2.1
Quality3.2
Difficulty26%
Would Retake126
Reviews26%
Would Retake
126
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
16
3
19
2
37
1
44
What Students Say
“If you have a good TA that will make or break you”
UGC111 - 1.0 rating“Lawler doesn't really teach”
UGC111 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.32 avg changeRatings by Course
WORLDCIV
5.0
(1)UG111
5.0
(1)PHI356
4.0
(2)UGC1111
4.0
(1)PHI199
3.2
(5)Difficulty by Course
UGC1O1
5.0
UGC
4.5
1
4.0
UCG111
4.0
UGC1111
4.0
Reviews (126)
No Comments
Not bad. Lectures are better than most. Can be funny. Assigns a lot of work though, but if you do the work it's not a hard class.
No Comments
Dr Lawler is in a world of his own. His lectures are organized and coherent, but trying to talk to him is like pulling teeth. He knows what hes talking about, but you couldn't tell from talking to him.
not easy to talk to. very biased in his opinions, makes terrible generalizations about groups of people (i.e. **** & ****s). offensive. thinks he's teaching a philosophy course, and expects students to know philosophy in and out (rather than history)
jumps from 1 subject to another all the time, no tests except the final, seems luck dictates your grade more than anything else
If I had to choose between having this guy as my teacher and not taking this course, I would gladly not take the course. Throughout the course, I can't remember one time that Lawler was able to properly answer a student's question. DON'T GET LAWLER!
Lawler is obviously confused. Hey pal- this is world civilization NOT philosophy! Unclear, unhelpful, snore worthy--that sum it up?
a very misunderstood prof.-- if you are small-minded and not too bright, don't bother taking Lawler. If you want to gain many insights into different cultures and learn the ideas driving each one, this is a guy to listen to.
He seems like a pretty organized guy...but his class isnt world history its philosophy...he only talks about love and god which makes absolutley no sense...when he should be talking about China and Egypt...He only takes attendance when he feels like it...
This course is a reward for dealing with 4 years of crap history in high school. If you're one of those idiot freshmen who comes here only to party, you won't like him. If you do an hour or two of homework per week, it's amazingly interesting AND easy.
I took this philosophy course for fun and it was. Very intelligent guy. The best part is when we have a class discussion and at the very end of the discussion he says something that absolutely blows everyone elses arguments away.
coursework is not hard: easy ten point quizzes each week, one paper, journals said some interesting stuff in lectures, but mostly bored me, talks about in depth philosophy, final exam was lengthy, but allowed cheat sheet
Seemed a little too 'into' the material. He seemed to think he was making discoveries every week, when in fact his insights into the Matrix trilogy (the topic of the class) were a bit like Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons.
he's got his head up in the clouds. he tells us every week all these weird philosophical ideas and concepts. i found him to be very annoying
If you aren't all that bright, don't bother taking world civ with Lawler. I got an A. If you are willing to listen to the philosophy about history you probably already know about, it is an interesting course with a knowledgable.
IF U LIKE TO BE BORED AND FAIL UR CLASSES TAKE HIM .
Very nice man and is a very interesting guy. I had him and i got an A. if you want to come to college and learn take his class. I mean he meditated when he was leacturing about Buddhisim.
Dr. Lawler is so sweet but so flaky. His lectures are a complete mess, all over the place. Only HE thinks he's making any sense. And his doesn't have the patience for class discussions because he's too preoccupied with getting through his Power Point show
Taking his class was like a breath of fresh air from HS history courses. He doesnt discuss much of that boring, chronological stuff. Instead hes very philisophical and gives students tons of new perspectives on world history.
He okay- allow cheat sheet on final. how many profesors u know do that?
Class is full of philosophy crap. If it weren't for the TA's in recitation, this class would be unbearable!
I didn't know I was taking a class about religious philosophy.
Want to get a good grade with this teacher? Just repeat back to him what he just said.
Want to get a good grade with this teacher? Just agree with his opinion/view on whatever it is that you happen to be talking about that day.
he is boring to death but he is easy. just agree with him when he talks about THE MATRIX (he talks about it all the time), gladiator and star wars...he does tai-chi, and buddha medition in class...you won't learn much but is not easy to fail. just do the work which is not much.
