2.7
Quality3.1
Difficulty41%
Would Retake117
Reviews41%
Would Retake
117
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
29
4
16
3
11
2
27
1
34
What Students Say
“He behaves badly with his students by reading their papers out loud in class and embarrassing them”
HIST31132 - 1.0 rating“My goodness if you can avoid taking this professor pleASE do so by any means necessary”
HIST264 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
59%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.85 avg changeRatings by Course
31182
5.0
(1)WCIVD
5.0
(1)HIST3192
5.0
(1)INDIA3123
5.0
(1)HIST3501
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
HIST31323
5.0
WORLDHISTORY
5.0
HISTORY102
5.0
INDOHIST300
5.0
WCIV
4.8
Reviews (117)
CAlls student Stupid and lazy
He is arrogant and expects you to know the stuff that he is supposed to be teaching you. He gets cranky when you dont read the text and is very stubborn with explaining stuff. I think hes **** a bit...(my opinion)
I hate him.
kameena aadmi .. ullu ka patha .. rest u know
He's rude, doesn't follow his syllabus, hard to understand and heaven forbid you get one of his class question incorrect. Expects us to know everything as if we were professors. Very arrogant. Refreain from gettin him!!
a bit mean, plays favorites. does not elaborate on the reading assignments which are quite extensive. god forbid you ask him to elaborate on a question he answered if you didn't understand his response. easy to get a good grade in his class though. very sharp dresser.
Doesn't follow the syllabus, so it's difficult to understand the concepts being covered in class. Second required text, "Chandigarh", is boring! Easy to pass his class if you take really good notes though.
horrible
i cant refer this guy as a prof. He does not come prepare. He just starts talking about events that we have yet read on his syllabus. when he ask us a question, no one was able to answer him. so he decided to quiz us on the reading. he does not follow his syllabus. do not take him, take Lewis.
arrogant, whether you participate or not in class, he gets angry at you, belittles students in general but if you do the readings and go to class and pay attention for the most part, you'll do fine...
you can get an easy A in this class, without even reading the material, just take good notes.
good professor
A horrifying waste of time. I learned nothing except about his personal politics and how to unfairly tear apart someone else's ideas. (He thinks he helping people think better.) He puts in no preparation at all. At heart, I think he's well intentioned but he's completely misguided.
all he did was try to belittle our class and talk about his world views. whether or not it was kosher. but this innocent girl had to drop his class when he embarrassed her in front of the class.
He makes you buy his book "Ghandinagar"-boring.He's a cold hearted SOB, condescending, arrogant. Don't ask him to repeat anything, likes to embarass students.easy A, rarely takes attendance. Simple tests. no need to read just take notes. eaaaassy midterm.
No Comments
There are only 2 grades in the semester & he's not very forgiving. He embarrasses students with intentions of "challenging" them. He only takes attendance when he see's that not a lot of people have shown up. His lectures can be interesting, but it's not the best class to take just to meet a requirement. He doesn't notice how rude he is.
I do not advise anyone to take this prof. He reads word by word from a book that we dont have . He does not like to repeat or answer anyone questions.
Prof. Kalia is a very smart man - and that is his biggest defect. His intelligence leads him to treat his students in a condescending manner. The lectures were boring most of the time and he reads straight from some notes he has. Take good notes because the textbook is hard to understand. If you need this class, I recommend taking another prof.
Just agree with anything he says and he'll adore you. If you're Indian and you agree with anything he says it'll be even better and you'll get an A.
No Comments
No Comments
I found the first book for this class, easy to read and helpful. His class is not the easiest, and you will have to read one of the most boring books ever written also (He wrote it) it really has nothing to do with history. His lectures are usually boring, but he rarley takes attandence, so dont show up if you dont wish to. Be ready to read a lot.
A bit of an odd guy. Checks out the women in class a lot. Had him in 2 different classes and both times he invited the class over his house for a party. Has mood swings from nice to nasty. Certainly not politcally correct. Has no fear of ridiculing you when he knows you're wrong or stupid. Somewhat of a bully. Will force you to buy his crappy book.
