excellent prof! his powerpoints were fun and clear, and he communicates hard material well - though sometimes the readings were way harder than for a 200 level. Still - a good prof and nice to look at!

He made everything so easy to understand. The discussions we had in class were entertaining as well as informative, I really enjoyed myself. He made my first university class a breeze!

Excellent prof. Total absent-minded professor type, but he makes up for it with great examples and stories. Exams were fair and marked quickly. Lectures are interesting and he listened to students' opinions with fairness and openness

very organized lectures, readings were a bit challenging at times, he was punctual, he speaks very well, powerpoints were fantastic, he was great at engaging the group in a discussion. very respectful of students. exams were graded quickly & fairly.

Extremely smart prof - a bit aloof with students but a fair if not easy marker. Lectures were very interesting but no o/h or web notes.

This dude is great. I took a class with him last year and I made sure to take another with him this year. Probably the best prof I have had at the U of C even though he only gave me a B last year! Tough marker but you know he is the real deal

Dr Ruparell clearly has a passion for his subject adn this comes out in his classes. He has good explanations for the texts and makes you think. A bit disorganised but has a good sense of humour - so far this is a great class with a great prof

great****

A very interesting class. He explains the texts very clearly and makes it interesting. He pays attention to the students and their progress. The tutorials are very informative, and he has a good sense of humour.

Best teacher ever, really interesting and brilliant

An excellent instrucyor. He has good energy, but watch out for his assignments. It took a month before we got the first one back. Very hard marker.

If you get the chance take something with Dr. Ruparel. He is a gifted prof with a brilliant mind. Articulate and caring. He is the best of the best. We are so klucky he teaches at this university.

I totally disagree with the last rating - he chose 2 of 8 assignments at random - which were easy anyway (you just had to read Life of Pi). He is philosphical but is helpful and willing to listen. The other reviewer must not have come to his classes much. This prof is hard but really good

Great prof. but a challenge for a 1st year course. This was not an easy option. He listened to student and was willing to make changes. Take at least one course with him, you'll be glad you did.

He is the best prof I've ever had. Im in the final few classes of my second degree and he is hands down the most learned, articulate prof Ive come across. I cant keep up with all Ive gotten from this class. When you leave his class you will have LEARNED. Hard but fair marker.EXCELLENT PROF

Not bad. Good, clear course notes. I didn't find him all that difficult. Baring in mind that I've gotten bad marks from supposedly easy profs, and good marks from the supposedly hard ones, so I might not be a good authority on ease here.

Really excelent prof.

If one is to pay attention to his lectures then he has a lot to offer.

This man is brilliant. Maybe a bit too brilliant to be understood by a 205 class looking for an easy option. Only take a calss with him if you really want to learn. Ask for help, and thou shalt recieve. Don't do the readings and thou shalt fail. He can get you where you want to go.

this is NOT an easy option, but the guy clearly knows his stuff and tries hard to make hard stuff easy to understand. I am a Philosophy major and this is my favourite class in 3 years. If you want an easy time look somewhere else, if you want to get something for your time and effort, take a class with Ruparell - you'll be glad you did

This is one excellent proffesor. To warn you- 205 is not an easy course, not recomended for a first year, BUT it is well worth your time & trouble. Remarkably clear and straightforward- especially considering the difficult topics. Fair marker, availible extra help, recomended 100%

Very good professor, excellent knowledge and very approachable. Tough class though.

Dr. Ruparell's lectures were always very informative and entertaining. He did a great job of showing us very excellent examples of the topic matter in everyday pop culture. He also posts all the lecture outlines on Blackboard. But go to class anyway, you won't regret it.

this guy is wicked and this course was amazing. be prepared to work your ass off. when he gives you advice about how you should write your paper, what questions you should answer, etc., do EXACTLY as he says and you will do very well. he's hilarious and super-interesting. amazing teaching ability.

this was a really hard class - proably best not to take it in spring. still the course was interesting and the book was good. the Prof really knows a lot and was very helpful. Powerpoints were good but unless you know someting about Hinduism, this is hard going in 6 weeks - lots to digest in a short time

He is what university is supposed to be. He makes you think, challenges your assumptions and pushes you to be brighter, better than when you walked in the door. My guess is that my classmate below is furious because he was unprepared to have to think in his first year of university. Sad really. If you want to leave brighter, Ruparell's your guy.

Interesting guy, but the class is total****e. Uninteresting, no depth. Expected better, but should have realized what it would be like. survey course and all.

don't get the last comment - it is a 200 level class! if you kept up with the readings and went to class, this was a great class. prof totally rocks - bit dry at times but he really knows his stuff. take a course with him - one of the best

Great professor. Can be a bit hard at times, but if you're willing to learn, and willing to put in a lot of work you will do great in his class. I DO NOT recommend this class to any first years, or to those looking for a easy option. Brilliant man, but a hard Prof.

not sure what planet the last person was on -- yeah he's hard but I got a ton out of this class -- guess you get as much as you put in. Ruparell marks hard but fair and he's obviously really smart. if you ask lots of questions and do what he says, you do well

This guy knows his material inside out when it comes to Hinduism! He has a science background too, meaning he expects thoroughly analytical understanding of the material. He brought material as old as the rg veda and new as cartoons about the Ramayana from India so it's very interesting. It may have been difficult because it was a spring semester?

He is one of the most gifted prof on campus. His lectures have such cadence and gravitas that you just dont want it to end.

