Very organized. Very intelligent. Class is not boring if intersted in subject

Good professor, tries to challenge you with grading

Grades challengingly. But is a nice guy and knows very much

GREAT Prof, so intelligent, take notes and you will be fine. SO NICE!!

Easy, interesting class, You don't have to read because the final is open book and the midterms are take-home essays. Just take good notes in class

Awesome Prof. if you want to learn anything useful at UD take ALL his classes! Only Middle Eastern teacher on campus and he's brilliant so take advantage! Yey for Prof Rudi!

Class is alll lecture, but what u learn about is very interesting...the teacher doesnt affect the class in any way, if u like the material then u like the class. very nice guy, extremely smart, will help u with any question, enthusiastic

a fountain of knowledge. this guys knows his stuff. i guess it's sometimes hard to track all the names, places, etc. because the middle east is a subject that i knew little of prior to the course. i'm glad i took it though.

This is the most brilliant man I've ever met. He speaks like 9 languages. He really knows his subject area, but he doesn't make impossible tests. Take his classes.

Although he is very very smart and knows everything about Islamic history, he is really hard to understand and jumps from point to point. He is also very understanding about pushing back dates of papers and such.

Fabulous teacher in the subject of Islamic History. Knows more than any teacher at this school about this topic. Extremely knowledgable and helpful as well. Wants you to succeed and understand.

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A wise man out of place at this university. Class is well explained and take home midterms make A's possible grades. Take this class - he is unbiast and brillant - i'm marry him for his intellect.

A man of great intellect and expertise in his subject field. He is very unbiased and tries to make sure you understand the concepts more than the hard facts. Take home exams are easy and discussion helped a lot as well. Too good for this university in my opinion.

Take good notes and go to his office hours.. this brillant man wont let you fail.. the take home are fair and so is grading - just dont plagerize - he has read every :)

Good, fair class that you don't have to attend.

Okay yeah he can b boring and u can switch entire cultures and centuries in 5 mins. But thats just bc he is a genius and has read so much. Beneath the muddled exterior lies a man of amazing intellect who speaks like 20 languages and he is really, really nice and helpful. Take a class with him because you are bound to get more out of it than u think

The guy below me is a ****bag. Rudi is awesome, and nobody at this school knows more about ANYTHING than he does. I'm sorry if the FACTS presented in his class go against your beliefs, but go read a book or something.

This teacher is a genius. He does not deserve to be teaching at this school. He is one of the nicest teachers I have had.

Smartest man at UD. Somewhat boring and attendance mandatory. TA does grading but the tests are take-home essays right from text book which makes them extremely EASY! Great class.

no comment i could make can possibly do justice do how brilliant this professor truly is. he knows a lot, is very helpful, and has real world experience too. Definitely a great guy to take a class with

Knows a lot about his subject area which tends to make his lectures very in depth and for most of us boring. However, his grading is lienant and is aware that people have other classes and will move the schedule around to give people more time for papers.

Matthee is certainly an interesting professor. Very knowledgable, very cultured, somewhat scatterbrained. Lectures are dictated from his personal notes, which have, at times, been proven not 100% accurate during this small class. For Hist 380, grade depended solely on essay tests and final paper. If you're a good writer, you'll do well.

Okay some of the people are right, he's scatterbrained. But I don't care, I love his classes. I learn so much and he'sreally cool. He's also like a language genius, I think he speaks like 40 or something lol. Take his class, you get something out of it, and he;s the only one at Del who teaches this.

The smartest person I have ever met in my life. He is incredibly knowledgeble about Islam, the Middle East, and the world in general. Remarks about him being biased or unfactual are simply wrong. Take good notes because you need them for the essays/final exam. I've taken several of his classes and he never ceases to amaze me with his intelligence.

RUDI IS THE MAN!

He's pretty cool and is quite possibly the smartest man alive. Encyclopedias wish they had Rudi Mathee knowledge. The material is usually dry, but some there's the occasional interesting lecture. There is a ton of information, but the way the class was set up (no in class tests), it really isn't necessary to know much of it.

