3.2
Quality3.0
Difficulty58%
Would Retake92
Reviews58%
Would Retake
92
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
21
4
21
3
19
2
23
1
8
What Students Say
“this is the beauty of continental philosophy-wonderful, stimulating class”
PHIL202 - 5.0 rating“Also, whoever said she was cute”
PHIL202 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
83%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.61 avg changeRatings by Course
PHILOSOPHY202
5.0
(1)PHILSECT
5.0
(1)PHIL458K
5.0
(1)PHI280
5.0
(1)PHIL320
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
PHIL202480
4.0
PHIL458
4.0
PHIL458K
4.0
PHI280
4.0
PHIL
3.5
Reviews (92)
smart but seems a little shy. doesn't seem to have control over the classroom; too much smug intellectualism went on from students b/c of her lack of control. this class would be better with discussion sections
Totally lets her favorites speak all the time and then she ignores the rest who want to speak. In class quizes are so stupid.
She definately has favorites. And she is very partial to her views, so if yours differ from hers...Watch out.
very intelligent, knows material very thoroughly, and open to all comments. can portray the opinions of the philosophers without showing biases (for the most part), and always seems to answer questions in the right way.
I spoke all the time in her class, got an A, and I dont think I was one of her favorites
Kinda cute, but inonsistant grader. Let smug know it alls run the show in class way too much. Favored certain philosophers more than others and graded accordingly.
She is horrible. Doesn't seem to know anything and is extremely boring. Never take a class with this woman. Her grading methods are extremely unfair!
A pseudointellectual snob. She doesn't have an original idea in her head, but she does a lot of long-dead people's ideas up in there. Totally plays favorites. If you want a good grade just agree with whatever she says. Don't think!!!!
Seems knowledgable about material and presents it clearly. A lot of people have said they don't like her, but I think she encourages you to really think about the material, unlike the regurgitation other professors require.
She's brilliant. Highly recommend her.
one of the worst teachers of philosophy ive ever had the misfortune of encountering.If you are not prepared to swallow every opinion she intends to cram down the collective throat of the class, then stay away.
I love Kant because of you
No Comments
she should stick to teaching undergrad. she has no right leading graduate level discussions. she doesnt know how to teach. she forces her opinions on u and will cut u off while youre speaking if u argue against her. SHELL PUNISH U THROUGH GRADES NO MATTER HOW MUCH U PARTICIPATE IF U DISAGREE W/ HER!
These people are pretty right when they say she likes to shove HER opinion down your throat. She's not very good at dictating the lecture and reads from the text a lot. Also, whoever said she was cute... i beg to differ.
In my class she's been really great about showing the positive and negative points of each philosopher. Sometimes she does show a personal preference, yeah, but I never felt that she was unfair because of it.
(Note: My class was large, so TAs graded everything.) Zinkin is a clear and knowledgeable lecturer. Although a Kantian, Zinkin's not as biased as some reviewers indicate; she states philosophers’ strengths and weaknesses. Helpful during office hours. Give her a try and see for yourself.
I THINK SHE IS ONE OF THE BEST PROFESSORS IVE HAD HAD SUNY BINGHAMTON, I THINK THE KEY IS WORKING HARD AND GOING TO OFFICE HOURS, SHE WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL. To top it off on a scale from 1-20 on a hotness scale, I clearly give a a 21. Who ho for this professor. Take her class. And from the Math department i recommend you take Schick. He's awesome.
she knows the material but as far as discussions go she demands that you particiapate and dosen't listen to what you say,she has planned responses and will manipulate your words so she can use them. no respect for students. ****. kiss ass and you'll get a good grade
the first class i was amazed, but now its dragging on and im sick of the same material over and over. I don't know if shese open to many new ideas, but shese good at explaining concepts. the reading is tough but her ability to make things clear by drawing them out on the board helps a lot. If you dont need it, skip it. But i've had worse.
Alright Zinkin sucks and hates people with opinions but the class is an easy A if you don't listen much, don't think much, and just agree with whatever she/ the philosophers say in your essays. Really, give up your opinion and you will be fine. She does forcefeed ideas though.
