3.1
Quality3.1
Difficulty56%
Would Retake102
Reviews56%
Would Retake
102
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
29
4
22
3
10
2
23
1
18
What Students Say
“Very nice guy, pretty easy class but don't take him if you actually care about learning the art history because he basically teaches nothing”
ART110 - 1.0 rating“IMPORTANT tips for quizs, open the lectuer he posted online while u doing the quizs , and you can easily find the answer, thank me later”
ART110 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
87%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.13 avg changeRatings by Course
PREHISTART
5.0
(1)ART110342
5.0
(1)ART610
5.0
(1)ART519
5.0
(1)ART315
4.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
GREEKART
5.0
ART110342
4.0
ART416
4.0
ART112
4.0
ART110H
4.0
Reviews (102)
Boring but a nice guy; a lot of information to remember in the class!
The only problem is his st-st-stuttering. Lots of info to absorb, but overall he's very enthusiastic about Roman Art which is always good to see in a prof.
Boring as all heck! Too many "uh's" and "um's" and the upper division class is 3hrs straight. Tests were reasonable (open book), but getting thru class was often unbearable. Focus on contrast/comparisons and take all online assignments
snooze fest, a lot of uuuuh's and uuuuhm's (class started counting) but his genuine interest and demonstrations make the class worthwhile!
If you're into Jeff Goldblum, then this is the prof for you. His "deep thinking" style of speech makes you spend more time trying to finish his sentences than actual learning. He is a intelligent and funny guy though, but he ALWAYS runs out of lecture time; he throws out what he misses though.
He comes from an Archeology background. He stays 4/5 of the course on ancient cultures and the last weeks he takes care of the rest of Art History. If you want to know anything about modern/contemporary art, this is not your guy. If you are conservative, even moderate, this is not your guy.
Umm...boring. Don't take unless u have an interest in art history and are willing to memorize like 65 images for each exam. Easy grader and the tests are easy once you have studied, but it takes a long time to study. Not recommended for general ed. nice guy though.
Excellent prof.--intelligent, good communicator and passionate about his subject. CSUN's art dept. is lucky to have him.
Owen is genuinely enthusiastic about what he teaches, and that enthusiasm shows! He's somewhat scatterbrained at times, and the research project is tough work if you take it to its fullest (I did). It really pays off, as Owen really rewards students who work hard. Very intelligent man, very fascinating. I enjoyed both his classes thoroughly.
Has a lot of enthusiasm for his subjects BUT he can't really teach. You're on your own basically. Just read the book, memorize slides, take the exam. I was asleep during the ENTIRE semester but i got an A in the class cuz i did the studyin at home by myself.
No Comments
Awesome guy. Great prof.
I be completely honest with you. Unless your are an art historian major, this class is not for you. I don't know what was wrong with him this semster but the class was a complete disgrace. He is very enthusiastic about that subject but did not present the material in an interesting manner. The tests are unfair with no constructive preparation. bad!
This Professor is more of an archeologists then a western civi art teacher. The way he lectures and talks is very not understandable. i put so much effort and time to study and do the homwork but yet i still didnt deserve the grade i should. That was not fair.
hard, unfair, and way too much work..
I wouldnt say he is hard just that he expects a lot from you on the tests. Beware, he can be boring but he is funny at times. If you participate in class the time goes by much faster. He seems to have a lot on his plate which causes him to be forgetful regarding due dates, tests, etc.
Despite the fact that the class can be boring unless you're an art history major (which i am not), Prof. Doonan was very straightfoward and presented the material well. There are weekly writing assignments, which aren't too difficult. And then there is the Midterm and Final. He gives study guides though, so it is not that bad.
A bit of a mumbler but very knowledgeable in his field. Don't rely on him to make the subject exciting; it's up to you to do that anyway! Loved the artwork!
i didnot enjoy this class even though i like history and art. He doesnot have clarity in explanation and seems pretty unorganized. I guess you cannot avoid this borring class if you are in art major, but if you can, take someone else.
the most boring class i have ever taken, try another teacher.
