lots of reading, but interesting class

tough grader. funny and keeps class entertaining! nice person! lots of reading for homework though... but overall, great teacher!

A great teacher -- extremely knowledgeable, fair grader, and very entertaining. Lots of reading, but its reviewed/discussed in class. Always available to answer questions after class or over home phone.

i don't like how he grades, but he is a good teacher. you basically have to memorize facts to do well. he is a very specific grader, not intrested in creative approaches to his papers, he likes to have all the information he taught presented back to him.

I had Portanova for 2 semesters. He is the best teacher I have had. Don't take him too seriously and he's the funniest guy. If you don't want to be interested in the class you won't like it, but if you don't mind working a little, it's really rewarding.

Portanova is fine as an instructor. The only problem is that his personal political opinions (left wing)pop up every other class, particularly when he starts to ramble. Otherwise, a good professor.

He is an AWESOME teacher from whom you'll learn a lot without knowing it while you're taking the class. He's clear, interesting, and can be really funny at times. He's a fair grader and is always available if you need help. I'd definately recommend him to everyone.

He's a great teacher, really knows his stuff. You get a lot of chances to get in grades (2 reaction papers, 2 essays, midterm/final). He's pretty entertaining (can be longwinded). But he always explains and this is the class I've learned most in this semester. Highly recommend him.

Great professor! Great course!

I love this teacher!!! He is soooo smart and so nice. I called him at his home number at 8:30 the night before a paper was due and he talked to me for like an hour helping me. He is really nice and knows everything! I really respect him. The only thing is lots of reading.

My fav prf. Fair grader. Great sense of humor. Somehow he manages to make the material 10x's as interesting as it is already. Take his class if you can possibly get into it. I learnd so much from him. He is some sort of genius tho, has a million facts memorized and he can read a zillion words per mi

passionate about what he does, makes sure everybody understands the material. great guy!

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He was such an amazing teacher. I hate philosophy, and he made me enjoy it somehow. He's a little tough grading papers, but he's really fair. If he knows you tried, you will not get less than a B-. Funny guy, goes off on funny rampages, and can draw the entire map of the world from memory

Professor Portanova is just a genuinely nice guy. He really knows the material and does so much to make it interesting. He is so incredibly awesome. Such a nice guy, my favorite teacher of all time. He also wrote me a really great rec last minute. He's so nice. take him or regret it. seriously.

had him two semesters, love him, great teacher, nice guy, very helpful, really tries to be involved with the school and the students.

Sort of an odd, awkward guy, but an amazing teacher. His lectures are fascinating, he encourages everyone to participate in class discussions, and he really wants students to succeed - he gives out his home number and really means that you should call it. He also wrote me a great rec., won't grade below a B-, and his quirks really become endearing.

Wonderful teacher. Makes material interesting, and it is easy to learn a lot from him. Overall AMAZING!

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brilliant man!

This guy really knows what he's talking about. He's not an easy grader and he gives pop quizzes if he suspects the class is slacking. However, he's willing to help and is very understanding. He's a little whacky and awkward but he's really very nice.

I absolutely loved him and his class. He made the most boring topics interesting and really taught me a lot!

He is an amazing teacher hence the reason why I took him for two semesters. Hes awesome and brilliant. the classes are so funny and I really didnt mind doing the wk that he assigned. He's hilarious and his humor always keeps your interest. Def recommend this teacher, you won't regret taking this class.

Boring. Long readings, unexciting essay topics. But he is really nice and good at clarifying concepts in class.

Very nice guy, always willing to help. u dont really need to read, he goes over it in class, not the most interesting subject but he loves it so it helps. brilliant teacher, knows his stuff backwards. definitely worth taking!

Social Foundations II professor. A little bit more history than philosophy based but still an engaging class. If you do your readings and study for the exams you will be more than fine. I had him in 2007...hopefully he's still teaching. Highly recommend him!

He's a really good teacher and he loves the subject. He honestly knows everything you could possibly have a question about. If you pay attention in class it's not hard to get in A. He doesn't assign stupid busy work which is also a plus. Love him!

