While the material is interesting, Bob is very intimidating. He is hard to approach and often difficult grading wise. If you are afraid to participate, do not take the course, he REQUIRES CONSTANT PARTICIPATION. The subject and literature of war, however, is very insightful, opening up your eyes to the world of metaphor.

Dow, and his class, are a waste of time. He gives good grades to those who pursue the sycophant method, and remain docile to his unsubstantiated views on nearly everything; meanwhile, those who present alternative views are reprimanded severely in the most unjustified ways. He literally screamed at me on several occasions. One time: for commenting

Bob Dow is the worst prof at UMass. He's intolerant, overbearing, and mean. Other english teachers told me I should be a professional writer. Dow HATED anything I had to say or write. He definitely DOES give D's, because I got them. If you don't agree w/ his ideas HE WILL FAIL YOU. If you think you can charm the devil, take the class, I dare you.

He was a nice guy but for a teacher, he was unfair, mean, and critical. If you had a bad class (aka a class that didn't participate as much as he wanted to), he would just be awful. He gave so much more work than any of the other 291A classes too.

For a class that is supposed to be discussing "ideas", there isn't a whole lot of ideas being discussed besides his. Grading policy is impossible to figure out and gives little to no feedback on assignments. Frequently calls out students for not participating, not showing up on time, etc. in front of whole class. Makes class awkward.

Robert Dow is a prime example of a mean and condescending professor with a lot of attitude. His feedback on essays is incomprehensible due to his messy handwriting, and he very clearly hated specific students for no reason. Be warned: if you voice any legit complaint on his poor course management, he WILL gaslight you like a big bully.

Do not take classes with Robert Dow. He is unprofessional, disorganized, disrespectful, and has a reputation of making everything frustrating beyond practicality.

No joke. My hair is graying so hard from taking a class with Robert Dow, and apart from that, he is disorganized, mean, unsympathetic, and he does not give students enough time to finish the essays.

Least respectful professor I have ever had period. Don't take any class with Robert Dow because he's going to make them more frustrating than they need to be as he shows no remorse for his overbearing personality, poor communication and ego.

201H is a frustrating class if Dow touches it as Dow was intolerant, overbearing, and mean, and he very clearly hated specific students for no reason. I thought Marius Minea was the most condescending professor I've had so far, but Robert Dow beats him to it.

Bob Dow is not a terrible teacher, but his inability to grow up or listen to valid complaints from others highly makes me question his professionalism as a professor overall.

NEVER take a class with Robert Dow. The general consensus is that he is not a nice or helpful human being, disorganized, very mean and unprofessional, inflexible, immature, harsh with communication, and disrespectful towards people going through a tough time. Unlike the other 201H professors, Dow is the only 201H professor to have an inflated ego.

It'd be unfair to comment on his character, but not on the way he handles his classes. Simply put, Robert Dow is unprofessional, disorganized, and incapable of structuring classes in a way that gives students enough time to improve their essay writing methodology. Use online resources like Sparknotes if you struggle.

I wouldn't take any classes with Robert Dow. In my honest opinion, his discussions are too formal and don't leave room for any opinions other than his.

Worst 201H professor ever. Dow was a poor facilitator of discussions, and the workload was too depressing.

I would never take any class with Robert Dow. Took a class with him in the fall of 2021 and it destroyed my sanity, he is extremely mean to his students and wasn't flexible at all with the switch from COVID to face to face.

Professor Dow was by far the worst professor I had during my time at UMass. He was rude, disrespectful, and impossible to get feedback from. The only opinions accepted in his class were those that aligned with his own. Your grade suffered if not, and class was a miserable experience. He has no business being a professor - shame on the UMass CHC.

Do NOT take his class! Dow's 201H class had a much more frustrating workload than the other professors who taught 201H, and on top of that, he is very rude to students, lacks common sense and professionalism, is dismissive of genuine concerns, and makes no effort to connect with students. Truly obnoxious and horrible to have communication with.

Jokes on you, Dow!! I passed 201H despite your disagreeable personality and willingness to set students up for automatic failure.

