Interesting guy ... lectures are dense ... assignments are fair

awesome!

lectures a pleasure to attend; wry humor; fair evaluation ... the bomb!

Definitely one of the most stimulating courses I've taken at McGill.

lectures a bit dense, but brilliant man, and fantastic in one-and-one dialogue. always willing to help, approachable.

tough course, but definitely worth the effort. challenging, but rewarding. clearer lectures, when students aren't discussing or presenting. kanaris is very helpful, very enthusiastic, and very approachable.

He's an overall good prof. Sticks to his lecture plan and is really inspired by what he teaches. It shows. At times he uses words that are way too big, but I liked him anyway. It's those Greek features that make him attractive.

Dr. Kanaris is perhaps the most passionate academic I have ever had the pleasure of studying under. He is a brilliant man who nonetheless treats his students with the utmost respect. I admire very few people, and Jim Kanaris is one of them.

My experience with this prof has been the exact opposite. Kanaris is very clear and organized and his door is always open to students. One afternoon he spent a couple of hours with me discussing several things, not all about the course. Great teacher, great guy!

I love Kanaris because I respect the way he teaches philosophy and the way he insists that we appreciate and understand the subtleties of different philosophers/eras instead of zipping through to contemporary stuff. His course really taught me a lot, it was intellectually rigorous. He's also incredibly friendly/helpful. On a side note,ever notice t

If you really like learning, Kanaris is your man! He's rigorous and kind without being a pompous ass. I actually learned something. Difficult subjects are made interesting ... his passion, imo, makes it work. Take him!

Take his teaching. He is a wonderful teacher who can transform any difficult subject into a source of utmost interest to his students.

Dr. Kanaris is smart and interesting. He doesn't give a lot of work but he's not a very easy grader either. He lets his opinions get in the way of his teaching, though. I don't think a professor or Religious Studies should refer to the book of Genesis as "nonsense."

Kanaris is intense though extremely polite even when suffering fools. I've taken all his courses so I know. He's not good at spoon feeding, which is why I like him. Prepare yourself for some mind stretching!

Jim's honours colloquim was one of the best classes I've ever taken. He knew the material was really complicated, and just wanted the students to engage with it. the more you put in the more you'll get out, but the course was great and he was an excellent teacher.

complain all you want. kanaris is a philosopher. if you think philosophy is bs, you will think he's bs. if you think religion is studyiing scriptures and comparing religions, you will say he doesn't belong in religion. personally i'm grateful he's given me a broader perspective. thanks dr. k!

Yes he's certainly biased to philosophy. But it's more .. he has an inter disciplinary focus. If religion to you is one thing the challenge of a broad focus will mess you up about him. So chill and try to learn something!

very interesting teacher, and my vocabulary has definitely expanded after taking the course. Difficult material, but as long as you understand the connections that he wants you to see you'll be just fine. Lectures contain almost everything you need to write the assignments.

if you are an idiot, don't take this class. i personally thought it was a fascinating subject, and though his superfluous language can be hard on note-taking, if you make the connections that he is clearly pointing out...then you should be fine. v. intelligent and interesting man.

Very intelligent man. Lectures are key, I imagine it would be difficult to do well relying only on the readings, and there are bonuses for attending class regularly. Topics were interesting and fairly easy to follow. Fair marker, not easy, but fair.

Kanaris does take a unique approach to philosophy of religion in that he doesn't just give you the arguments and the critiques, but places them in a historical perspective so you understand where these ideas come from.Great course,though not recommended for those with no exposure to philosophy or Scripture.

Dr. Kanaris is a brilliant prof and I highly recommend him to anyone who is interested in philosophy of religion. Listening to him speak is like listening to a modern day Socrates, he's got a vocabulary on him like you wouldn't believe. His slides could use some work though...

Easily the most briliant proff I've encountered. I was honoured to partake in his time. Also incredibly fun.

While "Theories of Religion" was an AMAZING class, "philosophy of religion" was awful. The lectures were boring, unclear, and hard to follow. But RELG 456 was fascinating, and it is obvious that he is a lot more interested in that course. There is a ton of reading but it is very worthwhile and definitely worth taking!