If you pay attention you can definitely get an A. He knows everything to know about the topic he teaches which is awesome and he sneaks in a lot of funny jokes during his lectures (sometimes under his breath)... Overall I really enjoyed his class

I love Joe Portanova. He is one of the most intelligent, well-read people I've ever known; knows the history of the world almost by memory. Lectures are informative & effectively crystallize the readings. Very fair grader; put forth an effort and you will do well. Is an enthralling man, take him for his intellect, passion, humor, & teaching ability

He is such a smart man. He really knows his material and you learn SO much. He doesn't allow computers/recorders, so you have to take really good notes. He is a tough grader with essays, but his exams are really fair and if you did the readings you're fine. Oh and yes, you have to do the readings. Definitely take him, though. He's worth it.

I had Portanova for Topics. He was great; basically everything you expect a good professor to be. You had to do all the readings, which were sometimes pretty interesting, he graded fairly, and didn't give overwhelming amounts of work. I hated the research paper but I got through it. Take him, he's so nice and very smart!

Portonova is the best you could ever hope for in NYU. 1.he's extremely knowledgeable; 2. he does give a damn about the students; 3.he's really good at teaching (crystal clear!). you learn SO MUCH from him. His rules are simple and don't have loads of work, all very reasonable. Take him while you still can cause his session closes so quickly !!!

Those comments were true... he is not so hard at grading, but still has way of keeping students commit to the class, lectures are mandantory, it's a seminar, you can't really "not participate", but most of the time it's interesting, intelligent, insightgul ! seriously, take him, and you have half of your tuition money well invested.

One of my favorite teachers ever! So much so I took him for two semesters. He's hilarious and his classes are really interesting. I 100% would take him again if I could. You'd be doing yourself a favor taking him! Also, tests are pretty easy because he gives out really helpful review sheets explaining the tests. One of the best teachers.

Every semester I hope that I will get a Prof that can even compare to Prof Portanova and every semester, I am disappointed. He is one of the few profs at nyu that is genuinely nice, and does not stick up his nose at you. Without question, the best prof i've had. Do yourself a favor and take him, esp for SSD.

You have to really read for this class, but it's all worth it. I feel like I really learned a lot during class. He provides really good study guides for midterms. But he grades papers a little harder, basically don't choose topics that everyone is going to choose. One of the best Profs I've taken!!

most nice and sweet professor you will ever meet. always willing to help and answer any questions you may have. highly recommended if you want a sf course less focused on vague philosophical theories and more about historical significance.

Portanova is a delightful person who gives 100% to his students. His class is more history than philosophy, but its amazingly clear and easy to follow if you pay attention. Heavy reading, but you can get away with skimming occasionally and he goes over things you don't understand in class. His Met trips are amazing! Highly highly recommend!

Great professor. Make sure you read for class and do try to participate because it is an important part of your grade. He is approachable for discussing essay topics and midterm/final were not too difficult. They simply serve their purpose of testing your knowledge of key points in the reading. Class discussion clarifies a lot as well.

Professor Portanova is the most amazing professor I've had so far; he's so intelligent and really inspires you to learn and work hard in his class. He is not the easiest professor, but he helps you so much with papers and is a fair grader. Wish I had him for SF III!

If I don't get him for SFIII I will cry. Had him for two semesters and he is brilliant. Two essays, 1 mid term & final which consists of two identifications and one longer essay which is basically identify one quote and discuss its themes. Does reaction papers throughout but nothing too brutal. He really cares and an A isn't too difficult TAKE HIM

Absolutely take him! He's the sweetest, funniest guy and he really cares about how you're doing in his class. Not an easy A, but if you do the readings, participate in class and seek his help for the essays, you'll be fine! So passionate/learned about his subject. If you're into the history aspect of SF more than the philosophy, he's the one.

Portanova is a fantastic professor. Extremely intelligent and straight-forward; he is ALWAYS willing to help in any way he can. He genuinely cares about his students and it's easy to get an A in the class if you keep up with the reading. Exams are easy. He grades essays a little harder but there are PLENTY of topics from which to choose. Great guy!

Prof Portanova obviously knows a lot about what he's teaching and he has a good sense of humor. He definitely cares about his students, although he grades a bit hard. Sometimes class was a little boring, but I felt like I learned a lot.

I absolutely loved Portanova. He is so knowledgeable and so helpful. His lectures are sometimes dry, but his jokes make everything better. Work hard, do the readings, and go in for office hours and you should be fine. Make sure to speak up a lot because participation is a big part of the grade. His class is definitely worth taking!