This professor is a complete jerk.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ENJOY BEING RIDICULED. IF YOU MUST TAKE THIS CLASS, GET ANOTHER TEACHER! HE'S BORING, MEAN, MOOD SWINGS EVERY OTHER SECOND, BITTER MAN. SAVE YOOURSELF FROM A D, AND AVOID KALIA!
No Comments
BORING, god he makes you want to go to sleep in his class, talks nonsense, blah blah blah, not an easy grader
WARNING THIS IS A PROFESSOR YOU DO NOT WANT TO TAKE! If he is your last option just don't take the course, leave it for next semester take the course with someone else. He is boring and loves to make people feel stupid. If you do take his class don't talk unless you know "everything" because he'll find the smallest thing to humiliate you in class.
Good Luck in his class
A very bad professor. He dictates all the notes, though he sometimes rambles on about useless crap. Don't question him or he will make u look like an idiot. The textbook is useless. Test however are pretty easy. Just take good notes or know someone who does. Avoid having this teacher if you can.
his goal in teaching is to make his students feel stupid. do not DO NOT ask him a question. you will regret it.
bad professor. ask him a question and he will make you feel like an idiot. he is a tough grader. grade was based on essays only and the essay questions were confusing themselves. a whole paragraph is just the question you trying to answer in your essay. don't take his class
Great Professor. Has a great deal of knowledge and likes to challenge his students. In my experience in his class, the only students complaining were the poor performers. Not a tough grader if you know how to write and research at the college level. Take his class if you really want to learn something. Not for students looking for an easy A.
No Comments
He is really mean. He does not care about your feelings and makes you feel stupid. Avoid him if you can.
This professor makes us read his stupid novel and later tests us on the final. All he does is lecture in his monotone voice. One of the worst course I've ever taken and a waste of my time.
If you are OK with the traditional rigorous style of proffesor-take him,but one thing he definetely doesn't like is too many questions. Although, he is very knowledgable-if you are serious about this course you can learn a lot. Only 2 tests(midterm and final). And-NO, he is not tough grader.
Professor Kalia likes to challenge his students,he is very knowledgable-and don't pay attention on those who tell you anything negative about him-if you study you have nothing to be worried about-it's very simple-if you study you'll get an A,if not then you're in trouble(of course).Only 2 tests,midterm(short answers and MCQ) and final.
Great professor. Really makes you think. I went from knowing relatively nothing to really getting into Afghanistan and whats going on in the world.
Kalia is a pretty easy professor. All you have to do is READ THE BOOKS he assigns n you'll get the easiest A in the world. I never went to his class and i still got a B. He gives an in class midterm in which he tells you to describe 10 of 15 events related in british indian time. The final is a take home essay and an in class essay and 4 short
I really don't know why he is rated poorly but I'll say this, if you listen well in class, you will pass his class - even without reading. He gives you few tests and a paper, what else do you want? If you don't like him, you don't like school.
Prof Kalia is a intelligent professor with a corny humor. He will target anyone in class for sleeping/coming late/using phone/ etc. Other than that he is a good professor and very easy to deal with. His exams are fairly easy and his lecture is interesting. He uses his own books that he authored in class along with another text. Attend, Learn= PASS
great Professor-very intelligent and very fair-he treats students like adults and not like high school students therefore he is not strict about attendance however with this fact it is fully a student's responsibility to not to take advantage of this free choice and come to class for their knowledge and not just for the sake of building credits-
It is truly unfortunate to see how those students who are not willing to learn neither are responsible enough to appreciate learning are the ones posting negative comments about Professor Kalia-his class is an ideal history class since unlike other classes it is stress free since his lectures are crystal clear-there is only one paper great class
his lectures were boring for me, tests were fair and he is a fair grader,doesn't requires to bring the bks to class but expects us to read em to answer the final. a bk that he wrote! overall an ok professor...