Mr Kanaris is a brilliant mind and a true gentleman and scholar. He knows about the game, and plays it well. I learned a lot from this gent.

Prof Kanaris is very passionate about the material he covers in his lectures. By making sure that all the resources needed to complete assignments are accessible out of class (textbook& online notes), he's able to go off on philosophical rambles about the content in class - which is enjoyable to follow. Personable approach. Very fair assessments.

I took RELG 456 to graduate but I was super intimidated at first. I went to class not knowing anything but if you give the material a chance, stop & ask questions, Kanaris will amaze you. Don't be a fly on the wall - you're paying for this class. TRY to be present & engage with the material, you'll learn a lot. He's a cool guy who genuinely cares.

Religion 207 was an extremely interesting course. Kanaris' Lectures are fascinating. I took this course as an elective, and it was one of my favourite courses at McGill. I would highly recommend taking this class to anyone who wants to experience thoughtful and engaging material.

After multiple courses, I can say I enjoyed him a great deal. Very articulate, and a skilled navigator of his discipline; thus, I thought he provided a substantial yield of insights. Courses tended to be very paper-heavy, esp. in the advanced sections (456, 555), with what I would consider fair grading. Also, just an all-around good guy, I'd say.

Prof. Kanaris is very cool. Approachable and enthusiastic. Very fair grader. Easily one of the best classes I've taken at McGill. Very interesting topic that covers a lot of the ways people think about religion and Kanaris is really good at explaining and contextualizing stuff for you. Participate, it's fun!

Prof. Kanaris is a charismatic professor who loves what he teaches. RELG 207 is a great course to help spark anyone's interest in Religious Studies, both from the material of the course to the way Prof. Kanaris teaches it. He is super approachable and wiling to help his students. Take this class - you won't regret it!!!!

It was an interesting course, but I still don't think I would take it again if I had the choice. It's just a matter of taste. Prof. K is not a tough grader but a fair one and the assignments were fair too. We had a lot to read but I guess it was normal for a 4year course. Overall it was good.

Jim is AMAZING. The most brilliant and kind professor I've ever had, with a great personality. The course is not hard, but do attend class and put in the effort and it will pay off. His mind is brilliant and I learned so much from him. No final, just a midterm and 2 papers. My TA Nael was awesome! I would take all of Jim's classes if I could.

This is one of the most admirable profs I've encountered! He is intelligent and clear when he describes topics. Slides follow exactly what is said in class (not recorded) and what is expected from students is clearly outlined. How he relates to the younger generation is hilarious and always made the class laugh! Worth taking for major or elective!

Prof Kanaris is very passionate about the study of religion and though he can get caught up in philosophical/theological technology, it is clear that he is very knowledgeable on the topics. Don't be afraid to ask him to break things down in smaller explanations. Also a funny and charismatic prof!!

This prof is amazing!! I had some problems understanding a lot of words he used because he gets caught up in intricate philosophical terminology but it only proves that he is passionate about what he is talking about. Fair grader, well-organized and funny! You can easily manage to get a good grade if you attend his lectures, which are interesting!

Jim was an awesome professor!! You can tell that he really cares about what he is teaching as well as the students! His little posts he would make before every lecture were always very funny and you could tell he loves teaching this class! It's not a difficult topic if you read the text and go over his lecture slides

Prof Kanaris is a nice guy, in lectures uses too much complex terminology but is passionate about the material. Him and his TAs make it extremely clear on what they want in papers, and everything you need to do well on the midterm and papers is in his slides. Want an easy A and a cool prof? Give this course a shot.

Honestly very well-spoken and hilarious prof who clearly knows what he is talking about.

Solid prof, nice guy who sincerely wants his students to succeed. A good bit of reading and definitely need the textbook to clarify dense lecture material. Two papers and a midterm, so relatively light on the coursework. Would highly recommend if you're interested in the subject material. You'll get as much out of it as you put in.

You can tell Prof Kanaris genuinely loves what he does, and I also really liked the course in terms of workload. But as someone who isn't a religion major herself, I found myself having a hard time understanding Prof Kanaris since he often speaks as if speaking to experts on the subject. It's easy to pick it up if you put in a little extra work!