Yeah he's a hard prof, but if you do what he says, you'll do well. Don't listen to all the whining students here, Ruparell is a good prof who knows his subject - he just expects you to do the work. Not an easy A but worth it if you are interested in the subject

I found Dr. Ruparell to be a good teacher overall. The thing that made me never want to take a class with him again was his insistence to change the course outline. In the end, he DID change it with only two weeks left in term. That is crap in my books. He should have stuck to his guns. I don't like to see inconsistency with a prof, it is immature.

Best class I took all year. He was very clear and obviously loved the material. Changed the marking to make it more fair for students - which I appreciated since I didn't need another paper. I worked pretty hard but not more than other courses. I would take another class with him anyday.

I got a lot out of the film course. Some students didn't like his attitude, which was 'if you don't want to put in the work, leave the class', and 399 is not an easy A class - but at least you know where you stand with Ruparell. Really smart prof but you need to work pretty hard.

Great prof. Hard tests but he is also fair. As some of the other reviews state, he is best if you are willing to ask questions and work. If you want an easy class, skip him. I got a lot out of his class but had to work pretty hard for a intro class

Dr. Tinu Ruparell is an amazing professor, he really knows the material he is teaching, however his tests are very general long answer questions. You must read textbook in order to do well on his exams. really know the philosopher and their main argument. as for assignments, they are extremely easy friday submissions that are worth 10%

pretty easygoing prof. love his little handout about valuing education on the first day (he did this to both classes i took with him). requirements are easy (midterm and paper).

really interesting class, but not a easy A. You do need to read and work, not just watching movies. Still, I learned a lot

Dr Ruparell is a brilliant professor. Took a course on Science & Religion with him (RELS 397), and man does he know his stuff. Great lecturer, will go on talking about the subject matter without notes for hours and you won't get bored. BUT, his exams are very general and open-ended long answer type. Read and you'll do well.

good block week class - pretty easy assignments but the exam at the end was challenging. Really good lectures and was very helpful in emails and questions. A regular amount of reading for a block week. Would definitely take another class with him. Really smart and nice - pretty funny too

Great prof - I took 346 with him and enjoyed both the lectures and the films. He does expect you to work and think independently, so he doesn't hold your hand, but if you read and go to class, you will be fine. Made me rethink how I watch movies and understand my faith

Enjoyed his block week class on film and religion. Interesting lectures and he is good at getting back to you on emails. Took a while to get the grades up but overall a fair marker if you do the readings. Not an easy A but pretty fun.

This course was very interesting and Tinu gave a very balanced, nuanced and sophisticated view of both sides. I learned a lot in this course and really enjoyed the lectures and even the writing assignments. A background in philosophy or religions helps with this course. I would take another course with him for sure

Don't know what the previous person's beef is. I found Ruparell to be pretty balanced. If you are a religious believer you might find the course a bit challenging, so maybe don't take a class on atheism to be necessarily kind to religious people. I thought he presented the pros and cons pretty well - its just hard to justify some positions.

I enjoyed this class - we saw a lot of films and his lectures were a bit long, but he was approachable and clearly knew a lot about the material. Made me think. Assumed you read the book so didn't talk about it much, but answered questions.

Taking a Rels 205 class with him online - pretty hard going for a 200 level but at least he is open to curving the grades and has been very responsive to adjusting things. Interesting lectures and his podcasts are good, but I think he would be better in person.

I wish more professors were like this. Old school, makes you actually think about the material and gives you the grade you deserve. Doesn't give in to whiny students who think they are entitled to A's just for showing up.

I really liked his podcasts but the course was pretty hard. At first I thought he was just unfair but he curved the grades, so that helped. Hes a good lecturer and expects you to read the book, so if you not prepared to read the textbook, dont bother. If you want to be challenged, then hes your man.

Doesn't post lecture slides online, so going to class is mandatory. Textbook is a must because of the papers. Doesn't give back assessments in a timely manner, but is remarkably helpful if you visit him during office hours. All in all, his grading his like most other profs.

Dr. Ruparell is a great prof and lecturer. I took his block week course and really enjoyed it. Very interesting topics. You do have to read the textbook and show up to class for his tests. I'm assuming all the negative comments were made by people who were looking for an easy A and were upset they didn't do very well. All in all, would recommend

took this class during block week. it was awesome he made the lectures fun. there is lots of reading as the MC tests are based on the textbooks but its an easy read and the chapters are not that long. he did flip through the slides fast but it was a block week. we got to watch horror movies that described chaos and the demonic. overall great class

Online class was harder than what I expected, but the material was good and prof was flexible. He curved grades so it was fair overall, but definitely not an easy class! Ruparell would probably be better in person as his podcasts and lectures were interesting.

Don't know what the negative reviews are for - he curved grades when the average was low (like failing) and the tests were straight out of the book. I ended up doing well in his class and his lectures and podcasts were good. I just read the book and all of the answers were there once you saw what he was after. TA was good too

Excellent course with an excellent prof. Made me think totally differently about religion and movies. Best Rels course so far

Don't listen to the whiners. This was probably the best class I have taken at the U of C. Lectures are amazing and if you do the readings, his tests are fair. It's the only course I have taken here (I am a business student) which actually makes you think and there wasn't a week that went by that my mind wasn't blown.

This isn't your typical memorize and write class - this is about critical theory and defending your opinions. It's a highly intellectual course so be prepared to use your brain. It was tough because there was no textbook or posted slides to review after lectures. I recommend attending every lecture. However, you learn a lot. I would take again.

good prof very heavy on readingshis rels201 course was nice, if you dont take classes regularly tho you will face troubles and will have to work hard to get relevant notes from classmates because without those youre going to have to be really really good at making stuff up to even get a respectable grade in his long form essay based exams.