Unorthodox. He never takes attendance. He didn't know 75% of the student's names. The class is easy, read the book and listen. He gives clear lectures. The subject matter (Gandhi and such) is hard to make boring. He's very left-wing though (he loves Obama), which I found irritating as a right-winger. But you can overlook that easily. Take the class
He never took attendance, so he didn't know anyone's name. How he calculated our participation grades (15%) is a mystery. He gets irritated if you challenge what he says. We had to read a book he wrote - Gandhinagar - it was so boring. Whenever possible, he lets his teacher aide run the class by showing us a movie or doing a review. Waste of time.
Rude, unhelpful, unprepared (although he obviously is smart and knows a lot); the two books for the course never discussed. Read all the reviews and you will get the picture. AVOID HIM.
If you want a professor who will know you and sincerely care about your future, then stay away. First day, he doesn't give us any contact info - no email or anything - because he doesn't want anything to do with us besides lecture us two times a week. Disgusting. Participation is 15% of the grade, but he makes you feel dumb when you ask a question.
He's not THAT bad. never take attendance but he knew names since the class was small. You have to read and participate or you'll get a bad grade. he doesnt hold your hand like other professors do. he expects you to read and research to understand the material before entering class. YOU have to engage with him and ask questions to benefit from him.
I don't know why other people say that he's not that bad. I mean come on, what's not bad about a professor who doesn't care about his students AT ALL? What's not bad about a professor who gets mad when you ask a question? What's not bad about a professor who bases 10% of your grade on participation, but doesn't know anybody's name?
class had no direction. Like he never prepared. Just came in and improvised. He'd often waste a lot of time on petty issues. He didn't read our work. Just tossed our book reports to his TA. I doubt he even read our final essays which were over 10 pages long. I think he has this job only because there's no one else who can teach Indian history.
He's smart but he can really shake up your confidence. You say something, he'll bury your ideas to the ground in front of everyone. He should realize that students will naturally know less than he does. His class also lacked solid structure. The syllabus was skin-and-bones, with no real schedule. We had to guess what the next lesson would be about.
this professor has a reputation, so he has many commitments outside teaching. you have to work to reach him for help. he shows 3-hour movies just so he wont have to teach 2-week's worth of classes. other days he'll put his TA in charge and run to a phantom "meeting across the street." he makes you buy his book, which I see as a conflict of interest
Be careful with him. For a professor. he has poor tactfulness. He embarrasses students who say something incorrect or inaccurate. And not constructive criticism, he basically calls people stupid. Sometimes he read papers / termpaper topics out loud & criticized them in front of everyone. I felt sorry for some of my peers on more than one occasion.
The worst I ever encountered. Totally disengaged with the classroom and with his students. Hardly prepared when he walks into class. Gives vague, sometimes nonexistent, instructions for assignments. Is really disrespectful and uncaring. This professor is the sort you need to avoid at all costs.
Awful. Just awful. I don't recommend. This man said or did stuff that sickened my stomach. He deliberately hides contact info from students just to minimize his responsibilities (though CCNY pays him $117,000 per year). He never explains clearly the agenda for each class. He bases 15% of grade on participation yet embarrasses students who talk.
I took his course a year ago. I too was a victim of his participation scam. He graded us on an in-class exam, a final paper and participation. I got A on the first 2 (85%), but I never spoke, so I got B grade. Imagine that - you do perfect, A level written work only to get a B final grade solely cause of participation, which is totally subjective.
He is a tough grader, and his lectures are boring. He does let us out early often, though. Everyone sleeps in his class, but attendance is not mandatory, and he has a sign in sheet sometimes. The midterm and final are both 10 multiple choice questions. Just go to class, read the book, and do well on the paper, and you'll pass.
