He's a little soft spoken, but other than that, he's a pretty good instructor. It's pretty cool getting 10% just for showing up to class.

I really liked him as a teacher, I felt mid-term exam and labs were fair. The final exam was somewhat specific. Other than that, great teacher; I learned a lot.

Such a good prof. He is extremely well prepared for class and is genuinely a nice guy.

Very good prof. Cute, clear and easy to understand.

Lam is a little quirky and I like that. Could be a little clearer regarding exams but otherwise he's pretty organized and willing to help. Approachable and kind.

Dr. Lam is a good prof. He sincerely cares about his students, and I think he is eager to improve his teaching style, as demonstrated by his last exam which was waaaay better than any of his others ('I've now written 4). I would reccommend him to others.

Yin is very sweet and if you take the time to ask him questions, very helpful. His testing was very challenging and unfair at first, but improving. I would recommend him.

Really great guy always willing to give extra help, however, WORST exams I have ever written, and course load?! Dont take his class unless its the only class you plan to take, on top of a term paper and 3 midterms there was a report and numerous weekly assignments and readings. Knows his**** though

Dr. Lam is a genuinely kind person, and he seems to really care about his students and how they do in his class. However, his tests are REALLY hard and the work load is crazy. 2 papers and 2 tests in the last week of school for one class is a little extreme.

I took this class a while ago now, but I wanted to write after reading the other comments. He's not the best, but you just have to learn his style. Go talk to him and he's really helpful, clear and reasonable. You just have to make an extra effort in this class to do really well.

In the intro class he focuses on mostly archaelogical anthropology and all the details of human evolution (only a small amount is cultural). If you like memorizing a lot of dates and tiny details you'll do well on tests. He's a good teacher though, and such a sweet man! You'd have a hard time hating him, even with a bad grade.

This guy is absolutely hilarious. He should seriously consider a profession as a comedian. This keeps me interested in the class and I am able to stay on topic, however his tests are very hard. If you do not study very well and cannot pick up minute details then you will have a hard time.

Professor Lam took a lot of grief in this course. His midterms were understandably difficult, as it is a 1st year class, and people have to be weeded out. The weak ones whined, which influenced his teaching in the last half of the class, and he made it way to easy. He seems like an incredibly nice guy...but the students just complained too much.

A really challenging and interesting class. The course load is heavy but you will learn a lot. He is a nice guy who is very knowledgeable but his exams are a bit dodgy. However he is improving and is willing to change his style according to students' feedback which a lot of other profs won't do. Take this course if you really want to learn.

Is adore too strong a word? He's a great prof.

Dr. Lam is notorious for being difficult, but it isnt actually that bad. Just be prepared for a lot of memorization. He's pretty cute in a nerdy kinda way.

i am sort of in love with lam. mostly with his endearing little jokes you know he thought up before class. the first exam i did horribly, but you can kinda figure out which things he focuses in on. you'll seriously never have another prof who puts this much time into a class.

I really liked him, his classes are always intresting, and he tries hard to help you do well on his exams

It was a pure delight to learn from this wonderfully knowledgable and culturally enlightened man. His quick jokes and witty comments make him one of the top university proffesors of this era.

I loved professor Lam. He was clear, helpful, and SO amusing. And for the number of people who complain about his exams, I found them to be fairly easy.

A fun class to take. Although the subject matter may be a little dull, Lam made the class very fun and entertaining.

Nice enough. Makes funny throat noises. Very quick about getting grades returned.

Wow... what a hardcore class. That being said, Yin is a good teacher in upper level. Small classes make all the difference. Really likes his animal bones... a lot. Totally committed, but expects SO MUCH from you. Funny jokes in that deadpan, silly kind of way. Sometimes generous marker. No final exam if you attend all classes.

Absolutely great prof. He really knows his stuff, and he's always around to help. Tough class, requires a lot of work but he even bought our class pizza on the last day. Very witty, and totally hilarious. Made some boring material really interesting.

Great Prof! Knows his stuff, makes class intresting, some pretty good movies too! highly recomend!!!

good teacher. knows his stuff and obviously enjoys wat he's doing. pretty funny guy, however material can at times be pretty dry. deffinately recommend him though. tests can be a **** so make sure you study.

Take a class with this prof if you can. Tests are detail-oriented but he scales them so you don't even have to read all the material to do well. He puts a lot of work into making things interesting even though the material is a bit dry at times.

Although his midterms are tough and detailed they are scaled so you usually do better than you actually think. He definately knows his stuff, classes are entertaining and clear, and defintely wants his class to do well. He even gave us an option of doing an optional assignment that would only count towards our mark if it helped our grade.

Yam is hilarious. Hilarious. If you've got an A+, I wouldn't bother with the bonus assignment. It's fun but won't help your mark at all and is marked pretty arbitrarily. The tests are pretty easy as long as you've read the textbook and the class slides. Don't take super detailed notes in class - just jot down what he says that isn't on the slides.

awesome prof!

A really hilarious professor. He's an example of how to teach a 100 class that doesn't seem to require a professor. Take Lam at all costs if you take anthro 100.

The sweetest man in the world! What other prof brings coffee, tea, hot chocolate and donuts to class every time? Interesting classes, and a genuinely nice guy who actually cares about his students.

Awesome. He makes funny comments and puts amusing pictures on the slides. He's also a big fan of scaling, which helps your grade a lot. The midterm even had bonus questions. Both of the tests were easy anyways. Fun, easy class with a good prof.

