3.3
Quality3.2
Difficulty29%
Would Retake117
Reviews29%
Would Retake
117
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
36
4
24
3
24
2
17
1
16
What Students Say
“Way too much work for an elective class”
320 - 2.0 rating“It was discouraging to students”
HUMANITIES320 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
92%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.45 avg changeRatings by Course
326
5.0
(1)HUM11
5.0
(1)ASIANHUM
5.0
(2)EASTHUM320
5.0
(1)HUM360
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
1
5.0
320
5.0
HUMAN310
5.0
HUMI
4.0
HUMANITIES301
4.0
Reviews (117)
Test Material Hard to Predict
No Comments
Teacher was not very clear about what he expected from his students and he was not very helpful. The class was much harder than I expected.
No Comments
No Comments
Horrable teacher, spends so much time on the bible there is little time for anything else.
I thought that he was a good teacher. I wasn't so sure at first but most of his quizes are easy. You don't need to do most of the readings either
Smart teacher but he can not teach. Tests can be MC or fill in the blank with essays and could be random.
No Comments
I really enjoyed the class, but tests are somewhat difficult to predict. I learned a lot, and am glad I took him though. Be sure to remember which prophets said each of the quotes he mentions in class.
very easy class overall, just study notes, he usually announces quizzes, material is a little random with not much to learn alot of general info, just go to class and listen and you'll do fine
Atwater is actually a really great teacher -- you just have to study! I suppose his class is a bit challenging but only because it requires you to read and comprehend. He's very friendly and is quite funny. I liked him a lot. He's one of the best!
Yeah, so I took him for Hum and all we studied was the Bible. I'm not against it or anything, I just felt gipped out of what I was supposed to be learning. Also, if you don't agree with his opinon on the religion, you're wrong.
He's really ...'nice'...if you don't understand something..well you understand everything!!! But he's patient. He's not in a hurry like all other teachers, to cram the information down your throat.
Best teacher i had so far. Learned alot, and never a boreing lecture. I plan on taking him agian. take this teach, have fun, but you gotta do at least some of the reading if you want an A. otherwise you can sit through and get an easy B
If you thought this class was hard or dificult, you do need to spend the rest of your life at ARC. He is a crappy teacer, sure, but this was like a high school class. You don't have to read any of the books cause he practically gives you the answers, i would know i did not buy any of the book.
I dont like the stuff, but it is quite easy, stay awake, take notes, pass the class. He loves this stuff, and is realy into it. easy B, study and you can get an A.
His tests are extremly subjective. I think he means well but I was really interested in the subject matter before, and now I will study it on my own. Forgive them for their shortcomings, but it would be nice if they showed the same respect toward the student that's different.
His test are easy he grades pretty cool hell all you need is a pulse to pass his class. BTW he will help if you ask. i will take him agine
Atwater is a really nice professor. He shows compassion and I like how he gets to know his students a little. Reading the texts are really needed except on the little quizes. You just have to listen, take notes, and pass the easy tests.
interesting guy. respond to test questions for every angle you can think of just to be safe . great class
He's a good person but not such a great teacher. It's not really his fault because it is afterall HUMANITIES!! one of the boringest subjects. HE tries to keep students awake by showing slides and group work. His tests are from what he teaches in class. He can be a little **** at times. Have coffee before you go to class!!! DONT TAKE HIM!!
sucks
excellent teacher, LOOKS LIKE JESUS!! has a cool samuray outfit, his tests come straight from his lectures and they are very easy. easy A....
He's a great teacher to take. he's really nice, and willing to help if you need it. He gets to know the people in his class and as long as you study, you should be able to get an A.
Great teacher. His tests are extremely easy if you pay attention, do your homework and look at the study guide. His lectures are interesting and relatable. I would definately take him again and I persuaded my sister to.
No Comments
very corny.... but passionate about what he teaches and is good at giving a sense of what it is like in the country or whatever he is talking about. BUT... I probably wouldn't take him again because he is so corny....a really nice guy...but just not funny
No Comments
I took this class because I have been to the Middle East, but I was expecting something a bit different. Mr. Atwater has an extensive background in religion and relates everthing up to this point to the bible. I want to learn about the Middle East, I don't want to learn about the lord and savior.
He a cool teacher, he is nice.
he was my choir director in high school and then I had him as a college professor, have always thought he was cool
best teacher i have ever... ever had. will take him for anything he is teaching
will someone please get him outta here!!!
