical, uses sources and can support your thesis with fact and evidence, you will get an A. He doesn't like slackers and creative types. Overall he's funny, informative and helpful.

George is an amazing professor. Graded on 6 two page papers, and 1 four page final paper, no quizzes/tests. Offers a ton of help on papers every week, and has office hours. Hard to get an A, but a B is pretty easy. He's really funny and makes history interesting. If you're ok at writing papers I highly recommend him.

The class is all about writing papers. There are 7 papers to write during the whole term. They are 2 pages while the final paper is 4 pages. There is also 2 discussion posts a week that goes along with the lecture. He allows for rewrites if you mess up as well.

I took this course during the covid online break, and had professor Armantrout for my community studies course as well. They were awesome courses, good amount of work (he really focuses on a students writing and seeks to improve it) but his good humor and charm carried the class. He seems like a fun guy to be around inside or outside a classroom.