Bro this guy doesn't help you. It's like trying to give a homeless man food, but the food is stale and dangerous to eat. Bob Dow makes you overthink and doubt yourself. Don't even take 201H with that man if you have the option. He is just awful at driving discussions and a very rude person who always feels like he's on a high horse.

He is McDaniel Version 2.

It doesn't matter if you're a good student or not. The problem with Dow is he will do anything he can to give students a bad name, even if they're doing the right thing. You don't learn anything from taking his classes as his close-minded personality and disrespect towards literature novices creates a dangerous environment unsuitable for learning.

If you see Robert Dow's name, RUN THE OTHER DIRECTION AND NEVER LOOK BACK!! Dow is a prime example of a professor who doesn't value diversity in opinions, and it often feels like he's actively working against his students. Unorganized, lacks communication, no sympathy, berates you if your opinions don't match his false ideas. Never take his class!

Bob Dow has an unrivaled superiority complex that is quite proven in the way he takes pleasure in automatically failing those who make an effort to connect with him or disagree with his false opinions. He won't give you grade boost opportunities if you are struggling. I would've given him a 0 but couldn't. Get this man terminated from UMass CHC.

Robert Dow is a no-good, selfish, horrible professor who deserved to get his rating taken down by 2 points from his original rating because he's a real villain and bully who invalidates genuine student concerns and gaslights those who question anything on his courses. He has no right to be a professor anymore. Get this guy out of UMass!

Robert Dow is one of the least respectful professors the CHC has to offer. I don't normally complain against professors, but this guy is a real villain despite the interesting readings he selects - extremely rude and narrow-minded, terrible at communication, very poor course organization and structure, and uncomfortable and weird class discussions.

Never take a class with Bob Dow when you can take it with Professor Yoder. Bob Dow expects students to agree with his opinions and doesn't leave the floor open to multiple perspectives. He is rude and difficult to approach, and his discussions are super weird. Professor Yoder, on the other hand, is kind, caring, and easy to get help from.

BobDow is an awful teacher. He's picky, monotone, disrespectful, and all-in-all a repulsive and disgusting human being who has no right to teach. I thought I'd like this class, but Dow made it more frustrating than it needed to be. I learned nothing from that useless fellow.

Any class Bob Dow teaches automatically means that class is not a good class to take because while Dow is a big name in literature who selects interesting reading material, the structure of his classes is haphazard, he is boring, rude, sarcastic, disrespectful, and far from engaging, and communication from him is below average. Bad bad bad bad.

I believe Bob Dow is an inspiring dude, but he's being super lazy. He had no idea how to run 201H because he didn't have a Moodle page set up, which is annoying because you have to find the required films and class readings on your own with no free PDFs of the readings provided. Overall, not a class I would take again, and I learned nothing.

Very inconsistent grader! Grades do not reflect your effort if you have a professor like him or orgo professor Chris McDaniel.

Robert Dow genuinely does not care if his students succeed or not. He is absolutely insane about his course standards and does not like to consider the mental health of students. I came to leave this review after a face-to-face interaction with him. I have never had a professor at UMass that cares less about his students than this man.

Taking a class with Robert Dow left me braindead and shaved a decade off my already short life.

Bob Dow is akin to an absent yet powerful boomer whose true intentions are hidden behind a veil of a big ego. He cares about his students the same way a bird may take care of its' young, you are expected to start flying the moment you plummet out of the nest. If you can't, you fall, you fail.

If you see Robert Dow's name, START RUNNING AND NEVER LOOK BACK. Simply put, he's unorganized and lacks communication. His feedback on papers is ILLEGIBLE, and he wastes a lot of time making an example out of students and putting them on the spot instead of driving an engaging discussion. You'd be better off taking 201H with someone else.

Dow has a massive ego. You learn nothing from his classes, even though he selects interesting films and readings. He would probably be a pretty good professor if he could admit to his own mistakes, fix the way he runs 201H, cut out some of the busy work, and check his ego at the door.

Pretentious ass who is strict and unfair as hell with his standardization and doesn't care about his students.

This guy doesn't care at all about his students. Run away for your own good!!!

Don't ever take 201H with that man. My friend had Dow for 201H her freshman yr and once he went thru like war flashbacks in the middle of class and forced many, many, many of his students into uncomfortable situations (this isn't really his fault but omg). Also his takes are the most....uhhhhhhhhh....most........biased of takes.