I really enjoyed studying with Professor Kanaris. His lectures are clear, interesting and actually very funny and it is not complicated to get good grades if you study well (lectures + textbook). I really recommend taking this class if you are curious about religious studies and I would definitely take it again!

I love this prof and recommend him to anyone interested in religious studies. He does over complicate some topics, but put in the time to digest his lectures, and u will do just fine. He's super funny (not pretentious) and adds entertaining components to his lectures. The lectures/texbook are super helpful for the papers (they're all u need)

Prof. Kanaris is inspirational in his passion and depth of knowledge. By the end of the course, I felt prepared to tackle the daunting world of theory within religious studies, and I became convinced by his theories about the self-reflexivity needed within our field. I'm very glad to have had the chance to take this course with Prof. Kanaris.

Professor Kanaris is deeply passionate about his field of study and also deeply knowledgeable. If one takes the time to follow along with the course and the (short) textbook, his lectures are fruitful and nuanced. The course is also a very manageable workload.

I really liked professor Kanaris, even though the concepts can be difficult to grasp, as long as you follow along with the readings and the lectures it's pretty manageable. I thought he was pretty funny too, I enjoyed the little edits he would put in the recordings and his overall enthusiasm as a prof.

I find that most classes at Mcgill give too long of readings, but this prof knows whats up. The readings are the perfect length and really aid to your understanding of the course. Its mostly readings out of 1 book and the class follows along it closely. Read the book, watch the lectures, get an A.

I loved taking this course! Prof Kanaris' super engaging lectures introduce you to a whole new lineage of thought and way of viewing the world. His humor and enthusiasm is infectious and his passion for the subject has inspired me to do a degree in religious studies. 100% would take if u want to learn about why u think about religion the way u do!

This is a challenging and inspiring course as it leads to meta conversations. Readings are historic and and it took my ear a while to adjust to the lectures, but he filtered things philosophic to my understanding. Not having a background in this kind of thing he made it accessible, answered my questions. Favourite course of the academic treadmill.

Professor Kanaris is truly exceptional. He really takes the time to provide awesome lecture videos and shows he cares about his students. After reading some of these reviews, clearly my peers can't take a joke. Overall great teacher.

Professor Kanaris is highly organized on MyCourses. Everything is clearly labelled & announced. However, his recorded lectures are confusing and frustrating because he talks like an Oxford Dictionary. Tip: Establish contact with your TA, get to know them, and refer to them. You cannot email Kanaris, so your TA is your go-to!

Kanaris gets too much hate! He's super sweet and very enthusiastic. That being said, he makes no sense and lets relatively simple subjects become entirely uninterpretable. There's a way to teach philosophy and psychology so intro-level students can understand it. Still, if you go talk to him one-on-one he's lovely, but he will confuse you more.

Kanaris is a funny guy and a good lecturer who cares about the subject he teaches. Get to know your TA and ask them any questions you have, they are very receptive. I think people are too hard on him as he's lighthearted, understanding, and wants his students to succeed. He gives clear outlines for his exams and other assignments. Overall good guy!

Def gets too much hate - Kanaris is a great guy. The class is hard but he provides so many chances for students to succeed. The exams are very closely based on the study guide he provides and he makes it very clear that you should study the textbook and use lecture notes as a supplement. One of the most passionate profs I've had.

Kanaris is a passionate professor who really knows his stuff, but the class can be a struggle. Definitely read the textbook and use Unstuck study for study prep - the AI-driven practice questions were a lifesaver. Go to office hours and get to know your TA too. Overall, it's a rewarding class if you put in the effort.

Great professor. He genuinely cares for his students and answers every question, in fact he'd wish there were more questions. He loves participation and when you take time to engage with the material, what he says will make more sense. I suggest doing the readings before class because it's difficult to simplify the concepts in class.

Exams don't contain unexpected content and can be studied for with the slides and textbook (relatively low amount of reading). The prof seems to really care about his subject and knows his stuff, so if you're truly passionate about the study of religion and would like to actively participate in class, I would suggest.

Prof. Kanaris is by far the most passionate professor at my time at McGill. I personally found the content of the course quite difficult but it was definitely an interesting course that I don't regret taking (even if it did tank my gpa). If you are remotely interested in religious studies take this class as a pass/fail option.