This is a truly exceptional professor. His lectures show tremendous depth in knowledge about ancient art. I would highly recommend his classes for those interested in art history and for those needing to fulfill ge requirements. The midterm and final exams are challenging but you come away with having learned a lot. Attendance is important.
Those who’re saying this professor is wonderful didnot take any art hist. classes with really knowledgeable teachers. He has NO organization skills. He sets the deadlines & forgets about them, but if u forget, u are screwed. His notes are useless He shows a slide and mumbles about it for 20 min & all you can get is sentence of useful information.
Doonan is not easy by any standard, he will keep you on your toes, but if you pay attention and read the recommended text you will gain valuable knowledge. His class lectures and slide shows are as interesting as you make them, and he is more than happy to lecture about a discussion you may propose. Great teacher and archaeologist-reccomeded highly
This professor is extremely boring. It is a challenge to be able to sit through his lectures. He might know the material well, but has absolutely no TEACHING skills. His exams are all about how much you can write about the subject. He expects you to explain the material well in the exams, yet he can't do a very good job himself. Not very organized!
He's a really nice guy and tries to make the class interesting by slipping a joke here and there, but the class is still boring. Exams are ok, and he gives you a study guide online.
Poor Professor Doonan. Why does he insist in teaching when he could just stick to his archeology career? Super unorganized, super boring, unclear on what to expect until you've taken the midterm. Somewhat of a nice guy, but not good at transmitting educational information.
He gives pretty easy weekly hw assignments that you can get straight out of the book. His tests are pretty hard. If you do all the hw and do bad on the tests, you wont get anything lower than a B-
He is very boring. Spent most of my time doodling or pretending to listen. But I love this professor. It is very easy to get a good grade on his class if you just do all the homework and know the subject. You'll learn if you do the homework. The exams were multiple choice + small essay portion. Very easy class. I don't know why people are complaini
this is really boring and i spend my time online on pages like THIS ONE. definately take this because its easy and bring your computer to class. the online days rock. gives you an hour to chill with your friends and do your class at the same time.
He's very nice and approachable, but the class is very boring. Exams are neither easy nor hard. One group presentation,a final paper, a midterm, and a final exam.The exams are in short essay format.
Owen Doonan is a very interesting professor, but very disorganized. Essays are due every week, but the website is not unlocked until the last minute, for posting. Exams consist of over 100 slides, 100 terms, and an essay each exam. On-line class requires you to be logged in at a specific time and respond to on-line lectures. A lot of work!
Professor Doonan Rocks! He is extremely knowledgeable, interesting & very approachable. Gives a detailed study guide for midterm and final, do-able, but a lot of slides & terms to memorize. Weekly essays are straightforward. Online class requires you ?attend? class online. Prof Doonan is AWESOME ? Great dry sense of humor, I highly recommend him!!
SOOOOOOO boring, do not take this guy if you have any interest in Art as he will completely bore you out of the subject
Professor Doonan was very fair in grading, and if you are interested in class, and if you like, attend sometimes, and if you like, participate, he's super cool. He's willing to help you if you just ASK! He was a little disorganized, but you will learn from him. Overall, he was great! I would take him again! The Romans rock!
he's an art historian and an archeologist so some boredom is expected. i recomend taking his tues-online/thur-inclass class. its cool and you stay awake for tues at least. lots of reading hw (1 ch/wk) and 1 (100word) essay/wk. midterm/final not bad but do study a little at least. he's funny and nice. attend class/ do most of hw and you'll be fine.
Prof. Doonan is easy to understand and very clear with the assignments. Fair grader. Learned a lot from his class. Thumbs up!!!
Professor Doonan is no push over and you learn a lot in his classes. For those of you majoring in art history,anthro. or history, is classes are not to be missed. He combines the study of art history with anthropology because, he is an archaeologist. He really loves to teach and it shows.