If you have Dow for any class, you're automatically screwed because he's the type of teacher who expects students to agree with his flawed opinions, and he has a bunch of misconceptions about what "good writing" is. His Moodle page is disorganized, so as a result it is quite a headache for me to find the required readings for each discussions.

I've never been treated with such blatant disrespect by a professor. Dow clearly has no regard for his students and is dismissive of their concerns. I was surprised to see all the bad reviews here, but they are deserved. I love writing papers, but having to deal with a close-minded fellow like Dow makes it a frustrating and unbearable endeavor.

The problem with Dow is that he won't admit to his mistakes, when he objectively is, and he is extremely rude to his students if he even gets a hint that they might think he's made a mistake. Never ever seen a professor act the way he does towards his students. Unless you're a sycophant, he's really just a pretentious dick who doesn't care at all.

I don't know why people are saying Bob Dow is an inspiring dude. He selects interesting readings, but boy bad things happen if you make an effort to get help from him. Not a very nice or empathetic human. He had no standardization and made the class impossible to do well on. DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH HIM IF YOU CAN AVOID IT.

This is not a good professor to have for 201H. Grading criteria are incomprehensible and he's terrible at communication. Wait for a different professor.

Bob Dow was downright horrid and did not create an engaging or welcoming learning environment. Avoid at all costs.

Dow is the least inspiring professor in CHC. Extremely rude. Had no respect for any of our perspectives and constantly dismissed genuine concerns. Class was more of a "test" on how much you understood from the readings than discussions. Forced his students to find movies and readings outside of class instead of having movie days. I learned nothing.

I've always had a Bob Dow do me wrong. I had him for a mandatory seminar class and not only were my sleep patterns messed up, but he was also very snobbish and demeaning and didn't care about his students AT ALL. Sure there was no final exam, but this was overshadowed by his subpar communication and lack of organization. Don't take, guys an a$$.

Dow is the worst person I've ever met. He cares more about dismissing student perspectives and grades based on how much people agree with his false takes. The Commonwealth Honors College is a scam because they have clearly shown they don't care about their students in any capacity but rather grabbing money by allowing this guy to be a professor.

I'm not trying to be mean, but I didn't have a good experience w/ Robert Dow. Unorganized and lacks communication, creates a hostile learning environment, and doesn't listen to students when they're feeling burnt out. He's cruel and intimidating- I never wanted to interact with him. I was frustrated and always wanted to cry. Avoid all his classes.

His classes are really poorly managed. You have to stay on top of things because he won't give you an extension, and it's impossible to get feedback from him.

He is extremely rude to students, and the rubric for grading papers don't make sense AT ALL.

Do NOT take this class with Dow. Class was a nightmare and often felt more like a formal interview than a casual seminar. Course management was terrible, workload heavier than the other 201H sections, grading very arbitrary. Professor is very unorganized and lacks communication as well. The pain isn't worth DEMOLISHING your GPA.

Rude. Dismissive. Strict grader. No forgiveness. Doesn't believe in grade boost opportunities. Fully believes that everything he has done has been fair, but that's far from the truth. Workload higher than other 201H sections, feedback mostly consisted of roasts to berate students and less of how students can improve papers, and bad communication.

I hope Robert Dow quits his job for good because he's got WAY TOO MUCH hate in his heart, and his close-minded attitude (always rejected opinions that don't match his) creates a dangerous environment unsuitable for learning. Poor communication as he won't respond to emails, and it's hard to get feedback from him. NEVER take his class!

This guy truly sucks. He is not a nice person, and he will not help you improve your grade if you are emotionally and mentally struggling. I would've given him a 0 but I have no choice. Get this guy out of UMass CHC.

Bob Dow is NOT a human being and should no longer be employed in CHC. He frequently ignored complaints, gaslighted students who questioned his authority, regularly asked meaningless follow-up questions to force them to elaborate only to berate them. To top it off, his character literally reminds me of that of Billy Hargrove from Stranger Things.

Dow doesn't care about the wellbeing or success of his students and definitely is one of the worst professors that I have had at UMass so far.