The guy is so boring. there r much better world civs to choice from ...there is a quiz every week in discussion and the final is ridiculous
Dr. Lawler is not a bad person, but his course format is very bad. for a semester is 1 research paper, 10 question quiz every week in recitation, attendance, readings: text book, primary source readings (his own summaries)and lecture notes (too long btw) a Final last day of finals: essay and 165 MC.
I got A in research paper, did OK on quizzes, went to lecture all time and recitation, got a kick-ass cheat sheet (is allowed in the final BTW) and after all this work I still got a C+. and I'm not DUMB cuz I had an A with Sapierskie who makes you do more work.
Not my favorite teacher. Way too much work for material that's not that tedious. The TA for the class was horrible as well. Made us write weekly journal entries, summarizing our thoughts on the class. Gimmie a break.
Very boring. Too much work. If you don't like philosophy, you're going to hate this class.
Philosophy in Pop Culture, sounds interesting eh? Well its not, you will want to throw yourself out a window. My advice: if you are a philosophy major take every measure to avoid anything he teaches. BORING!
The worst professor I ever had. I still remember how he seemed to revolve his lectures around the Matrix somehow. Not a good choice for a freshman to start off college with.
Boooooooooooring
No Comments
BORING TO THE MAX FOR AT LEAST HALF THE SEMESTER. BUT IF YOU LOVE THE MATRIX TAKE THIS CLASS BECAUSE MOST OF HIS LECTURES REVOLVES AROUND IT
He was a very nice guy. All of his notes were posted on-line before class, and he explained what they meant in lecture very well. I enjoyed listening to his philosophical approach to history. He made it so it wasn't a boring memorize dates history class.
most boring teacher ever
OMG he was sooo boring and he had random attendence checks but the good thing bout his class was that there were no tests just a final that was so easy and he lets u have a one page cheat sheet with u....but seriously bring a pillow to his class sooo boring
Dr. Lawler is a very interesting and creative professor. He puts history through a philosophical lens, comparing historical events to the present. He makes many references to movies and i swear on this one, he did Tai Chi when we were studying the chinese, Yoga for India. He then made us meditate for 5 minutes. Overall, hes not too bad.
well the classes were boring n he has random attendance....the only relief was to hve adam taylor as TA...mr.taylor makes the course easier and an easy A if u study a bit..
No Comments
No Comments
He is extremely boring and appears nervous when speaking in front of large groups. Every time he starts a sentence, he pauses, repeats himself, stops, tries to reword it, then goes on a tangent so you can't remember his original point. The random attendance isn't a problem and my TA is really helpful. There are no quizzes or tests except the final
Great prof lectures were very interesting, but sometimes difficult to understand; you have to pay attention. He takes attendance every so often, but you never knew when. If you have a good recitation instructor for the class, everything will be fine. Weekly journals, quizzes and research paper. Final exam- 175 MC plus an essay (unknown topic)
He is also a philosophy professor, so in his World Civilization lectures, he will talk about philosophy and none of it will make sense. He makes ridiculous statements about history, claiming them to be true. He doesn't know what he's taking about. He is a lost, confused man.
This professor is impossible to understand. He rambles on about things that have nothing to do with history. His TA's don't even understand him or what he is trying to teach. Quizes each week that are impossible to get good grades on unless you are a history master. Do not take him unless you have to. One of the worst teachers at UB.
No Comments
This class was not history, it was all just philosophy stuff. The only 'facts' were things he made up. He makes statements without any factual support. No tests, weekly quizzes made by TA so you have no idea how he tests before the final. The final is 160 multiple choice and a 4 page essay in 3 hours-ridiculous. Don't take him. Simple as that.
He's a clown, had him first semester of my freshman year for world civ. basically he's a philosophy teacher trying to teach a history based course. it comes out garbled. my roomate took grinde and said it was an easy A, take it from grinde
we meditated in class once. he told us he saw stripes or something when he closed his eyes. he's really strange. def not a history class, he makes everything philosophical. weekly quizzes in recitation, random attendance in lecture.