Terrible teacher. Rambles on about excavation instead of focusing on art. Unclear in assignments (eg: for the midterm, some people wrote 3 pages instead of 9 cause of unclear directions)Does not respond to e-mails and gave out wrong phone numbers. Boring lecturer - nearly impossible to stay focused in class. Does not adhere to syllabus either.
Nice professor, but not very interesting in explaining material. Online portion attendance is mandatory, but not classroom. Teacher seems to be a nice person and interesting person, but the class tends to be on the boring side. Lectures seem too lengthly for what is on the exam.
Horrible teacher, attendance is not mandatory, he goes on and on about dig sites and doesn't talk about the actual art. Don't even other emailing him he wont respond. Doesn't had back assignments, doesn't follow syllabus, just rambles about archeological stuff. Dont take this class
No hyperbole in saying he's the most boring professor I've ever seen.Lectures are brutal, if you can make it thru one you deserve a medal. You're lucky if 30% of the lecture is related to art. Textbook is a must as part of the exams were open book. Only plus,he's not a hard grader,but I wouldnt reccommend,find another art history credit if possible
His midterm (if he follows syllabus) is 3 essays, open and closed book. You compare artworks you've seen and artworks you haven't seen then he makes you guess what are the ones you haven't seen. in my clas we ended up doing 4 essays and had to go on a fieldtrip to getty villa to write 3/4. Lectures are ppt, bring a laptop for notes and to kill time
This class was not at all what I expected for a one hundred level class. I would recommend taking the half online class so you don't have to listen to his boring lectures. Make sure you do all the essays and follow his rules for them carefully, and participate in the online discussions. His tests and final are really hard so memorize everything.
EH. Class was very boring! Exams were even harder because he would force you to memorize 100slides and use only 8 on the exam.
This class was really interesting but boring at times. The professor is nice but kind of corny and not always clear in his instructions. His midterm and final were a little annoying because there were so many terms and images he wanted you to study but doesn't even test you on more than half of them. Study for the midterm and final!
Took this class half online half in class. Definitely recommend because it can get really boring & having to be in class for two days would be rough. He's relatively easy. Midterm, final, and 7 discussions. He's a hard grader (for a 100 level course) on his essays but his tests are easy. He gives you an exact study guide which is super helpful.
Class was easy the first few weeks. He then dropped the exams from hell because he asks you to memorize 70 slides and uses only 10. He asks to remember 50 terms and only uses 5. He also gives you 4 essay topics of which he chooses 2. You had to site at least 3 images to each culture you're comparing. ( Full name, date, culture, and place)
late everytime and give students hard exam.. i don't like him
Frequently late to class, not very helpful with assignments (or hard to reach as he does not respond often). He does enjoy the subjects, but often fails to make any information relevant. Late to the midterm session by 15 minutes, class still ended on schedule.
He may seem easy at first but his midterm is from HELL I don't even want to imagine his final. Class always runs over he rambles on and on and never makes a point. I would advise you to take a different class. His class is waay too much work for a 100 level
LOTS of memorizations... almost insane. But the professor is really nice. Didn't think I would get a good grade in this class since I got a D on the midterm. But managed to pull an A in the class cos I studied a hell more!!!
Professor must be very busy at home as there is almost no time for him to actually be efficient in class or online. Never responds to e-mail, frequently forgets to put up assignments and extra credit, forgets to put up study guides for midterm and finals. If you are up for this class and pass, nothing in life can stop you.
One of the worst professors I've ever had. I had to teach myself all the material. The tests require you to memorize a load of tedious information that isn't used. He never posts graded material or assignments when he says he will. I could never believe anything he told us about assignments because he would always end up doing the opposite. Boring.