I thought he was okay. I mean, you have to make adjustments, like no emails or attendance, but in my opinion that's his right as a professor to run his class the way he wants to run it. He's intelligent , grades fairly, is usually prepared to teach. The in-class exams werent so intense and the final paper is no worse than any other final paper.
I love Professor Kalia. He is very sophisticated. His speech is organized and intelligent. His method of teaching is entertaining but he gets right to the point. I would definitely take him again. I am learning more than I expected in his class. I feel fortunate to be his student.
Prof Kalia is a great professor. I've taken him twice. He assigns about 3 books and a response per book and a final paper. participate, read and engage and you will do well. He's laid back but he knows when students are slacking. He's also available anytime for any questions you might have. Extremely smart and flexible. He just wants you to learn
Professor Kalia is a very fair professor. As long as you read the books and do the assignments in time you will get a good grade. If you show improvement he will take that into account. His lectures are informative and he relates the topic to modern times.
I took WCIV 10200 with Professor Ravi Kalia, he is actually one of my favorite professors. He's really a nice person and very helpful. He delivers the material in a very smooth understandable way were you enjoy every single lecture with him! In addition to that, he is very fair and clear, 1 midterm, 2 papers and a final. TAKE HIM !!
He was an amazing professor. He was very easy to listen to. Participation was key but he made it very easy for everyone to have a chance to speak. There was never any homework because as he told me the first day, "this isn't high school anymore", which I loved. It really minimized my stress. Two test one mid term one final both ten questions. GREAT
Professor Kalia's class is filled with rich history on India and the Mughal Empire. He assigns 3 books, 4 essays and uses class time to lecture on topics based off the readings. His lectures are very detailed and you leave the class with valuable knowledge about the Mughal Empire and their rich culture. Would defiantly take again.
He's a very smart guy, and his class is easy if you just take down notes every class to study with.
Prof. Kalia is one of the brightest professors I've had in city college. His knowledge in world history is amazing. As a veteran I took his afghan war in film and let me be clear, don't let emotions drive your thought. Your opinion will be tested If you don't have academic and historical facts. For the ones complaining, do the reading and pay atten
Prof. Kalia is a genius. You will do great if you actually do the reading and study. Do not comment things you have no idea about, be prepared to be challenged. Do the work and discuss and you'll go great.
Professor Kalia is great because he really cares about students. He will help you if you are willing to help yourself.
Professor Ravi Kalia is one of the best Professors at City College. He knows what he is teaching and most importantly he never lets you go empty handed. One thing I will definitely recommend you guys is to go to class prepared and show some effort. Do all your assignments and you will be fine. 100% recommended!!!
Dr. Kalia is very clear about what he wants students to do. Do not try to lie to him. He asks students questions that reveals if they are lying or telling the truth. He wants students to participate in meaningful discussions in class with everyone. He does not give tests but instead he gives papers and just the final exam. He is a great professor.
Lectures are interesting. Most of the things covered in lectures are from the textbook readings. Easy grader. Overall a great Professor.
Professor Kalia is a great lecturer. I am currently taking his WCIV 102 class. His lectures provide a framework for the supplemental reading for the class. If you keep up with the work, you will do well in the class. Also, he is approachable if you ever have any questions.
Professor Kalia is a very smart guy and I enjoyed his class to a great extent. He absolutely did make me feel uncomfortable when he stared into my eyes, yet it forced me to know the material.
Professor Kalia is extremely dedicated and intelligent in that he knows his history. His way of teaching is loved by some like me and hated by others. He basically tells history as a story, just talking and writing the occasional note on the board. It can get boring sometimes but if you have a profound interest in history you will love his lectures
Very Nice professor! Very easy class! Pick him
Professor Ravi Kalia keeps his students in his best interests and awards them on potential internships that can really boost the resume of a college student.
Ravi Kalia is a great professor. He's an amazing grader not strict at all. His class is v chill.
Professor Ravi Kalia cares about the students at CCNY. He is inspirational and very knowledgeable of world history. He challenges you to participate and give insight on the lectures and topics at hand. He is kind and wants every kid to succeed not only in the classroom, but in life. You won't regret taking his course.