Absolutely fascinating class. He's very absentminded, lost two of my papers but didn't blame me at all. He doesn't connect with his students, which was my only problem. Lectures can sometimes be boring, but the amount of information he gives is phenomenal. Completely opened my eyes about the Middle East. Final is open note/textbook.

I loved the content. His handwriting is sometimes hard to read. You have to be able to take fast notes and you need to pay attention. The books he gives you are alright. He throws alot of names places and dates at you which all seemed to be important. I didnt do the reading but did fairly well on the essays which took awhile to figure out.

Incredibly knowledgeable about the Middle East. Its all good information, but its presented very quickly and you'll take a lot of notes. Gets boring sometimes, but not if you like the subject.

Really great teacher, knows everything about Islam and its obvious that he loves the material. Can be a bit dry at times but is overall very interesting and if you take notes in class the takehome tests are easy

His lectures are boring but you dont REALLY need to go to every class, just most. I got B's on the midterms and an A on the Final paper and got an A- in the class. Everything is take home--sooooo easy!!! Also the little summaries he makes you do in class are BS, i never did one and was fine, so dont bother with that.

Matthee is a great professor if you want to take the class. He loves the material so much that you become interested by the end. The 12-page research paper isn't bad at all - you can basically write it on anything. Not that hard of a grader either, as long as you know how to put a sentence together.

Dont take this course if you dont plan on showing up to class. attendance is not usually taken but sometimes he surprises you with a sign in sheet. The class doesnt require a whole lot of work as long as you show up to class and take VERY good notes. 2 take home midterms (2 essays), a research paper, and a final (in class essay.)

Dr. Matthee is not that difficult, people make him sound horrible. Yes, his lectures are a bit dry, but if you take good notes you can basically copy them for your midterms and final (which are usually take-home). I never read the texts, just looked up relevant info for the midterm/final. The research paper is long but not too bad. I'd recommend

Prof Matthee is extremely knowledgeable with regards to Middle Eastern History. His classes is fairly stress free because you don't really need to read the texts. Plus the tests were take home. Also one thing that'll make you succeed if you ever take his class: He grades based on content not on how well you write your paper or essays.

His 1st semester at UMD. Very interesting if you like the subject. Easy take home mid-term. Take really detailed notes, bc he lets you use for mid-term. Attendance not enforced, but worth while. Expectations for papers not always clear, but if you ask he'll clarify. If you put any effort to attend class and do readings, you should get guaranteed A.

This a great class to take if you just need an easy breadth. I'm personally very interested in Islamic history but lectures become boring if you're not. There are very few grades 2 1,000 c. midterms, one 3,000 c. term paper, and a 1,000 c. final. Prof. Matthee is a lenient grader as long as you follow his writing criteria.

Professor Matthee is a sweet man, but his lectures are a little disorganized and not entirely chronological. Prior knowledge of middle eastern history is helpful, but not necessary. He is always willing to clarify and super passionate about the subject. Only grades are papers, which are leniently graded as long as he can see that you tried.

Dr. Matthee is arguably one of the most knowledgable professors at UD which can be intimidating at times especially if you have no prior knowledge of the Middle East. However, he is extremely accessible for help and is open to questions during lectures. 4-5 total papers make up the course. Would definitely take again.

Long lectures

Great lecturer, expects participation but is laid back in person. The guy has serious knowledge of the subject. His assignments are different than most history papers, and involve a lot more actual analysis of historians than assignments from other professors.

Very knowledgeable professor with an interesting class. Only grades are 2 1000 word papers and 1 twelve-page term paper, but he's not an overly tough grader. Main downside is that he can be very condescending at times to students who ask questions, but he is a good lecturer and willing to explain through confusion. His tone just...could be better.

Only grades by a few assignments + participation. Three papers (two 5 page papers and a 12 page research paper), although he's not a very tough grader. Very knowledgable on the subject and open to well constructed and thoughtful questions. Would recommend.

Dr. Matthee is incredibly knowledgeable and qualified about all things Middle East. He does a great job explaining the things that have happened during the conflict. Problem is that you are only graded by three papers, he assigns a lot of reading (you don't have to do it to understand), the slides are too full, and he has a slight Palestinian bias.