Dr.Lawler is nice, but i have no idea what he wants to prove in class. I take long time to read primary reading. I realized that these are useless. I really wanna get A from his class. However, I cannt. I think only history master can do that. ...
He is a crackpot. he makes lame jokes, the slides aren't helpful, he uses the same slides over and over, there's random attendance checks, and he uses movie and starwars references. his method of teaching doesn't let you think for yourself, rather, it's a his word is law setting.
Never take him he sucks doesnt do anything relevant and his class is pure final however if your a good test taker then all you need to do is one really long test
hes horrible DO NOT TAKE HIM.
he is useless, u dont learn anything from this class basically
it was one of the most boring classes ever, lawler reads directly from powerpoint slides that make little sense & about once a week there's a 'break question' for attendence. not such a bad class if you get Dozzi as your t.a.
this guy is absolutely ridiculous. he's actually a philosophy professor. don't take his class unless you really liked the matrix, star wars and/or star trek because he likes to compare ancient history with movies. the ta's are the same way, so good luck.
If you want to learn and get fresh perspectives of history, take his. He teach in his own way (quite philosophic). He gives clear lecture outlines. And he is very nice and helpful if you ask for help. ANYWAY, DON'T BE AFFECTED BY OTHERS' WORDS TOO READILY, STICK TO YOURSELF. YOU SHOULD KNOW WHY YOU COME TO COLLEGE.
The class is relatively easy. You can skip his lectures, but make sure come once in a while as he gives "break question" which you discuss within a group and submit a written answer. TA D'Allesandro is great, he explains with such clarity. Only gives one exam (final), with A LOT of MCQ and an essay. Best part - Can bring cheat sheet into exam!
Boring
really boring teacher for this class, takes attendance at random using break questions which you turn into your TA. reads off powerpoint, you learn more about religous aspects of civilizations. the only test is the final, although there are quizzes each week & a reasearch paper. also there are journal entires due each week.
wow first of all dont even bother going to lecture, it is absolutely pointless/painful to listen to him drabble on about irrelevant garbage he thinks is interesting, youre much better off using the time to read the textbook...quizzes are easy if you use the blue book ($12 worth it), final was mostly textbook stuff...DONT GO TO LECTURE!!!
not hard/work load is way less than other UGC111.teaches it as a philosophy class. only consistent assignment-weekly journals not always collected. 10 ques quizzes which are not too hard/lowest 2 dropped. TAs usually review quiz ?s before you take it. Go to lecture even tho its boring, he takes attendance. have an A so far, minimal studying.
Avoid this guy at all costs. His pointless lectures are mandatory and barely help you.
Relatively easy for a 300-level philosophy class. Doesn't use a textbook. Instead you read a bunch of essays, some of them written by Professor Lawler himself. Final determines a large proportion of the grade and its cumulative in a way so watch out.
CANNOT believe the negative reviews! Although I guess it's not too surprising, considering even the stupidest kids at UB have to take world civ 1. Dr. Lawler is a GREAT teacher with very interesting lectures. If you want an unconventional experience with some work required (not hard at all, just weekly quizzes and 1pg responses) TAKE THIS CLASS!!
Terribly boring lectures but a really easy grader. If you only care about the bottom line, it's worth it to take this class, but if you do better in classes you're actually interested in, this likely isn't for you. And just a heads up: there's an individual in-class presentation everyone must do.
His lectures are extremely boring...but had to go since he takes random attendance...tries to teach a history class in a philosophical manner...his final exam is cumulative and he said he wont give anything from the book but more than 50% of the paper was from the book....avoid taking his class if u can..
Easy A. If you can't handle this amount of work, you should just drop out now.
Super Boring. I attended lecutres&took notes. I got B-D on the quizzes. Prob got 20% correct on the final(probably a HUGE curve).The final covered stuff I never remember seeing. I got an A on the research paper & an A in the class. IDK how.Easy A if you do the work &attend recitation &do a really good research paper. Not hard-just boring.
