2.8
Quality4.0
Difficulty14%
Would Retake84
Reviews14%
Would Retake
84
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
23
4
14
3
8
2
15
1
24
What Students Say
“He does not use any power points”
ANTH101 - 1.0 rating“don't take this professor”
ANTH101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
65%
Textbook Required
86%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.96 avg changeRatings by Course
BOTH
5.0
(1)INTROANTHRO
5.0
(1)GLOBALPATTERNS
5.0
(1)CULTURALANTHRO
5.0
(1)ANTH000
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
DF
5.0
INTROANTHRO
5.0
CULTURALANTHRO
5.0
INTROANTH
5.0
ANTH10202
5.0
Reviews (84)
He's annoying and not very friendly.
Knowledgeable but homework is demanding. Grading seems subjective; numerically speaking, I deserved a higher grade than what I ended up with. Don't take unless you need to.
umm just dont take him worse teacher ever
Dropped his class after the midterm. Explanations were never clear. Questions on tests seemed to come out of thin air. Made sarcastic remarks about answers in essays that were marked wrong, but came straight out of the book.
This is not an easy class, you have to work. There are a lot of complaints, but they are from slackers. Pay attention and READ. You'll do fine.
Even if you work hard you will probably end up with a grade that's lower than you deserved, unless this guy likes you. Very unprofessional as a professor as well.
Lazy/immature people won't like him. College students will love him. Print out Powerpoint presentations off his website and take notes on it during class. Read the book. If you do this and study no more than a half hour for exams you have an easy B.
One of the best teachers I have ever had the pleasure of studying with, inspires learning in a way that few can, I can't understand others negative comments.
Anyone who doesn't like Kaufman is just dumb. He doesn't put up with dumb or obnoxious people. If you don't have anything intelligent to say, keep your mouth shut. That's what I liked about him.
A great professor. makes you work and think but extremely clear and informative. Class discussions were a blast. One of my favorite teachers ever
great teacher, strict grader
multiple choice tests are flakey as hell - argue with him, he'll come around. hard grader - i felt like i earned two A's but ended up with a B and B+. i liked the classes so much that i don't care. terrific classroom experience. one of the best teacher i have ever had.
No Comments
he is an okay teacher, good class discusions but hard grader! he has favorite girl sutdents....
Cool guy, tuff grader. Just do your work and study and you will be fine. Participate a lot in class, but speak intelligently or you won't be heard. If you slack off, then you deserve the lower grade.
Dont take this teacher! period!
If you want your brain to fry take this course. the material is so freaking hard, nothing he teaches is from the books, and he lectures are a bore. But he is a very nice guy.
He's a really good guy, and he's cool to talk with and in class. But his tests are kinda hard. Im sure if u study and take good notes u'll do well. But he really does seem like he likes teaching..
Very nice, funny, enthusiastic, cares about students.
No Comments
great teacher, really fun and the tests are hard, you really have to dig into the material to get a good grade, and last minute memorization is a **** but great guy, loved the course
I took human origans and intro to cultural anthroplogy. he is a great guy and teacher. He is hard when it comes to testing but as long as you read and take notes you should be able to do fine
nice guy, interesting to talk and listen to
Great Prof. An inspiration to me. Tough but fair
Great teacher. His tests are hard but dont worry there is a curve. Even though u may think ur failing u probably wont. HIs lectures are entertaining and he does show movies. Overall a decent prof. if you take him, his tests are strangely mad up and dont make sense but the class itself is enjoyable. enjoyable IF you like anthropology that is.
Dr. Kaufman is a brilliant man. His courses offer many insights into the overall patterns of human behavior.He is able to tie the whole picture together, he is a complete thinker. His classes offer much insight into humanity. Excellent Professor!!!
if you treat his course like you should any college course and not like a high school class, he's easy, he gives u all the material you should know for all the tests and his classes are fascinating. read and you can get an A, he's fair and is one of the most passionate teachers ever.
Took Human Origins. He is a tough professor, but very fair. He teaches very well and very passionate. He doesn't mind explaining over and over if you don't get it. Curves test and gives credit for questions you find another answer for. This class was only three tests - that's it, so be prepared to study hard for the tests.