Professor Portanova was the best thing that ever happened to me. He showed me how to be an engaged student, and how to love history. If you're looking for an easy A class then get out. He doesn't have time for easy A type students. But if you love learning and you work with him, he'll change your life. Office hours are a must for papers. Also hot

Great at explaining the readings-- but there is a TON of reading every night. Participation is crucial, and he is pretty tough on grading the essays.

i love u man

It was a good class. Th materials were interesting and Professor Portanova kept it interesting. Make sure you do all your homework and go to class and it'll be an easy A. Lectures are long, but mostly interesting. Professor offers help for papers and questions. Take it. Papers and tests are easy if you pay attention in class and read. Good class.

He really knows his material, just make sure that you know that he is very HISTORICALLY inclined. Good professor, sharp dry wit, very critical of NYU, even if his lectures can get long and mind-numbing once in a while. Breaks up these lectures with a few jokes, but they're more subtle than all-out funny.

Portanova is really nice and funny but also very intimidating in class. He knows his stuff and is super intelligent, will definitely help you if you go to his office hours. There's a lot of reading and you better know your stuff because he will expect you to always have done your reading.

Professor Portanova gives out a syllabus with the exact assignments for each class in the semester and sticks to it, which is nice. Sometimes he gives questions to be answered and turned in for a grade just to keep you on your toes. Real talk though, he's easily the best professor I've ever had - the passion he has for the texts is contagious.

Just love him, amazing class engagement!

SF1 Funny guy who loves his dog

Professor Portanova is really knowledgeable and passionate about the areas he teaches, but he can be unclear on grading criteria. Definitely do the assigned readings (there's a lot) and answer the discussion questions before class. Really helps you understand the material better.

Portanova really cares about the material he teaches, very prepared for class, and there a wide variety of materials used: literature, poetry, art, photography, film--you name it. He makes the class exciting with his jokes and whiteboard drawings, also very engaging. Helpful during office hours, excellent professor. Assignments are interesting too.

I LOVE Portanova. He expects a certain amount of dedication and effort from his students, but altogether he's not a particularly hard grader. Read the assigned hw, and you'll do just fine in class and probably on the midterm/final, too. His lectures were interesting (the man is so knowledgeable) and he told fun stories in them. Also, field trips!

Great professor, signed "swifty Morgan."

My friend and I used to refer to him as King Joseph the Reasonable. If he gives you a bad grade, it's totally fair, and he doesn't expect anything insane from you in order to get an A. He can be surprisingly funny and charming, and his map-making skills are INSANE. Super memorable!!

I took him for both SFI and SFII and it was a blast. He is knowledgeable and loves participation. If you do the readings and listen to the lectures, you will do fine. He expects a lot in essays but the exams are definitely doable. He's hilarious and just an adorable human being. 10/10 would take again. I wanted to but his classes fill up so quickly

He knows literally everything about the material. Very knowledgable but his reading expectations are wild. He never cancels class, but he will likely be about 10-20 minutes late every single day. Midterms/finals aren't hard (only 3 questions) so really only need to thoroughly study 2 texts for each exam. Don't waste your time studying everything.

Joseph is my favorite teacher at NYU. His lectures are hysterical, and incredibly interesting. Make sure to go to class because he bases his exams on content of class discussions, but they're really not hard if you do the reviews. His office hours also helped in the two papers he assigns, and he's a very fair grader. All in all a phenomenal human

Professor Portanova is incredibly intelligent and knowledgable. His lectures are very interesting and he has a sweet, quirky sense of humor. He is always at least 10 mins late. But he gives very straightforward and interesting reading and paper assignments. Ask him about his dachshund.

You have to put the time into this class. Do the readings, take notes, listen well in lectures. Portanova is a fantastic lecturer - so much knowledge to share and fun stories thrown in for effect! It's a hard class, but it's rewarding when you put in the effort. Lots of reading, and he expects you to participate in speaking to it in class.

Portanova is one of the best professors I've had at NYU. You definitely have to do the readings before class, but it makes the lectures engaging. He also picks really interesting literature for the class that covers more than just White European authors. His exams are straightforward but he's a tough grader on papers - but office hours are helpful

DO THE READING!! if you do the VERY CLEARLY LISTED READINGS and take okay notes than you're solid for his class because he pretty much goes over the readings in more detail. For SF1 there are 2 essays, pretty easy midterm and final. He lectures mostly but adds humor ever so often. It's not THAT hard to do well in his class

Portanova is a great professor. He is very lecture heavy (and yes, will go on tangents), but it's obvious that it's because he's passionate about what he's teaching. He's very accessible outside of class, and he gives great feedback during office hours. Just make a point to comment/ask questions during class, because he does grade on participation.