This is about as easy as it gets (next to Boyd's classes). Two one page journal entries and a quiz every week. A single 5-6 page research paper and a final at the end, no other exams. Read the textbook and pay attention during lecture, it's basically a free B or A. If you can't handle this workload, then you should just drop out.
not a hard class if you go to recitations and do the readings. however his lectures are extremely boring and he was minorly obsessed with avatar this semester. final included a lot of random dates (death of alexander the great, founding of random empires) the wording on many of his questions was difficult to understand. avoid this professor
Took class as a freshmen. His material is interesting, but it's very broad (esp for a noob). Tests require memorization of dates and really minute facts instead of broad grasp of concepts, which makes it easy if you're used to simply memorizing. Annoying for someone who instead wants to understand the main concepts. Nice guy, however.
I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE CLASS WAS.. I GOT AN A AND LEGIT FAILED THAT FINAL. If li still teaches as a ta, take it with him. very, very generous curve.
this man would sit there for 20 mins in lecture and meditate. i would purposely not put my seat belt on driving to class because i would want to die before i could make it to that class.
You can tell after the first week that his real passion is in philosophy and not history as he often goes on philosophical tangents that are sometimes convoluted or just no nonsensical. One of the few professors that will randomly take attendance during lecture. However he allows a cheat sheet during final. Very easy A if that's all you want.
Professor Lawler is an interesting professor, and he is definitely passionate about teaching. He takes a philosophical approach to the class, which is interesting at times. Honestly, though, most of his lectures were a bit unclear. 2 1-page journals weekly, 1 quiz weekly, a 1500-word research paper and a final is all you need. Not a difficult class
He is interesting in the class. His quizes are har hard and every week. but a good teacher.
This could be the greatest class you will ever take, but he absolutely ruins it. Droning voice, constantly talks about movies, has an unhealthy obsession with Kant, displays disjointed lecture slides, and gets easily distracted. You cannot ask for help because he will simply turn the question on you and make it so ambiguous you leave feeling lost
Every lecture was a struggle to stay awake. This man is a complete waste of time. He makes you write two one page papers every single week based off of boring and long readings. Plus a research essay that is 1500-1800 words. It would be in your best interest to stay away from this class
Lawler doesn't really teach. The only way to survive in this class is if you have a nice TA if you don't... good luck. 2 journal entries a week and quizzes are really easy if you buy the online practice test (it's exactly the same question). also good luck on the last test... it was insane 160 MC and 2-3 page essay 3 hours. At least no midterm.
He is creates his own theories on history and uses the first link he searched up in his lectures. If you have a good TA that will make or break you. If you take him go to lectures and bring fun games to play. Lectures are useless and boring.
Dr. Lawler's World Civ 1 class may have been the most confusing class I have ever taken. Instead of providing history lessons, he goes on philosophical rants, which no one ever understands. My TA taught me the entire course, and I did well thanks to him.
His class is simply boring, by boring, I mean those that you will fall asleep in 3 seconds. Like one of my friends always sleep and snore in his class. And the professor doesn't care!
He takes an different approach to history, the class is based off of a philosophical theory. There are weekly readings but you can usually just skim them along with a two paper journal on them. There's also a 5-6 paper research paper as a mid-term grade. Quizzes are given sometimes during lecture in order to check attendance, but it is not hard.
He might be the worst teacher ive ever had. Very unclear and doesnt teach the material. He stands in the front of the class and talks about useless topicss.
This is a class that is supposed to be about World Civilizations from the Stone Age to 1500. Instead, prepare yourself for the most boring class you could take. Instead of getting in depth with the civilizations, he allows the textbook to do so for him. He only teaches the religious side of civilizations, so be prepared to do way too much reading.
Doctor Lawler utilizes a philosophical approach when teaching UGC. Makes you think about life's philosophical questions. 1 Research paper (5 pages) w class presentation, uses Break questions for attendance and weekly quizzes. I had the best TA - he created a study guide to prepare you for the final exam essay. Good professor, bloody excellent TA.
i really have no idea what was going on in this class. I thought it was a history class but the professor made you feel like it's an philosophy class instead. If you have a good TA, then you are lucky. If you have a bad one like i did, good luck earning a passing grade :
If I wanted to learn about a marxist philosophical version of history and read religious texts I would take a philosophy or religion course. Yep. That's what his course is. One paper, weekly quizzes, attendance is taken, and sometimes there's in-lecture group quizzes. Lawler needs to think about the fact that this is a gen-ed and nobody cares.
like history, but Dr. Lawler seems convinced he is teaching philosophy. His lectures were dull and very long. Lawler is harmless, but he is not an interesting UGC professor. The class is not difficult, by any means, but you will be bored. Short written assignments during lecture to check attendance, not really worth going. Just do all the work.