Awesome prof, way knowledgeable. Yo, do not fear a female prof who challenges your ideas. Go with it, expand your understanding the way you would with a guy prof. You will learn in the end!!! Mad props to Prof. Zinken for teaching me to back up what I say, make reasoned arguments, and criticize lame premises!
Zinkin gives (often) incorrect or one dimensional readings of texts. Due to this, she misinterprets more nuanced student comments, and is often uncharitable in her reconstruction of those arguments. She comes across as intellectually timid. The reading list was interesting however.
She is an awesome professor. She know's her philosophers and is really great at bringing in other theories and philosophers into the mix. She does get flustered when students take to much control of the classroom discussion. Her expectations are appropriate and she is more than willing to meet with students. Awesome professor!
Zinkin's greatest downfall is her power/control issues.Halts lecture several times per classto yell at students who may be whispering,no bathroom breaks,constantly seperates/embarasses students.Paranoia in giant classes leaves her looking like a babysitter not a philosophy prof.Late every class.Forgets we are adults who are paying her salary.
Terrible professor. Does not allow bathroom breaks, is generally immature and yells at students. She is also inconsistent with her reading assignments, some taking 10 minutes, some taking three hours. Also, the quizzes (every class) are often on idiotically specific details. I've done every single reading and I've gotten about 1/2 the quizzes wrong
She is really good. The class was a quarter based on easy quizzes that she gave every class in order to get u to come to lecture but after the first few quizzes you figure out how to take them and they are easy. the other three quarters were take home 3 page papers. She explains everything clearly and she is pretty funny.
This course could have been very interesting. I focused more on writing than the subject matter. The class assignments were boring and difficult. The reading materials were difficult and thus made the entire course boring. I struggled too much to get a decent grade. Take this class/professor only if required.
Zinkin did a great job of surveying the major ideas of D,H,K. She was especially good at explaining the material in a straightforward way. A few kids in the class had problems with her. At times she was a little bit dogmatic in her defenses of Kant (note: she's a Kant scholar). The class had a light workload; make sure to read before the quizzes!
The quizzes were easy as long as you could find the main issues or bold type words. Attend class because thats part of your grade. Write a good paper and you'll be good. Not a bad instructor at all, offered great insight. I would recommend her.
Great Professor! Her lectures can be hard to follow sometimes but that is partly due to the material. Very helpful in office hours. It is obvious that she loves philosophy and tries to make subjects interesting. Go to her office hours and it will be an easy A
Decent professor; she's charming, knowledgeable, and open to (at times, extremely pointless) questions during lecture because she loves philosophy and teaching it. However, as with any other class graded by TAs the class is graded way harder than it really is, so be warned. The class really is easy, though.
Took two classes with her this year. Easy grader. Participation matters. Reading is long and tough, but she is there to clarify every little detail. Paper is fairly graded and feedback is very well-thought. She is friendly and open to ideas. Highly recommended for any classes you take with her.
Dr Zinkin is a really nice professor. At first she comes off a little domineering, but on the second week of classes she is more open to student feedback. The class is small and comfortable, just make sure you participate at least once. The readings can be confusing but a lot of them are really interesting. I would take it again.
Zinkin is an extraordinary professor at bing. so lucky to have taken a class with such an intelligent Kant scholar, yes defenses of Kant may appear to be dogmatic, but this is coming from a renowned philosopher who has studied every nuance of Kant. this is the beauty of continental philosophy-wonderful, stimulating class. changed my outlook on life
She's really sweet and helpful, and if you're genuinely interested in the subject, she is fantastic! She loves if you participate and is always receptive to questions. Overall, great experience!
I took her seminar on justice & gender and I really enjoyed it. Zinkin is a fair grader and her feedback really improved my writing. The lectures were interesting, and always integrated different philosophical topics, sometimes even cinema.
Took Justice & Gender with her- Professor Zinkin is quite knowledgable in her field and she actually cares about what she is teaching. It was definitely one of my better philosophy classes because the readings and ideas are more modern. She takes attendance every class and participation is 20% of the grade- other than that there's only 2 papers.