Notes mirror the test and quizzes, tells you in advance which things you should study for. If you just sit their and listen you will get a "B" at least. I dont know why people have a problem with him. He is funny and upbeat, the workload is easy. Even in my 6 week class! If you are even half way intellgent you will get at least a B- in this class!
An excellent instructor. Friendly, very messy in terms of organizatio, but overall he will help you and he is very funny!
Very cool. Study what he says to and you'll be just fine.
He was interesting, even at 8:00am. He made the class fun, and will help you in his office hours as much as possible. Not the most organized person, but not boring either. Do the work and you'll be fine.
He was kind of boring. A lot of his lecture were somewhat from the book, but on one of the exams a lot of the test questions were not from the lectures, I guess you just really have to read the book because lecture is too boring.
He was the best instructor I've had for humanities. Strongly recommended.
i would not recommend this teacher to anyone. Very selfish and mean. Thinks he knows everything.
Not a class you can coast through. He is challenging and actually wants you to read the text and understand the material. I consider myself very studious and with effort I got a B in the class. He is fair and very helpful. I would take him again with pleasure!
How did Atwater ever get hired as a professor? If you have taken him, you will know why I ask. Lectures are basically straight from the book, and he clearly just states information you have already read. Poor ability to teach, dull lectures, and humor worse than the back of a cereal box. Take ONLY as a last resort!
Keith isn't that bad a guy. I understand he isn't that knowledgeable about subjects, but I do appreciate the fact that he is willing to learn and listen. You can't cruise through the class, you have to read the text regardless of what. Even though his lectures aren't clear, pay close attention. Nice guy.
I took Modern and Middle Eastern Humanities from Atwater and learned a lot. If you are willing to listen, he teaches a lot of useful information. People that don't like him are the ones that dropped mid-semester and could not hack it. Very knowledgable considering how hard Middle Eastern Humanities must be to teach, Best Professor I've had at ARC.
Not a very fun class or teacher.
this guy is awsome!
Prof. A****er is a nice person, but very disorganized. He is good about responding to emails, good class discussions, but class is boring and I didn't feel I retained anything. Tests are harder than anticipated and do not follow his usual quiz format at all! Writing assignments are graded easily. Overall not bad, but I wouldn't take him again.
A great guy, and a great teacher. Not the easiest class, however, and there is a LOT of reading involved. The tests are not so difficult so long as you mildly pay atetntion during his lectures.
this guy is horrible at teaching. he doesnt have any credentials to teach. he should be fired or layed off.. i hated his class. he makes the class so boring.
He's a good guy, and pretty interesting, but is always scrambling around and jumping back and forth between different topics. Class is fairly easy, I hardly even opened the book. Test questions are straight forward and all stuff he's covered in lectures.
K. wa**er doesn't know how to teach, i m wondering how he got hired as prof. i wont take his class anymore... if u want ur GPA to go down then take him. i Don't recommend his class... the rest ur choice..
This teacher explains things clearly, counts attendance points, drops lowest quiz score and lowest activity score. Taught things about the Bible. If you put effort into the class,and pay attention you will do well! Highly recommended teacher!
I really enjoyed taking his online class. Very helpful and gives detailed example with pictures of his lecture topics. There is alot of reading materials as well as writing. You need to take good notes to pass his quiz and finals.
I had Keith in an 8 weeks class. He had a intern Prof. and it was great having them debate topics that they differed on. Pay attention my lowest quiz was a 13 cuz i didn't take notes. Lots of slides and videos. Makes a packet so you may be able to get away without a book. Got a b and never studied. I plan on taking him next spring Hes awsomen funny
He is a horrible teacher. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS.
Very interesting guy. He had an associate professor named Brad Long who helped him teach the class I was in. He was very knowledgeable about the subject and wasn't afraid to go on youtube or Google Images to bring the subject matter to life for the class. I would recommend taking this class from him. He makes it interesting.
I took his middle eastern humanities class online, there is a lot of reading, but he brings in many interesting sources. the book was rarely used and you will ace the tests as long as you do the required reading. He was always helpful very quick to respond.
The way he teach is not bad but he just don't have the materials ready to teach the class
A good teacher. Totally knowledgeable of subject that He teaches. I hate the subject though. He tests by lecture, and arts are from text. Pay attention to lecture and you can get a good grade. Proff. A****er totally tries that you will pass his class.