This class was interesting to say the least. I gave up on paying attention two weeks in and used lectures as naptimes. I feel like I got shafted out of a cool history class with all the religious philosophical angles Dr. Lawler took. Quizzes required a little studying, otherwise easy. I got an A because my TA was awesome and I studied a little.
Lectures are boring and will definitely put you to sleep. Having a good TA is essential to getting a good grade and understanding some of the gibberish that Lawler says in lectures.
This class was a waste of time. Whoever at UB thinks having a philosophy professor teach a history class should be fired. He gives one exam with a huge curve because he is such a bad teacher, basically if you get 20120 questions right you get an A this seems nice but its waste of an entire semester, especially because attendance is mandatory
He can be very boring and random but his lectures make sense. If you have a great TA you're sure to pass with an easy A. Make sure you read over his lecture slides because that's where all the important information is, and the online textbook. He reuses questions.
There's only 1 exam (which is the final) in this class. Consisted of hard facts and an essay. I had no idea what was going on most of the time but still got an A in the class. Class definitely requires some effort though
I'm sure Dr. Lawler at one point was a good professor. However, this seems to have been quite a long time ago. Throughout the semester, he "teaches" every single topic of world civilization history through a heavy lens of philosophy. This would have been fine, if the test wasn't 90% raw history based, right out of the textbook. Avoid this teacher.
He teaches with a philosophical approach which I personally liked. I wasn't interested much before but then I really got into it. Don't opt if you don't like philosophical approach. For me, it was a great experience.
Professor Lawler used a different approach to teach world civilization. He assigned one long essay, 2 journals every week and one reading assignment each week. There were weekly quizzes during recitation and only one exam, which was the final with 150 MC and a 3-4 pages essay. Also, he took attendance sometimes by asking some random questions.
His lectures are very boring and his slides have a ton of unimportant information on them. Have to write two short essays a week after reading the textbook chapter and two other readings. Also have to do a 10 page research paper while doing the essays. Too much work for a Gen Ed. Avoid this class!!
Professor Lawler is a very boring teacher. UGC111 is a world civilizations class but with his teaching, you won't learn anything about them. He teaches philosophy and the religions of each civilization. The book is the only way you can learn about civilizations. And the weekly journals, are also philosophy based. Do not take as a gen. ed.
Probably the worst teacher I ever had. His lectures are boring as hell--just him ranting on about his philosophy and incorporating its core beliefs into the religions of early civilizations rather than focus on any historical aspects. Do not take as a gen. ed
I toke his class last semester, the topic about the moral and determinism was really changed my perspective of the world.
He is very easy for PHI101. He is very boring. One easy quiz a week and one summary (one page) per week.
The reviews in this are pretty harsh and I don't understand why. To be honest, most people in philosophy classes expect an easy time and don't do much which is why they complain about professors. If you pay attention in Lawler's class and read his slides, it's a pretty easy A. He doesn't give much work so it's all on you if you wanna do well.
First off, take this class! It is so mind-blowingly easy, just take it. Second, Dr. Lawler to many may seem very boring, but if you just take lecture seriously for the time being there, you'll get a lot out of the material. Besides, its philosophy, you might actually learn something about yourself. Weekly easy quizzes and hws, and a final. Thats it
Easy class. Good first year seminar class. 1 page weekly paper due, and a weekly quiz based on what you learned in lecture. However, his lectures are so god awful boring and he talks about randoms things that do not relate. Also do not buy the book that is "required" he literally does not assign readings.
I took this class for a pathways and I guess my lack of care for the subject made this class 10x more difficult to sit through the lectures. His lectures are so boring I would fall asleep. His power points never made sense and the entire class was silent every class. NOT an enjoyable class unless you LOVE the simpsons and Buffy the Vampire.