Perfect at what she does
Everything she says is contradictory to get last statements. She says that lectures are not mandatory, and then starts taking attendance for a 130 person lecture hall. The class is very reading heavy, if you do them you'll pass because the lecture is just going over the readings. She also calls people out for anything, like going to the bathroom
Every single class is a fight to stay awake. She fails to make any of the course material interesting during lecture. Simply restating whatever the textbook says. The class started with non-mandatory lectures but now she takes attendance every lecture. Also canceled her office hours during the week of the midterm.
This professor makes the class extremely confusing, and does not explain things well enough to test on them. I think that the class material should be interesting, but the way she teaches it makes it not worthwhile. She is a nice person, but I do not think this class was great, and she said she would review all the material at the end but didn't.
She posts the lecture notes online but theyre hard to understand if you dont go (really boring i fell asleep every time) discussion is the most important part they cover everything learned in lecture the TAs literally run this class theyre incredible just go to their office hours I was nervous about this class at first but Id take it again
If you read what she assigns you will be more than ok. She is easy to follow
A real gem
Most of the class is just learning about philosophers, we have about 2 lectures that have to do with what the course should be about. She rambles and is very hard to listen to, she also agrees with everything said in lectures and sometimes seems like she has little comprehension of what the student is saying. The course is just memorizing theories.
Boring lectures
Professor Zinkin is very passionate about philosophy, but she unfortunately is not capable of effectively teaching any of the curriculum. Her public speaking skills are not exactly up to par with the average professor, so her lectures are not even remotely informative and quite stale. Unless you are a PPL major like me, don't take the course.
Professor Zinkin is extremely knowledgeable and knows how to explain these topics to students.
Professor Zinkin is extremely boring. You don't necessarily need to show up to class, but she gives out a ton of pop quizzes so that students are forced to come. Just read all of the homework assignments and pass the pop quizzes and you'll be fine. Barely anyone participates because they're just there for the pop quiz.
Overall as a freshman I was concerned with how much work I'd get but I realized it wasn't as much as I thought. There are lots of assigned readings but as long as you skim it you'll be fine. Ms. Zinkin is a great professor that has a lot to say I was just hoping that each article and book could relate to each other in some way but few did. Ez class
Professor Zinkin is really passionate about this topic however it can be somewhat boring sometimes. Read the assigned readings and go to class because she gives pop quizzes if you want to pass.
I honestly didn't always read the textbook and didn't pay much attention in lecture and still got a B+. She goes very slowly and does not engage the class at all. She started randomly calling on people in lecture, which was nerve wracking.
Prof Zinkin was okay, not awful but did not feel motivated by her lectures it was hard to pay attention even though laptops werent allowed. no one participates so she calls on you randomly. she posts notes after lecture which is helpful& her paper criteria is very clear. she does her best and puts in effort which I appreciate if you listen you pass
Professor Zinkin is not a very good lecturer. Her lectures are very boring and she is not clear when discussing topics, she is not very engaging. However, PHIL147 was a very easy class to pass, just do the assignments and show up to discussion. You don't need to show up to the lecture. But a very easy class to pass if you need the credit.
Professor Zinkin was a decent professor. Her lectures can be boring but it's a philosophy class. She was very kind and makes her notes available online. Attendance isn't mandatory but I would recommend going. Her grading criteria are clear, the TA you get makes or breaks the class, so try to get a good one.
Zinkin is a little boring, often she goes over the same information for too long. She definitely knows her field and is easy to understand. It's an okay class. there are better classes to get an H credit, but if you have to take this class, it really isn't bad
Dr. Zinkin is a great professor and lecturer. Homework is graded way too harshly- worse than some upper levels I've taken. The key to this class is to keep up with the work and take some notes. Dr. Zinkin is super passionate about what she teaches and is happy at every lecture :)
Dr. Zinkin is very knowledgeable about Kant, but she's a dry lecturer. She's understanding so make sure to communicate with her. Lecture notes are uploaded after class and the 100-word reading responses are due before every class. Short quiz in class every week (questions are in lecture notes). Just hope you get a nice TA because she doesn't grade.
Interesting course and decent at lecturing. Not too many assignments and most of the grade is based on two in-class papers and one take-home paper. Readings are easy to find online and not too difficult, but hard to understand, so lectures are good for clarifying. Posts lecture notes.