Insomniacs rejoice! We found a cure! Nice guy but insanely boring. First off, his classroom is always about 85 degrees and the lights are always off. He says "ummm" and "uhhh" more than actual words. What he lectures in class is basically useless on the final and mid-term. You have to memorize the name, date and place of 80 paintings for each exam
Owen is a very engaging and thought provoking professor. Knows his material very well, and encourages students to gain an interest. Class can be rather time consuming and difficult if the student is not an art/art history major. Essays due bi-weekly, and are graded by his T.A. Ask questions when you can, study, and learn how to effectively memorize
Everything about my semester with this teacher was terrible, and many other students felt the same way. Instructions are very unclear, and he doesn't lay out the class assignments very clearly in the beginning either. He showed up late to almost every class, and then kept us late as well. Highly recommend NOT taking him. He def knows his stuff tho.
So bad. Since you only meet once for this course, you email him questions and you get NOTHING. He schedules review session via online on Sunday night, 2 nights before the actual midterm and, no show. He doesn't show up for the "online review session" that HE scheduled. When we need blue book for exam, he fails to tell us. SO much reading also. BAD.
It was a Hybrid online course, he is a very nice guy, but there is a lot of memorization to do, it is not impossible though, online part gets a little boring.
One the few best professors on campus! I wonder why he has such low rating. His lectures are really interesting -AND I am not an Art major-I am a business major. Art has always been boring for me, but this professor made it interesting and easy to learn. We had 4 groups projects and quiz after each one based on his lecture slides... TAKE HIM!
Very nice guy, pretty easy class but don't take him if you actually care about learning the art history because he basically teaches nothing.
Very nice guy
I took Art 110 with him for his hybrid class. Half in class and half online. In class it was either listening to him lecture or working in groups. WARNING: if you don't like group projects, don't take this class cause I was with my group 90% of the time. The other part is online lecture and I found it difficult to keep up with.
510 is really for art majors. We wrote abstracts every week but they were short and helped you remember the material. The class was basically a group discussion every week, so if you didn't read you were in trouble! Participation matters. If you read, discuss in class and turn in your abstracts, you'll get an A. Got great feedback on my final paper
Nice guy!
Nice guy! IMPORTANT tips for quizs, open the lectuer he posted online while u doing the quizs , and you can easily find the answer, thank me later.
I love this professor. If you communicate with him, he listens to you. I had a really crappy group unfortunately and none of them did the reading or cared about their grade. I struggled with them, NOT him. At times, he can be a little disorganized but ultimately I retained everything I learned. I highly encourage taking his other classes!!
Most people hate art history because they've either had a professor that leaves no room for interpretation or shut student opinion down. Doonan is a gem though and does neither. He gives accurate accounts of the artwork while also giving students the opportunity to express their insights. Perfect for people that love OR hate art history.
Prof Doonan is really easy going and genuinely loves teaching. He can come off a bit disorganized at times, but if you just ask him where you're at the class you can trust his feedback on your grade. If you're a student that needs structure and hard outlines, this may not be the class for you, but if you put in the effort you'll do well.
In this Graduate subject study, Owen gave us interesting articles that appealed to the different majors in the class. We had a research project where each of us got to pick our own topic, and Owen really helped me narrow in on important aspects of Ana Mendieta's work that I wouldn't have thought of before. Embrace the freedom in his teaching style.
This seminar consisted of lectures, group/individual projects, and readings. Participation matters but Doonan works hard to create a comfortable atmosphere. His feedback is thorough and he encourages out of the box thinking. He used innovative techniques to clarify his points which included one of the best explanations of habitus Ive heard.
I have had this Professor for multiple classes (Roman Art, Near Eastern Art, Greek Art) and in each class Professor Doonan has created a fun and comfortable atmosphere. He really strives to make sure that you can understand what you are learning rather than just memorizing dates and names.
Such a nice guy. Tests are hard, but he gives a study guide. Very passionate and willing to accommodate you. Ignore the negative posts - hes such a sweet, intelligent professor. Read the book, PDFs and PPs. Youll be fine. Greek art is vast and fascinating.