Lawler has a journal entry and a quiz that you have to do each week in class, so it is not too hard to get a good grade, but his lectures are very lengthy. I assumed he would show us clips from the movies he was talking about, but he described the scenes which made it extremely boring. Personally would not take again.
The class is composed of weekly quizzes and a final exam. A great way to absorb class material is through the readings he posts; he has written the papers himself. He uses a lot of pop culture references as examples of philosophy, but he never actually shows scenes about what he's talking about so class was very dull.
His lectures are unbelievably boring and are just white slides with black font. He spends the whole class period rambling about the slides and expects us to absorb this information despite most of it making entirely no sense. This class is so boring and pathetic and for whatever reason. He gives one quiz a week and they are not easy. DO NOT TAKE!
Do not take that class, it is boring and not entertaining. The class is extremely hard for a 101 class. The lectures are just the professor going through white slide and not even interacting with his students. Do weekly quizzes with questions based on his point of view of the course. Rarely, answers his emails.
The quiz questions could be either true or false as they are ambiguous, but only one answer gets credit and he does not listen to students or respond to emails. The quizzes are the only grade other than final exam and attendance. He clearly has no passion to teach and he provides no useable resources for studying. Terrible.
I struggled a lot with this class and a lot of students complain but I feel if he just had a different approach to making his lectures and material more engaging and easier to understand it would be a better class and students would get better grades. The weekly quizzes are hard and studying for them is equally rough
I once took an introductory to French class with a teacher who thought we were her German class for the first week. Now I can count to 10 in German. That was a significantly more successful experience than any day in this class. His teaching style is reading from a power point, word for word, which is taken, word for word, from a textbook. Slowly.
This professor just reads off of white slides with black font. His lectures are so boring. Quizzes are impossible to study for. TAs take attendance and are highly strict w/ coming in late and not paying attention in class. Easy grade because attendance is 20% however do not take this class if you want to be bored.
Teaching style: reading word-for-word off of slides, does little speaking on his own part to make content easier to digest/tangible. Zooms right through them; should focus on quality > content. Assigns strictly his own writing pieces which are absurdly lengthy and dense. Surprisingly, a decent grade is still manageable if you memorize slides.
This was the most boring course I have ever taken. The professor drones on in a monotone voice reading black text on a white background for hundreds of slides. Tests are every two weeks on about 100-200+ entire slides of content you are expected to memorize. Attendance is mandatory, and if you don't seem to pay attention you will lose half credit.
Nightmare
DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS
Please I advise no one to ever take this class. His lectures are beyond boring and has a lack in interest for teaching. I had no clue what was going on as it was just black and while powerpoint consisting of at least 200 slides that we're expected to remember. He didn't prep the class for quizzes & the final so you're on your own to say the least.
He teaches from plain black and white slides, which are organized in an extremely confusing manner. 300+ powerpoint slide presentations. Can be testy if you don't agree with his point. Extremely hard to follow at times.
Avoid this class if possible. The lectures are monotonous, and the quizzes are nearly impossible to prepare for. However, attendance and participation can boost your grade. Consider using Unstuck AI and other resources to get through this class.
Class might be the most boring course I have ever taken. He just reads off of slides for 80 minutes straight. Attendance is mandatory, and if you're a minute late, you're late for the whole class. Quizzes were every other week and were online, along with an online, in-person final. Not too bad of a class, but I definitely wouldn't take this again.
Lectures are long told in a monotone voice, white background and black text. Quizzes (every other week) are slightly hard to study for because he doesn't provide what material it's based on, but he generally boosts each grade. Do the readings before class and you'll follow fine. Final was worth 40% but he allowed for 2 double side cheat sheets.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.32 avg changeRatings by Course
WORLDCIV
5.0
(1)UG111
5.0
(1)PHI356
4.0
(2)UGC1111
4.0
(1)PHI199
3.2
(5)Difficulty by Course
UGC1O1
5.0
UGC
4.5
1
4.0
UCG111
4.0
UGC1111
4.0