Took online class first thing he says is i hate teaching online classes and u will have to work extremely hard to pass. Not a good first impression
Teacher was very hard to understand. He requires a lot of work for not being familiar with the subject. He does not explain subject. He does not include a lot Jewish and Christian studies. It is not what you would expect.
I had him for Hum 300 & 320 too. Interesting classes, and he tries hard to make the material understandable. His class isn't exactly easy, but if you pay attention during lectures and read the material then you'll do just fine. If you ever get confused or have question just ask him, he's more than willing to help you until you get it!
Took his online class. At first it was some what easy, then it got a little bit more difficult because I started to lose interest and didn't care as much about studying. Easy A if you study very hard on lecture materials and properly answer discussions with extreme accuracy. You'll do fine if you put 210% into studying and reading.
Prof. A****er tries to keep the lectures fun--I think part of the reason I started to stop reading was that the semester kept dragging and interest started to fade. Humanities is really interesting, though; he actually relates Humanities to life today, which is what the class is all about. Read a lot. But he's cool.
He talks about keeping religious views out of his class discussions but openly shares his participation in "No on 8" rallies supporting gays and lesbians. He is free to have his opinions but shouldn't be sharing them if he prohibits others from doing the same. I would not recommend taking his class to anyone.
I loved prof. A****er. His lessons were very interesting and he was really funny. I learned a lot about this class. If you read everything assigned then you will breeze through all his tests. Great teacher with an awesome teaching style.
Prof. A****er is FUN! he dumbs down the material for you so it is easy to remember and understand. the only thing required is the READING! always bring ur textbook. he will kick u out if you don't have the materials you need for the class. other than that. he is an amazing and funny professor. i learned alot.
Great prof. he is funny, makes the material easy, and interesting. exams and papers are doable and anyone can get an A or B as long as they invest time into it. textbook are required to pass, he assignes specific pages so you don't have to read all the chapters. gives ex credit. nice guy and approachable. ez A or B
Middle Eastern Hum, ONLINE. i was very interested in learning about egypt,iran, turkey etc and everything was interesting, but (especially for a general ed class), it was difficult and time consuming.use D2L, internet. 2 online posts/week(easy). 2 exams/month. exams were half easy half difficult. i heard in class is fastpaced and confusing deadline
Great Professor,Very approachable.He is a bit of a tough grader, but if you keep up with reading and pay attention, not a hard class to pass. He also drops lowest grade at the end.I would definately recommend him.
His study guides are not very helpful and he jumps around to much to understand what it is he is trying to teach. I would not recommend this class at all
He's a really funny and sweet guy but he makes his class really difficult. You think you know what you're learning but then get tested on completely different stuff. You have to really do all the reading and spend time on the homework. The class is interesting it's just difficult to get a good grade.
Great Professor, provides materials and gives good examples. Knows how to teach but you will need to know the material, if you sleep-you'll fail. Do the assignments and you'll get an A
He is a great professor. Does a really good job at connecting the material to things that happen today. Really tough grader on essays, and his test are a little overly subjective.
Class was difficult, a ton of info(though interesting) & a lot of reading(2texts, 2plays, a novel & a 90pg packet). Prof was nice but not always clear. Very hard grader. Taught and tested & based reading schedule out of one version of the text but the bookstore instructed us to buy a different version. It was confusing.
middle eastern humanities..you pretty much learn only about religion and the bible and he goes pretty quick,yet the exams require a great amount of understanding from the lessons ,every detail is needed.If you're not an auditory learner, it'll be very difficult to follow along with him.
Easy teacher, just read his handouts and do everything and pay careful attention to lecture.
Excellent teacher! By far the best one at ARC, all you need to do is focus, always attend class, study, and do the assignments, and meet with him at his office hours, I guarantee you will do well in his class
I highly recommend this professor for any humanities course you need to take. His Eastern Humanities class was really fun and easy. If you do the assignments, you'll pass the class. He likes what he teaches and finds a way to make class interesting!
He knows a lot about the subject but I felt there were things he was more interested in. He almost never lectures, take notes from the videos and read(book is horrible). Essays are worth 20-25 points,extremely picky grader (although it's your opinion) and this lowers your test score. Make sure you get As on quizzes and As/Bs on tests to get an A.