I have Doonan 3 times and honestly hes amazing. Hes extremely caring for his students and does his best to assist student to understand his notes. He at times doesnt respond to emails right away but he has his reasons (when i took him one semester he was organizing a major exhibit so he apologized when he missed it). So do approach him in case.
Hes THE BEST. Literally the sweetest, most passionate, most informed, flexible guy ever. These negative reviews are rubbish. Hes a wealth of information and cares about your success. I highly recommend.
Sooooo good! Such a cool, sweet guy that tries to make learning fun. I would take him 1000x over.
Professor Doonan is such a caring and kind professor! His grading scale can be confusing at times and sometimes he doesn't give straight forward answers to questions. Your gonna have to do 4 group presentations and 4 quizzes. Also an essay about visiting a museum. Watch the online lecture that is uploaded before each quiz! It's a hybrid class btw.
You can tell Prof. D has a lot of experience under his belt. He's big on getting the big picture out there, and knows that not everyone taking his class is an art major, but he just wants his students to leave having new appreciation & knowledge for art. Since I took his hybrid class, almost everything was done independently/in groups & online.
He's an awesome professor. Do your work, and show up! It's not a hard class if you do your work/ readings/ quizzes. Here are some things you should know about his class: 1. We have 4 group presentations/ 4 quizzes 2. There is a museum report as well 3. It's half online through Zoom/ half in class working with group on presentations
Worst class I've taken, the students do all the teaching because the class is based on us making presentations about the readings and then taking a quiz about the images we all presented. Boring and wasteful, every class time all we did was read the chapters for 2-3 weeks and present it, then took the quiz online. 4 presentations and 4 quizzes.
Professor Doonan has is students with groups all semester long. Easy class to take. The students just run the show basically. He gives his unwanted opinions in the group presentation.
Great professor, taken him for three different classes. Hes knowledgeable and if you want to get into the field hes pivotal at CSUN for helping students become better art historians. Hes really compassionate towards students that go into CSUN wanting to try their best and get something more than just a degree, but an education and an experience.
Nice person but horrible teacher. I honestly recommend taking art history outside of CSUN if you must take art history for your major. Group projects and test heavy. Lectures dont match the tests. If you end up with a bad group for presentations, you are stuck with them the whole year. Doesnt answer questions clearly at all.
Group projects the whole semester. Work on 3 different sections and you present your slides- he gives great feedback on them when you're done he does answer Qs. He records his lectures so u really have to listen and they're long and THEY DO MATCH TESTS lol you just have to take notes on them and its basically really easy. Nice. Funny. b his friend
3 group projects. 3 online tests. Museum paper. No mid or final. Lectures r online and they match directly to tests, really listen WELL! take notes on them. Listens to students and supervises more in person for groups and teaches online more. People didnt show 4 class at times and it was really sad cause he stayed online no matter what. Great guy.
Just watch the lecture videos he posts online, regurgitate what he says, and you'll pass. Everything in the class is group work and you're stuck with who you get for the whole semester. You won't know what your grade is until the end of the semester. I got a B+ and I don't even know why. Not sure if I learned anything in this class.
he's the worst. he doesn't teach AT ALL. all his lectures are online (from how ever long ago) he will have you show up and assign you to a group (that you're stuck with the whole semester) & you'll be required to read the book depending on how your group is set up (for instance we had to read it backwards?!) doesn't answer questions clearly.
Just 3 group projects, 3 quizzes, and an Essay. Also, makes sure your group members are doing the work correctly because that's the group you'll be with for the rest of the semester!! His class is pretty boring, Doesn't respond to emails and, show up to class with your textbook!!Dont bring the textbook and you'll be given half credit for attendance
Worst History professor I have ever taken. When he approves of your thesis statement (saying it's great) for your group presentation and you present it on presentation day, he will give you feedback saying that your thesis was BROAD/VAGUE and needs work, resulting in a lower grade. He is very inconsistent with his feedback and info. Never take him
You need the textbook to answer the prompt he'll give you for the quiz. You must attend the lecture and jot down everything he says about each piece, this will help you the most when testing. He got rid of group projects because of Covid and wants you to pass so he gives another written prompt outside of the quiz. All around cool guy, caring!!