Not a bad professor. Easy lectures but the TAs are very annoying when it comes to grading. They grade as if its an upper level course so it may be tough to get a really good grade on basically anything. Just hope your TA isn't annoying.
The most annoying thing about this class is how attendance is mandatory when honestly most of the knowledge can be found reading the required readings and attending the discussion group. The actual lecture felt like a waste of an hour. Zinkin however is a really good professor and helpful outside of class, and def knows the material very well.
Had a goated TA who practically saved me. Barely learned in Zinkin's lectures, all my quality notes were from the textbook and the TA. She also doesn't project so it was hard to hear her voice. Attendance was annoying when you really learn from the TB and discussions. Weekly homeworks weren't too hard and boost your grade. Papers also not bad.
PHIL457C: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much reading holy moly I could barely keep up but her lectures are kind of not at all cohesive and isn't a fan of note taking on the computer. Is opposed to ever giving full credit on a summary or anything. Idk if ur a PPL major go ahead if not don't take this class there is 100% something easier
Zinkin was fine but boring. Your grade solely depends on your TA. My TA was a hard grader, so I missed getting the easy A I thought I was going to get but I know some people had a TA that grades easy. It sucks that your grade is based on what TA you get stuck with, but I got an A- with not great grades on the papers so it honestly worked out fine.
She refuses to give 100s on assignments that should be an easy 100. Grade is made up of exit tickets (attendance is mandatory to do these exist tickets), 2 in-class essays and 1 final out-of-class essay. Don't take unless you need to/really love Kant, Hume, and Descartes.
Phil202 is an interesting class ONLY if you enjoy philosophy. You can only get a bad grade, 88, 92, or 98 and they are very stingy with giving 98's so most people end up with A- on the tests and homework. Also attendance is very much mandatory- even if it's excused you still lose points for not doing the in class response.
Class is rather boring, same thing every class. You're graded on responses for the reading due when class starts and at the end. If you don't come to class you lose your grade on the exit slip and can't make it up. Graded with 88, 92, 98 on all responses. Stingy with grading on everything so good luck arguing your case.
Ridiculous grading system as others have already stated. Boring class. Don't take unless you are required to.
Pretty boring professor and very strict attendance (daily pre- and post-lecture quiz). By putting in the work I would do for a 400 level class I still averaged an A- for papers. Too hard for being a lower level, only take if you are a phil major. TA was very accessible, prof not so much. She didn't really seem to care ab students.
i enjoyed the class because i'm a ppl major, but don't take it if you don't like philosophy. you have to submit weekly discussion posts based on the readings, but it's hard to get a 100 on them even though they're short. exams are pretty easy, it's a few short answer questions and an essay question but she gives you the essay question in advance
As someone who is not doing any type of ppl major, I do not recommend this course. Her lectures were pretty boring and gave us pop quizzes occasionally. Attendance was mandatory and as long as you have a good TA this class is not too bad.
Overall I enjoyed her class because it involved economics and philosophy. If you don't like these subjects it could probably be very boring for you. Takes attendance and pop quizzes so you have to show up to lectures and discussion sections. If you look over the readings and go to lecture you should do well. At times could be boring but good.
The class was simple enough, lots of readings that weren't always necessary or relevant. I felt like the TAs graded very harshly for a 100 level class, especially in the weekly responses. Pop quizzes during class were incredibly simple but the tests were a lot more in depth than anything we discussed in class, making it much harder to score well.
I have a different experience with the last comment. My TA taught so well and explained the key concepts in a way I could understand them the best. He bluntly pointed out our problems soon after the first in-class exam, which enabled us to make improvements for the next two. However, if you hate closed-book exam, don't take this course,
I feel this course highly depends on whether or not your TA is knowledgeable and kind. My friends and I encountered different experiences. They were registered for Thursday evenings and complained that they learned little during the discussion sections. Enrolling in Friday mornings, I was happy with my TA's teaching style.