There is a lot of work in this class, if you attend all classes and take good notes during class & readings you will succeed in a Very interesting class.
AWESOME,highly recommended! Will open your eyes to interesting ideas/thoughts. Class taught with no prejudice, no matter your beliefs, you are able to see things important to others. You learn to appreciate them, and influence of their culture. Lots of interesting reading. Prof provides excellent supplemental resources. Enjoyed all work&discussions
I thought this instructor has higher than necessary standards for a Jr. College course. This was online but he assigned alot of work & assignments were due every 2-3 days. He didn't allow much time to take the tests on purpose (& they contained essay questions)because he didn't want open book. I'm a good student but I ended up dropping the class.
The class is very interesting and the professor gives good lectures. He uses all materials, text, lecture, videos, art, etc. on his tests. This is a college level class and he expects college level work. It's not an easy A, but if you take good notes, you should do fairly well. And I do mean GOOD notes. Also very helpful when he needs to be.
His instructions are way too confusing. It is hard to understand what he wants.I even emailed him for clarification and he STILL did not make any sense! Harsh grader!
Grades on your "interest" in the discussions so unless you are freaking out about how amazing the unit is your studying count on getting docked 1 or 2 points consistently for not showing said devoted interest. Other than that it is a very interesting class. If you are taking 18 units or more I would avoid the class as it requires a lot of reading.
DO NOT TAKE HIM. I got a D in a class that I expected to be easy. Tests are ridiculously hard and makes them almost impossible to pass. He refuses to give full credit on any assignment and is so annoying to say the least. He thinks he's hilarious but he's not and he's rude about things too.
He's extremely disorganized and his lectures aren't cohesive with the test all the time. If you miss a day of class, you're missing a lot of info for the test that's not in the textbook. Some of his test questions come from the stuff he has us watch in class. He's a really nice and relaxed guy but he's a hard grader (very specific), and unclear.
Interesting class and he seems open minded. Some questions on the tests were not covered in the unit. You have to dedicate some time in reading the material. He does not offer extra credit, I do not mind but at least an offer of five extra supplemental points helps.
gives loads of work and grades really hard on test/ overall class grade.
I wouldn't take this class again. He is confusing, arrogant, and changes due dates, etc without warning. Very hard grader with no explanation of why he marks you down. It was interesting but over the top with info you had to know for the tests.
I'm a straight A computer science major, this class is an elective. First time I have not gotten an A in college out of 50 units, so far. The class has way more work than a 3 unit class should, like 9 units worth. You have to read 50-200 pgs of philosophical text, write an essay and then do a nit picky, remember every little detail test every week.
Attend class because his lectures are very important. He's very helpful but at the same time very unforgiving. If you miss a quiz he will not let you makeup for it unless you have a medical excuse. A ton of reading required for this class too.
One of the best professors & classes I've ever had! Well designed, super interesting, wide variety of articles, books, videos, etc. The ONLY online prof I've had that actually interacts, and feels as engaging as live class. Mini-Essays are weekly and fun. Fair tests. Challenging. If you like to learn, you will like this prof! He really cares.
LOTS of reading/videos, average amount of writing to other online classes. Hard to navigate so many documents, but prof. is responsive to questions. Uses diverse materials to keep it interesting, but I didn't have this much reading in my capstone class for my major. Will learn lots if you love religious studies and culture, but it's a lot of work.
he is a great teacher, dont get me wrong, but he really makes the tests seemingly impossible. I failed a test for the first time in my life in his humanities class. he also offers NO extra credit!!! he is fun to listen to though! but it is not an easy C let alone an easy A.
Prof. A is a great guy, and on top of that, a great teacher, in my opinion. His lectures are VERY important, but everything he says goes right onto the test. I'm not going to lie, his tests are hard, and he grades homework ruthlessly, but as long as you take notes and pay attention, you'll be fine. I'd take another one of his classes anyway.
Way too much work for an elective class. Tests and Quizzes focus in on small details that no one would remember rather than the overall theme. Interesting topic but not a good teacher, at least for online.
I had so much trouble navigating through this course. He makes things incredibly difficult and routinely gives large amounts of homework for very little points. I was also accused of cheating because I was able to recite a sentence he wrote in his study guide off the top of my head. My recommendation? Don't do it.