His class is not interesting. He behaves badly with his students by reading their papers out loud in class and embarrassing them! I don't recommend him!
As long as you keep up with the readings you will do good, when I took his class he did not give homework just the readings no papers just one that he gives you the whole semester to work on it , he gives it in the beginning of the semester and its due at the end of the semester. the tests he gave out were multiple choice and only 10 questions.
He was a great Professor, it was a very engaging class, All that was required was a 10 page paper as the final and 3 short papers which, if you read (or skimmed) the assigned books it was easy. He's also forgiving if you show any level of interest in the class.
Prof. Kalia's class was probably the worst class i have ever taken. Not only are his lectures boring, if you answer a question wrong he will embarrass you in front of everybody. He does not respond to his emails and spends a lot of time talking about his pet cat
He's one of those professors who will remind you that you have to take your own responsibility and he does not go too hard. You have to do your own readings. Two exams: one midterm and one finals all MC. One term paper and if you participate, he will know you more and this will help your grade a lot.
His lectures are important! show up to class and you won't need the book!
The worst professor I have taken at City. If you want an extremely sarcastic, condescending, repetitive professor, look no further.
Let's make sure to never forget this professor's character.. Feel free to google his name to learn about the documents he falsified that resulted in his request for tenure being denied.
Grade was 100% dependent on 3000 word Paper- or so you think it is. He cares a lot about your conversation, thought process, and overall understanding of the course. He plays devil advocate and this may cause tension, but he does it to make you think. Good life lessons(influenced by Ghandi and more) and fun especially for a summer course.
I was worried to initially take this class because of all these reviews, but honestly it was such an easy class. He never took attendance and my grade was based on one paper. I won't lie, the lectures are pretty boring and repetitive, but he is passionate and really likes to hear your opinions. I only went to class like twice.
super easy class, sit in front and copy answers as he's grading. Never takes attendance, Lectures are boring. Has one assignment ( paper) doesn't even read it, as long as you did it you get full points. The easiest class every. I got an A+. Don't even bother with the textbook.
Terrible terrible professor I have ever taken in my 2 years of college life.
He is rude, will insult and embarrass students for simple questions. Does not require textbook. Takes really long with technology. Waste a lot of class time, trying to figure out how to use the laptop. Does not take attendance except for days class seems a little empty. So don't skip because you never know when he will take attendance. Good Luck!!
I took his class years ago. Still remember a lot of what he taught me. Studying Indian history is wonderful so its worth it for that alone. Kalia does have an ego and harshly criticizes students at times, but I never sensed that it was intentional. I sensed he really wanted people to learn. Make sure to participate or youll lose 10% of the grade
He is rude, will embarass students for sure if you not sure about a question. Class is very boring because he just stalk no slides no PowerPoint nothing just him. show up to class. He can be quite understanding when it comes to papers hell let u turn it whenever your done with no points taken off. Do his work and you get a A
This course is compose of discussions and lectures. Due to Covid-19 we didn't have any exams just papers. Nothing really changed much with his lectures aside from it being virtual. He just stands and talks the whole class and asks questions. He doesn't use the board or powerpoints. A Tip to passing the course pay attention to what he says.
Hes really good. One or two papers, flexible deadlines. He scares some people but hes not that bad. Knows what hes talking about and can help you a lot if you're into this field. His class on Pakistan was one of the best courses I took in college.
My God he is beyond rude. He will yell at and embarrass students for simple questions and went on rants on how the students in school are dumb or "not ready". Not to mention, he's not very good at keeping a class engaged. I deeply regret not dropping his class or even just taking it in the first place. Also, he goes off topic so much .
He was one of the best professors I have ever taken. Very knowledgeable on the subjects he teaches. If you pretend to know what youre talking about you will be called out. He isnt rude but firm with students that dont accept constructive criticism. If you want to do well in school and in life youll learn a lot from this professor.