HUMAN oRIGINS WAS A FUN CLASS. hARD TESTER! GOOD PROFESSOR
This guy is eccentric with what he teaches in the class. In fact he's so eccentric he has a hard time staying on topic when he teaches in the class. He literally bounces between subjects non stop and gets really distracted by the other students whenever they have a question. He doesn't really give reviews before the tests. I wouldn't recomment him.
I found him to be weird and unusual. His clarity isn't the best. He had us focus on one book, but never really talked about any of the other books we had to purchase. Because he didn't talk about the other books, he fooled some of us to think that the other books were just for leisure. You later realize you were wrong. He gives no review.
Great professor; extremely knowledgable and passionate about the subject matter. Make sure you read the assigned books and pay attention in class in order to pass tests/quizzes. Only downside is a slightly awkward sense of humor and messy, all-over-the-place notes on the board. Definitely would recommend!
Vey knowledgeble about his subject and enthusiastic during lectures. Frequently difficult to follow his train of thought. Tests are quirky but doable if you read the material carefully. Will help you but you have to seek him out. Pretty absentminded at times. If you are interested in the subject, take his class - you won't regret it.
Knowledgable about the subject matter but comes off like a kid with attention deficit disorder. Forget taking notes, the guy is all over the place. Test questions don,t come from the lectures. Uses old references which don't seem to relate to today.
Good, but lecture tends to wonder a bit
Seem to be knowledgeable but class was not fun. Took the online version and it was only graded off of weekly tests and discussions which were each worse than the last. Not very responsive and not much room for improvement for struggling students.
Took the on-line version of his class, and boy was it a mistake. Although I got a good grade he never answered e-mails and basically was non-exsistant! It's a shame he is paid to teach and the last month of class never answered one students e-mails! Poor excuse for a teacher!
Amazing teacher. Always keeps you interested
Nice guy, horrible professor. Avoid at all costs. He's all over the place and his powerpoints look like they were created by a 5 year old. Don't even bother taking notes in his class because it won't help you at all for the test. His method of grading is unprofessional and horrendous. Completely inexcusable how this guy even gets paid.
Began with his Introduction to Anthropology course, then took Human Origins,and Global Patterns of Race and Racism Idecided to become an anthropologist because of this professor, and his passion for the subject and how he presented it to the class. He is tough but amazing and very fair. Wish all my proff's were this good.
This class is tough. Yes he does try to make it interesting. sometimes he would even bring in artifacts from other cultures. Half of the time, I was like why did I even buy the book. when it comes time to take a test, it is TOUGH. make sure you pay attention to everything in that class, if not it will def. show in your grade.
Nice guy, cant hear all that well and will approch you and get into your personal space saying "what was that?", what he teaches is very intersting but he jumps all over they place, notes are a mess and grades are not fair. he is not good with names but claims to know who you are and when youre not in class, so its not very personal.
Fantastic professor! I've taken him twice throughout my time here, and each class has been great. He's extremely intelligent and very well-rounded! I'd love to be friends with this guy outside of class. If you get the chance to take him- do it!
Very knowledgeable about his subject and enthusiastic during lectures.Brings guests speakers and can possibly curve a test.Do not miss a day!you will be lost. Can not wing his class, if you put in time and work into this class you will get an A. He is a very intellectual human being.MUST STUDY AND WORK HARD TO PASS!STRONGLY RECOMMEND
He knew a lot about his subject, but he was a pretty bad at actually teaching it. His notes were all over the place and inconsistent. If a student did not understand something, he blamed them instead of trying to help them. I actually did pretty good in this class in the end because I read the material and studied; you really have to try hard
DO NOT TAKE..He rambles on in class on infomation that is not helpful when it comes time to studying for a test
Its a very hard class, but if you study and attend every class you can get a decent grade. He curves all his test because he admits to it being pretty hard. Use the websites he gives you to study it helps a lot. He has a lot of knowledge and great stories.
Awful class and too hard. Thank god I received a C! Not the best professor
His notes lack any type of structure, he's a bit condescending and hardly lets you finish a sentence. Aside from this, he obviously loves what he teaches and is well-seasoned. I would not recommend unless you are ready to work hard. Tests are difficult, you will need to read the book as well as TRY to take notes in class. I took 2 classes same sem.