Portanova is a quirky, nice professor who makes for an enjoyable class. He sometimes goes on tangents but always makes sure the material needed is taught. The readings can be a bit heavy but if you participate or ask a Q once every class you will be fine. Midterms and finals are easy as long as you paid attention. Ask him about his dachshund.

A LEGEND!!!! One of my favorite professors at NYU so far. I took him for sf1 and for sf2 & may take him again for sf3! Unfortunately he did have health problems last semester but that is out of his control & I managed to get a good grade anyway. I think you really only need to do the reading & work hard on the essays and you will be fine!

Professor Portanova is extermely understading and kind. His course requires a lot or reading and there is essay writing. If you meet with him a before the essays are due and bring him a draft of your essay, he'll give you some pointers and you're likely to get an A. He's literally the best!

Such a good professor learned so much from him! You don't need to do all the readings, especially because he goes over them in class but you should know 2 -3 readings pretty well. Readings are also really interesting so they aren't that hard. You're paying thousands of dollars for college you should at least try.

Portanova is such a great professor. I'm not really that interested in the ancient world but because he was so passionate about the material, it genuinely made me enjoy the class. He's also super understanding, kind, and funny. Definitely do the readings and take notes in class which will help for the midterms and finals. I totally recommend.

He is such an understanding professor. There was an assignment I was uncomfortable doing and by emailing him I was able to get an extension for that assignment. His lectures are fun given ppl actually want to respond. His writing assignment are clear cut and we have a research essay where you are given a lot of freedom what to write about.

Professor Portanova is so sweet! I had him in freshman year and sophomore year and he was a delight. His classes are lecture-based mainly but be sure to take notes so when the essays come you're ready. However, you can go to him with a draft before the essay is due and he'll tell you exactly what to do to make the essay better. midterms are easy!

overall he is rly nice. He didn't give me great scores on the first paper and midterm but that's fine since he actually grades on a lot of things. If you have trouble with anything, just go to office hour and he will literally tell you everything you should do. btw he is also rly caring.

One of the best professors I've ever had. He's super knowledgeable and funny and clearly cares about his students. A couple of papers but we had no midterm. Extremely accessible outside of class and always offering personal meetings for feedback. As long as you participate he'll know you're putting in the effort and give you a good grade.

Jo is a sweetheart. He assigns a lot of reading, which you just don't really have to do. We had one online quiz and our midterm was also a take home online test. Two essays which are not bad at all. You just have to have a organized paper and prove your argument. No need to reinvent the wheel. give him a solid 7/10. not bad a bad choice at all.

Professor Portanova assigns a lot of reading, but it's not really necessary to do. We had a few take-home quizzes for homework for which you did have to complete the reading, but you can still do well without doing most of the work assigned. We had two relatively easy essays with topics to choose from and an out-of-class online midterm and final.

Quite possibly the sweetest man on the planet. Portanova cares about his students to no end, and knows so much about the topics he lectures about. The assignments are easy, and you can skim the readings and still be totally fine in class. He can be disorganized, but he cares a ton and grades very generously. One of the highlights of LS for me

Portanova has a lot of readings, but you don't have to do them to do well in the class. He's passionate about what he does and always has the answers to any questions you may have, but he's also humble and never makes you feel bad if you say something wrong.

Excellent professor, some readings before the class but no writing homework. Have 5 essays, each 3-4 pages long, but no midterm and final. He is very clear about what he teaches in class. A very nice and responsible professor, take him!!!

GWS I. Not the easiest but probably the best overall professor (other than Hussein) that I took back in the LS days. Really a great guy and very interesting class.

Not sure if he even still teaches anymore but he was a very easy professor for me. Although there was a lot of readings for homework, you can kind of skim thru everything or read summaries and be fine. If you didn't read just pay attention in class instead. Essays were also given early in advance with a clear rubric.

The course is extremely well organized and structured. The topic and required readings for every single class are detailed clearly in the syllabus. Very clear instructions and grading expectations when it comes to essays, midterm, and the final exam. So long as you put in enough effort, you should do fine in the class.

Literally the best!

While the class has a lot of readings, you can manage to do well by focusing in class and using helpful study tools like unstuck AI. The professor is knowledgeable and approachable, making the course engaging despite the workload.