Excellent professor who cares, uses excellent source material, is up to date, friendly, an undemanding. You get out of his classes what you put in. I recommend availing yourself of a top-notch learning experience!
make sure you take detailed notes or you will not pass this class, ans get ready for his midterm!!!!
RUDE VERY RUDE
The midterm requirement was ridiculous. He's also very disrespectful. I asked him a simple question on behalf of the class and he flew off the handle. I won't take any of his classes ever again! Freshmen, I do not recommend him!
Terrible person. Constantly goes on tirades against his students about not participating in his class when he asks vague, unclear, and sometimes pointless questions. Doesn't understand how to use technology so online classes are even worse. Genuinely one of the worst teachers I've ever had.
HE IS INSANELY RUDE AND LIKES TO JUDGE HIS STUDENTS WHEN IT COMES TO NOT ANSWERING A QUESTION CORRECTLY OR FAST ENOUGH. I DO NOT RECOMMEND RAVI KALIA AS A PROFESSOR
RUDE and does not explain topics in a clear and concise way. I took his class during the pandemic and it was so hard to pay attention due to there not being a powerpoint, presentation, no writing or anything to pay attention to, just his talking. Only work was 2 midterm essays which require tons of research.
I have no idea where all these bad reviews are coming from! Professor Kalia genuinely cares about his students. This professor would give you a recommendation letter in a heart beat. He always encourages students to pursue higher education and even helps guide them. He's intelligent in the material he teachersI took him twice.He is amazing. -Rupon
mans inspired me to never take his class again. he wont even be teaching anymore after this summer and I'm still writing to release the anger i have about him. honestly tho he prolly just old idek but he's hella rude and does not teach he tries to buy ur happiness fr with buying coffee for everyone in the class. u never know where u stand w him btw
This dude is a hit or miss. No powerpoint. No nothing just him talking, he's either in an ok mood or bad mood. 5 essays in total 1000 word each 1 term paper gotta read a book (I didn't) was given on the first day 2 midterm - 3 days to do it 2 final essay due along with the term paper (give prompts a week before class ends)
no preparation just him talking for hours.
Definitely a hit or miss. He's pretty knowledgeable and will help out if you have any problems understanding anything in class. If you are late, as long as you let him know in advance he probably won't mind. As for attendance, he checks attendance randomly so it is best to attend all classes, that way you might not even need to read the textbook.
My goodness if you can avoid taking this professor pleASE do so by any means necessary. He is honestly just mean, for lack of a better word. claims that he encourages his students to participate, but ends up biting the head of the student who doesn't have the exact answer that he wants to hear. I watched this happen so many times this semester.
Ravi's class is a mixed bag - he's knowledgeable but can be hit-or-miss. Attend all classes, as he checks attendance randomly. The workload is heavy, but unstuckstudy can be a helpful study tool alongside the textbook.
Rambling old man who no kidding yells and belittles students. Has no idea whats going on. Nobody was motivated to do the readings or tune in becasuse of this and most people cheated on the tests and plagarized the final paper
A rambling, rude old man with zero understanding of what is going on around him. I would feel bad writing this if every class didn't include 45 minute sections of him just belittling students & rambling about something he misunderstood. He literally told a student in my class they were a bad student, because he ask a question. Horrendous Professor.
I'm mixed on him. Despite using no brightspace he's a great lecturer but he would get mad if you don't read the books and the source material. This showed when he pressed a student when they were debating On the first day of classes he gave an attitude to anyone who had a question. As along as you read, participate and do the work you'll be fine.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
59%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.85 avg changeRatings by Course
31182
5.0
(1)WCIVD
5.0
(1)HIST3192
5.0
(1)INDIA3123
5.0
(1)HIST3501
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
HIST31323
5.0
WORLDHISTORY
5.0
HISTORY102
5.0
INDOHIST300
5.0
WCIV
4.8