He obviously loves what he teaches...but he doesn't really stay on topic. His lecture "notes" are very difficult to follow, everything is all over the place/unorganized. He's not very helpful and tests are difficult. He doesn't give study guides, and he only grades you on tests and quizzes. By far my least favorite class, I don't recommend it.
He is a great professor really knowledgeable about the subject. His class however is really hard. Do not take him if you are not ready to study hard and long for it. He makes class interesting. Study from the book and website
Steve Kaufman is the worst professor I've ever come across i my whole life as a student. I took him in Physical Anthropology,but trust me, if I had another choice, I would have drop him, on the first week of the class. But unfortunately, he is the only one the school has for this class. He never follows the textbook materials .
In my 20 years by far the worst teacher I have ever experienced. Even if he was understandable he absolutely could care less about any student, their progress, understanding and was more interested in seeing who he could fail. Stay far away! You've been warned!!!!
Steve is not the greatest. He has a lot of experience in different countries so he's definitely knows his stuff but he just lectures and randomly writes words on the board in chicken scratch. You have to read the text along with 2 books. The exams are really hard but you just have to use his terms list he gives you and study hard.
This professor is absolutely wonderful. I thought the course was absolutely great. The lectures were a little boring but Kaufman is such a great professor. The tests were difficult but if you study all your notes and read the textbook you should do fine. I passed all his tests and managed to get an A+ s final grade. Midterm & final is not hard.
Amazing teacher. I see from other comments that some people couldn't fallow his teaching style. I can see that, but only if you are a very regimented student. If you cannot think outside the box he isn't for you. Although, if you like to be involved with the lecture and enjoy different perspectives I would def take his class. Must have teacher.
Attendance is not mandatory but reading is. He grades based on 3 exams and 1 quiz, so a lot of weight on only a few variables. He knows his stuff, is amusing and lectures are interesting (kind of all over the place, though) - take notes. And for the love of god, if he says "what's that?" and can't hear you, REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID IN A LOUDER VOICE.
Great class and professor! He's enthusiastic about the material he covers and wants to see everyone succeed. That being said; if you tend to miss or skip classes you will find it difficult to pass this class! He mentions central ideas from the textbook but doesn't rely heavily on it (reading only helps!!). Holds optional exam reviews so just GOOO.
He's this quirky guy who wears crocs to class all the time and is hard of hearing, but is very engaging. His lectures are scattered, but very interesting and even humorous at times. Not the most clear about what he wants from you, but just show up and take notes and you should do well. I love that his passion for his work shows.
When he gained knowledge that i hadn't finished one of the books(due to work for other classes) he wouldn't let me take the exam. He makes us wait til he opens the questions online to read the book, which was a week before it was due. He is a very unfair grader, he gave me a zero on a 400 word short essay with answers straight out of the textbook.
If you are doing good in class and he notices you're a hard worker he will commend you every chance he gets. However, if you are lazy or put excuses about other class work, he will make sure you know he's disappointed. Anyway, this is a hard class. His notes are not organized, but on the bright side he will stay and explain until you understand.
Great guy
He's a really nice guy and likes to have fun with the class, but he is a very strict grader and asks you to remember a ridiculous amount of detail
He is a really nice guy but this class has no structure. His lectures are all over the place and he goes off on tangents that don't relate to the topic at hand and that can be confusing. There are very few grades, so there is a lot of weight on them. Grades on specificity. POOR STUDY GUIDE. Disorganized. But nice guy, just not the best teacher.
Do not take this class if you care about your GPA. He refuses to give out good grades and there are only 3 exams which are so difficult. Teachers like this should not have a job.
Nice guy but terrible teacher. Learned absolutely nothing from this class and after being a deans list student for 1 1/2 this man was the first to prevent me making it. Quizzes and test are nearly impossible and this class will hurt your GPA. You've been warned! Normally don't leave reviews but I don't want anyone to suffer.
You really do need to keep up with the readings, the quizzes are short. Gives a lot of extra credit opportunity. Great man, very funny. I totally recommend taking his classes.
I had him for Global Patterns of Racism. He randomly assigns grades. He does not give good feedback and when he does, you can't read it because his handwriting is not legible. Many quizzes, a few essays. Very tough grader.