I understand why some ppl were frustrated by this test-heavy course, but I don't think it is so bad. There were three closed-book exams, which accounted for 60% of the grade. Each time, your answer book would be graded by one of the TAs randomly. Overall, it is not easy to get an A, but it is also not difficult to get an A-.
The only complaint I had was the mandatory lecture attendance. The discussion sections are more helpful in breaking down the course materials in a more understandable way. My TA is very smart in reorganizing the content delivered by this professor in a way that I can understand, though he has an accent in his spoken English.
The TA (Nadia) I met in this course is the worst so far. She held office hours just before the submission deadlines of the weekly responses, which were inaccessible to most of us. It was hard to schedule an appointment with her outside of her normal office hours. Worse, she was not familiar with the course content but still graded our work harshly.
It was terrible for this professor to schedule the lecture class and the discussion section on the same day (Thursday), and the TA was not considerate. I had exams in the morning, needed to submit weekly responses in the afternoon, and then attended the discussion class in the evening. I regret not switching to William's classes on Friday.
Nadia was not too bad. I attended the discussion sections and participated quite actively every week. Eventually, I got a A-, though I could not achieve all A's in the exam. Some classmates did not show up in the discussion sections but were angry about their low participation marks. I don't think it makes sense.
William is definitely better than most other TAs at BU. If you submitted everything on time and participated in the discussion sections, I could not find any reason for your failure to achieve an A-. The long essay questions were given two weeks before the in-class exams. The main reason, I guess, for scoring below an A- was ill-preparation.
I was told that this course has 3 take-home exams and weekly responses, but the professor changed the assessment to closed-book exams this year. What's worse, I registered for Thursday evening discussion sections just because I did not want to wake up early on Friday. A series of wrong decisions has greatly impacted my GPA. My TA sucks.
This professor's lecture slides are hard to follow. Sometimes, she delivers content not included in the reading list or on the slides, which makes me less confident in my ability to fully understand her lectures. This course includes three closed-book exams and weekly homework submissions, which are quite stressful.
It's pointless to discuss the character and quality of TAs here. If you felt that your TA was the key factor for affecting your study, then this course was not a good one. The key issue was that Zinkin changed the assessments to closed-book exams to avoid AI cheating. This arrangement did not prepare us well for living in the modern world.
The course content is interesting. Zinkin gave the long essay questions about two weeks before the in-class exams. I disagree with some of the negative comments here. Some classmates were just lazy and irresponsible, playing online games or viewing social media during the lectures, and then blamed the professor for imposing harsh grading.
Nadia was a nice TA. She gave high participation marks if you actively participated in the discussion sections. This course was test heavy, but I thought the grading was fair. If you thought this was a harsh introductory course, you would be very likely to score very low for Phil 146 Law and Justice. I am majoring in PPL and took both.
This course has three exams, but they are not difficult. I scored higher than 93 on each of the tests. Overall, I don't think my TA is influential in determining my final grade, as all of my tests were graded by other TAs. However, I did notice significant differences in learning abilities among my peers during the discussion sections.
My TA (Nadia) held the discussions in an interactive way. The atmosphere was fun and not stressful. Unfortunately the ways we discussed were not directly related to the exam questions in many instances. Another annoying issue was that this professor required us to submit short weekly responses, but I preferred to write individual essays.
Dr. Zinkin was clearly knows her field very well and is passionate about it, the lectures are mandatory and pretty dense. The exams are very easy and make up 2/3 of the grade, she provides the essay question a couple weeks before the test. You can get away without doing any of the readings, as all the material is went over in lecture.
This professor doesn't know how to teach philosophy in plain language. Her lectures and exam questions are full of academic jargons. If you don't study those jargons well, it would be difficult for you to score an "A". This assessment style discourages genuine exchange of ideas. She has no bad intention but is just detached from reality.
Really nice professor and light grader. Try to keep up with the readings otherwise you'll get lost quickly
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
83%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.61 avg changeRatings by Course
PHILOSOPHY202
5.0
(1)PHILSECT
5.0
(1)PHIL458K
5.0
(1)PHI280
5.0
(1)PHIL320
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
PHIL202480
4.0
PHIL458
4.0
PHIL458K
4.0
PHI280
4.0
PHIL
3.5