Inspirational in showing me exactly what I don't want out of a professor at Commonwealth Honors College. If you need to take 201H, wait for a more caring professor like Professor Yoder.

Bob Dow is the most repulsive, disrespectful, rudest man I'ver ever encountered. He wants to prove that his class is the best and gaslights those who think the opposite. My encounters with him made my blood boil just bc he is a bully. I consider myself to be able to handle almost any professor well but this class was just an automatic ego trip.

Bob Dow is actively rude towards his students. Sits there and wastes a lot of class time putting students on the spot. Very boring, hates technology and will single people out and yell. Gets combative if you are too depressed and shows ZERO sympathy.

Do NOT take his class!!! His takes are the most biased of all takes, but if you disagree with him you will automatically get marked down. He doesn't seem to value diversity in opinions, he doesn't have a clear method of grading, and he's unorganized and lacks communication as well. Guy's a pretentious a$$hole!

I usually try to avoid trash-talking professors, but some deserve it ngl. Bob Dow was just a character. He had his eccentricities (not in a funny way). Flipped out at class for not composting, frequently put students on the spot, opinions were the most lacking of all opinions, and didn't listen to students when they were feeling overwhelmed.

2 books, 2 essays and reports on them due almost every week (twice). Half grade deduction for even the most minor mistakes. Full of himself, doesn't respond to student concerns, turns an idea-building seminar into a hellish tortured 6-8 credit worthy workload. Apart from him and his unrealistic expectations, this is an excellent course.

No opportunities to get feedback and course structure was outdated. Drama creation is his priority, not mental health or student learning. Essay grading criteria were awful, and he's not warm or welcoming, so that doesn't help either. If you need to take 201H, save yourself the headache and just find an instructor who's more caring than Bob Dow.

Possibly the most irresponsible professor in CHC. Extremely belittling and rude, can't admit when he's wrong, email replies are always sporadic, only 1 office hour a week and hard to reach outside of class, doesn't care about student mental health, not open to helping students. Anyone can do a better job managing 201H.

Bob Dow is by far the only professor you don't want to end up with for 201H and I would say that you should wait for a different semester if he is your only option left when selecting classes.

Bob Dow made 201H completely unbearable. The main issue is not the readings-it's the haphazard course management under Dow with zero willingness to take responsibility for his actions. Poor communication as he almost never responds to emails, refused to accept soft copies of papers (only hard copies were allowed), and had only 1 weekly office hour.

Rudest CHC professor ever. I'm convinced Dow ran 201H poorly with the ulterior motive to send students to therapy because he clearly thought all his students were lazy. Unlike what he thinks, this isn't true. I'm a CS major who's willing to put in thorough effort, but if he doesn't seem to listen to reasonable concerns, it's not a good look on him.

Bob Dow doesn't seem to care or want to stay in contact with his students. As a person who took 201H with him, I can safely confirm he is THE hardest 201H professor option out of all the other 201H sections. For example, I honestly found Orgo Lab and Biochem 423 much easier than this course. Take that into perspective, Orgo Lab and Biochem 423.

Bob comes off as easygoing and views himself as chill, but he's really the opposite of empathetic towards struggles. No syllabus, passive-aggressive, won't offer written instructions for essays but grading is black box and depends on how much you agree with him. I did well in 201H but be warned he WILL hold grudges and make you be hard on yourself.

This class was a bumpy ride. Class time was mostly Dow talking about the readings and trying to prompt discussion. Discussions weren't bad but he was not happy when discussions don't go in the directions he wants.Another issue I had was the disorganization. He gets upset when u ask questions about the syllabus. Assignments giving right before due.

Bob Dow is the only professor to avoid for 201H not because of the readings but because his 201H section is more artificially hard than that of the other professors. Unorganized, inaccessible (1 office hr, no Moodle). Grading based on agreement, not effort. Zero feedback. Hostile, dismissive, inflexible. If you have to take him, you're on your own.

Do not take this class with Dow if your major is demanding like computer science. His 201H section is artificially harder than other sections for the following reasons: slow email responses, only 1 office hour, rude and narcissistic behavior, inability to admit to mistakes, and illegible feedback. Interesting readings, but discussions can suck.