Gives lots of homework not worth much. Too many different assignments gets very confusing. Tests are tricky and not clear. Wouldn't recommend taking the class.
Lectures were interesting because the subject itself is interesting, and because he is goofy himself. Study guides did not match the test at all, and they were very confusing. Amount of work we are expected to do does not match the amount of units we receive. Wouldn't recommend unless very passionate about humanities.
Hmm . . . high scores on here could be from the professor rating himself, he's that arrogant. Was excited about the course but he assigned tons of work for the amount of units for a junior college, plus he's disorganized & hard to please. It was discouraging to students. Wouldn't recommend taking if you work full-time & take other classes.
You are going to read A LOT.... Posts are easy to get done, but they didn't help much with the actual test itself. They are timed so just make sure you read thoroughly and watch the videos because the test do ask about them. If you are taking other classes, working, and have a family maybe pick a different class because it is a lot on it's own.
Took this class online. He makes it fun. If you read and do the assignments you will do well on the quizzes and tests which makes the class an easy A but you have to stay on top of the work. He is very knowledgeable, well traveled and passionate about his work. Very great guy and fun to talk to in person.
I put a lot of time into this course. There are lots of pdfs, videos, long discussion posts, 3 essays and lectures to work through. The quiz questions are about identifying pictures or what occurred in videos. Would not recommend for working people. The final was 67 questions and 60 minutes. Class av was 60% on the quiz due to abstract quizzes.
Forum posts are EXCRUCIATING! Answer 3 or 4 questions - but each question is a multi-part question! Posts take more time than the rest of the reading. If you don't answer EACH part of EACH question precisely, he dings you. The quizzes are about minute details so you better know which video/pdf it came from. Don't take other classes with this one!
Hard to please! Nothing you do is good enough. Always nitpicks and finds a way to make himself right. Trick questions. Doesn't help students succeed AT ALL. More concerned about being right than cutting students any slack. Just because he knows this stuff inside-out doesn't mean everybody does. Lighten up!
I enjoyed the class because I love learning about religions, but the class was difficult. Be prepared to read and write pretty often, and don't procrastinate.
You need photographic memory for all the course video and slides, or have prior knowledge of all art history periods in this online course. It's mainly art history, you don't receive as many points for the questions that relate to intro humanities itself. First class I received less than a B, I don't recommend this for other engineering students.
This professor gives a tremendous amount of work, one question is basically four parts. He times everything and doesn't provide enough time to do the work. Nothing is good enough for him, he is arrogant and will doc you points on everything no matter how above & beyond you go. Absolutely terrible. DON'T TAKE HIM.
This professor doesn't give feedback - seems to talk in a condescending manner like "figure it out yourself" attitude. This class was ridiculously hard - as in a lot of trick questions. Very stiff and hoity-toity. NOT worth it. Not a lot of interesting material. Try to avoid HUM classes - basically history & cultural anthropology combo. BLEH!
Challenging but not difficult.
He is a very tough grader and will doc you points for things not mentioned as required. The quizzes are very difficult, averages are around 17/25 (a D+) since they are overly specific and CONTAIN MULTIPLE CORRECT ANSWERS (he states the answer choices are good, better, BEST). He does genuinely love the material and gives feedback AFTER he grades it.
The majority of your grade are the discussions and quizzes. You have one paper but its pretty easy if you actually read the info he gives you. He has all the units posted so you can always go back or ahead. He was a pretty understanding teacher if you had some kind of family emergency. You are pretty much teaching yourself but it isn't hard.
Very organized online instructor. Syllabus was executed well; no surprises. Steady, consistent weeks. He made everything due on Mondays and Thursdays, which was helpful. If you missed any 5 items, you would be dropped. Discussions were beneficial. Reading & writing intensity was probably average. No complaints, really.
Lots of material is provided each unit, which wouldnt be an issue if it werent for the fact that the quizzes each week have a lot of trick questions. Some questions have nothing to do with the curriculum and are rather memory games to prove the material was read/watched, but its done in an ineffective and damaging way. Not a great method...
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
92%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.45 avg changeRatings by Course
326
5.0
(1)HUM11
5.0
(1)ASIANHUM
5.0
(2)EASTHUM320
5.0
(1)HUM360
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
1
5.0
320
5.0
HUMAN310
5.0
HUMI
4.0
HUMANITIES301
4.0