He doesn't believe in extra credit, whatsoever he makes exams extremely difficult so that no one passes and that he has to give massive curves material is extremely dry. I've never taken a class where so many students complained
I sat in his class and felt lost the whole time. He is all over the place, he does not follow the quiz/test dates, his review sessions are useless. Tough grader, be prepared to read and self study !!!
Not the best. Great guy with interesting life stories, but not the best teacher. Classes are unorganized, tests are awful and hard and make up most of your grade. Attendance is mandatory and he has no sympathy for outside circumstances. 5 question quizzes on every chapter. Do the reading and then some. Don't take him, he killed my GPA :(
Steve is very thorough, and it's easy to fall behind if you're not all in. Weekly quizzes based on readings aren't all tough, but one or two wrong answers can bring an A down to a B or a C. Show that you're trying, be attentive, and try to speak in class and Steve will go out of his way to help you if you need it.
When taking this class, you would have to be prepared to teach the material to yourself. He does not use any power points. You must read the textbook chapters, which are extremely long. His test are impossible to pass, even though they are multiple choice. Additionally, you have to read two long novels outside of class. If you don't, then you fail
don't take this professor! on the last day of class, he said we 'can't ask any stupid questions', my friend asks him to repeat a question and says "class is dismissed, get out". He assumes we ONLY take his class with no other work for other classes, is the rudest prof, and will call you out in front of the class if you have your phone visible.
AVOID. AVOID. AVOID. I cannot say it enough times. This man thrives on seeing his students fail. His tests are downright impossible. He is an incredibly tough grader as well. I took the online course and he made us come in to take an exam because he thought we were all cheating. I promise even if you did cheat you'd probably still fail. AVOIDDDDDD!
Took his online class, a lot of work get ready to work and be committed to this class. A lot of reading, discussions and quizzes. He is a tough grader and I highly recommend you do not take him. The online class was very heavy and sometimes mis leading.
Professor Kaufman was hands down the worst professor I have ever had at RVCC. He is a stingy grader and his tests are unbelievable hard. He doesn't care if his students fail and he is not flexible with grading. I highly recommend anyone to not take his courses. He truly made anthropology an unlikeable subject.
I recommend to not take any classes by him. He is such a tough grader in classes that are intro and expects you to know everything about the topic. Let alone he lists his criteria and if you follow it at best you would get 3/10 he expects you to go above and beyond. Most people end up failing his class or devoting all their time to it.
The discussion posts are impossible. He has instructions that you can use ANY Source; Text, Videos, OR Outside source. But when he comments back he says that if you use an outside source you have to use the textbook too which makes no sense. Directions are super unclear. He makes the work more difficult then it needs to be. DO NOT RECOMMEND
He is rude. I asked him to answer symble questions that I was not understanding. So I asked a symple question about an exam that is coming up. I asked "what can I study for this quiz specifically, so that I do not study the wrong thing". Simple enough. He said "I am not answering any other questions" which I thought was rude.
He is rude and not nice. He chooses which students get certain questions. He chooses who kets easy questtions and who gets difficult ones, especially the annoying dates. He will let you know when he has had enough talking with you. He will also call you out if you email him questions a lot. He is a proffessor, he is suppose to answer them.
Boy oh boy, I have zero clue hoe this man has been a professor for so long. This man intentionally fails his students. I spent 3 hours doing a homework assignment for his class to only receive a 2 out of 10!! I've never met a professor who does this. I'm happy he's retiring, he definitely won't be missed. Definitely appealing to get my money back
I had Dr. Kaufman YEARS ago. He inspired me to major in anthropology. He was a tough professor, yes, but professors should be tough. Do the work, do the reading. Do what it takes.
Dr. Kaufman is an excellent teacher one that knows and has knowledge of the study of anthropology or the study of man. The idea is that classes should be interesting and tough at the same time. They should have learning value in the end. The idea is that ones experience should delineate what one teaches. I have respect for Dr Kaufman.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
65%
Textbook Required
86%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.96 avg changeRatings by Course
BOTH
5.0
(1)INTROANTHRO
5.0
(1)GLOBALPATTERNS
5.0
(1)CULTURALANTHRO
5.0
(1)ANTH000
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
DF
5.0
INTROANTHRO
5.0
CULTURALANTHRO
5.0
INTROANTH
5.0
ANTH10202
5.0