I took this class during a pandemic, but needless to say, he's a terrible professor. He's knowledgable, yes, but he comes off super elitist and just cannot teach. He doesn't reply to emails, doesn't grade things on time, and is so disorganized. I'd choose him as my very last resort if I were you.
He's a very nice professor and his lectures are pretty interesting and I highly recommend you review them before your quiz. You are given 7 quizzes but he will only take the top 5 you did your very best on. He gives one research paper which I highly recommend don't leave at the last minute. He does not respond to emails but overall would take again
Good teacher very knowledgeable. His class structure is deceptively simple, just keep in mind you will have 2 big test and a 10 page paper and that's pretty much it!
Professor Doonan is a kind man. He is just extremely unorganized and vague about assignment instructions and due dates. Do NOT take him if you value ANY sort of structure and organization. Studying for his exams is a nightmare because of this and the excessive amount of material to study (hundreds of slides, files). This class pushes inconsiderate.
this professor was very kind, sweet, and you could tell he cares about art. however, finding all of the information such as powerpoints etc. for the quizzes is difficult as his canvas layout is confusing. most questions on the quizzes are quotes from his lectures, not facts from the textbook. weekly discussions pretty easy and final was just a quiz
As always, was an amazing professor! Lecture heavy but he will always go into detail with every little bit of info you'll need for future reference such as tests/quizzes. If you have a question, whether related to the material or not, he will answer with care and thoughtfulness. He is also pretty understanding and lenient with homework.
The professor was knowledgeable and skilled in the material, for sure. Grading does take a while, and there are only about 8 assignments, all worth 10 points, so it is hard to get an A. The quizzes are extremely difficult, and those are about half your grade. I never received more than 7.5 /10 points on a quiz.
If you're taking an other class, DROP OUT OF THIS ONE. He wants you to memorize so much, more than 120 images and 4 essays just to pick about 12 images and 2 essays to choose from. PLEASE save yourself, this professor honestly broke my spirit. Despite this, he is a good person outside of class.
Such lengthy lectures that I honestly gave up taking notes because it never helped with the quizzes. 7 quizzes in his own sense so its hard getting full scores on them. Grades are locked so you don't know if your passing or failing. Very slow grader, will take awhile but it doesn't matter since you can't see grades anyway. Just gotta pray u pass.
Nearly fell asleep in almost every class. Don't rec to students with short attention spans. Quizzes include a short written analysis portion. Discussion posts. Every lecture you're just listening to him read off slides and take notes on them. One group project at the end which is not super difficult. Nobody knows what their grade on anything is.
Only graded on midterm exam, final exam, final project.Amount of studying+memorization required for exams was so overkill and miserable. 50-70 artworks to memorize, get tested on 10 of them in the exam. Midterm class average was a high C. Students missed having regular hw/quizzes to balance out grade and help remember any info anything from class.
Absolute worst professor ever. Lectures heavy, quizzes every other week, and locks grades. I got lucky he made the museum essay extra credit, but the presentation he made us do was so annoying. He literally made our thesis and goes it's too broad.. Then goes back and forth how some artworks don't work but then it does at the same time. start prayin
Has grades hidden on canvas all semester. Each quiz has a short essay section, which isn't super difficult. He also takes a long time to grade assignments. The professor is very unengaging and speaks very slowly, but he's extremely knowledgeable about the subject. The final for this class was a group project.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
87%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.13 avg changeRatings by Course
PREHISTART
5.0
(1)ART110342
5.0
(1)ART610
5.0
(1)ART519
5.0
(1)ART315
4.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
GREEKART
5.0
ART110342
4.0
ART416
4.0
ART112
4.0
ART110H
4.0