Sure...there was alot to do (1-2 assignments + readings and quizzes every week), but this is what kept me on my toes. No room for procrastination like those other courses that have one term paper worth 50%! To top it all off, Dr. Lam is an awesome person *and* teacher!

This guy was definitely my best prof of first year!

Nice person, and an expert in his field, but the final was brutal and having a "cheat sheet" that he allowed didn't help at all! Best advice is to know everything in the text and on the slides inside and out.I'm just glad the class is over :(

Amazing professor. He actually cares about his students and wants to relate to you. He engages you in the lecture, and does the best he can even though it is a bit dry. He goes above and beyond to help you succeed. His tests are very detailed, but he scales them and offers a bonus assignment which is ridiculously easy. TAKE HIM!

I had absolutely no interest in Anthro before I took Yin's course. Now I am considering Antro as a major. He totally forces you to read the text or you're pooched(the text is quite good). Expectations are laid out at the beginning and the exams are difficult but he scales them to an average of 72.5%. You will learn a lot if you do your homework.

Good prof but the tests were ridiculous. Small insignificant details seemed to be his focus.. make sure you pay attention to examples! He allows a cheat cheat to tests but mine didn't help me either time; stick to specifics.

Hard test, very specific questions, lets you use a cheet sheet but hardly helps! nice guy, approachable out of class. Make sure to go to all the classes, on days when not many people go he gives out free answers on the upcoming test. and pay the 10$ for the optional assignment it's easy A!!

I've taken 2 classes with YIN MAN LAM and I don't care if his tests are hard his notes are great and he is hilarious. If you pay attention and go to class you know what is going to be on the exam.

Lam is interested in the material, which makes it easy to follow. The tests are meticulous but the marks average to a B anyway

Yin is great! He doesn't move too fast during his lectures, so it's not difficult to take notes which is good because the slides are mostly images. He does ask some very specific questions on tests, especially from the text, but if you actually read the text and make your cheat sheet you'll be fine. Also, he's hilarious and SO nice!

So awesome, this guy knows his stuff, but is incredibly humble and approachable. He is super into the material which rubs off on the students. Focuses more on assignments rather than big tests, although he actually gave our class options of how we wanted to structure the course makeup. He's funny, nice, and treats students like equals.

Best Anth Prof out there. He gives you the feeling he wants all of his students to succeed. Extremely friendly and approachable. Just finished my 2nd class with him and I hope I get the opportunity to take another.

Fave prof and anth class. Super helpful, kind, quietly funny, and approachable. Would def recommend any Lam class.

Good prof, keeps the lectures interesting. Beware of the midterm. He will throw in random details from the test book and the lectures. Make sure you know all the sites and archaeologists. Overall a really enjoyable course

Seems like a nice and knowledgeable man, but not a very good professor. His exams are very detail oriented, to the point where it seems pointless to study anything except site names and uses. His tips page for studying is helpful, but again you end up studying for unimportant, trivial details instead of theories and concepts.

Lam is AWESOME. He cares aboutstudents. He had 4 quizes instead of midterm and final (you can drop one test). Most of the marks are from Presentation, quizzes and an essay(which you have to compare and mark your classmates' as well as have time to revision your work at the end of the term). Pizza party on the last day. Provides coffee and snack!

Favourite Anth prof. Great for archaeology courses, the subject he teaches in this course (zooarchaeology) is somewhat challenging but he is very compassionate and helpful. All the assignments are helpful towards future research so they are worthwhile doing. This is the type of course where you have to put in the effort in the lab to get results.

This night class was probably the most fun one I've ever taken. Professor Lam knows the course content can be dry and makes class entertaining. Only quizzes, presentation, and a paper. We had a pizza party on the last day of class with pictures from students who have gone to Africa.

It is literally impossible to fully prepare for exams unless you're capable of memorizing every single passing reference which will drive you insane. You must go to all lectures and I would recommend reading textbook chapters 2x to get the associations in your brain. Low work class but exams focus on small details, not the larger things focused on.

Yin is the only Anthro prof who I feel genuinely cares about his students and is willing to help you with your course work and academic career if you put in the effort and display that you are interested in the topic. Yin truly wishes his students to excel and will do his best to make that happen; something I cannot say for the rest of the dept.

Lectures were fine, tests were difficult IF you did not put in the necessary study time. You were allowed to bring a cheat sheet to every exam, made the tests extremely easy. Got a 95% on the final exam. Was good with telling you what to study, and was helpful in answering questions both inside and outside of class. Overall a fine professor.

Yin is the most genuine guy you'll ever meet, you can really tell he cares about his students. All these people are saying that the tests are ridiculous but you get to bring a cheat sheet into both the midterm and the final so I found them really easy. I found his lectures super chill and fairly engaging. Definitely recommend!

If you do the work the course is easy. Attendance to lectures is necessary. Exams/Tests are easy if you READ and prepare your cheat sheet with very specific examples. All in all very good proff.

Super nice guy, although his lectures are a bit boring and hard to follow. If you get a cheat sheet, fill it up with as many specific examples from the textbook as you can- they're not meant to be for definitions or concepts. Learn those and use the cheat sheet for examples and you'll do fine. Interesting class.

Really nice prof, very willing to help students and passionate about archaeology. Definitely go see him in office hours! I found him better suited to a smaller class than a large lecture. Tests can be tough but use the cheat sheet to your advantage- be sure to ask questions about what sort of material will be on the test.

Definitely a good prof and super nice guy. he does go through notes pretty fast, and exams were very detail oriented, so it wasn't an easy A course, but the material was interesting and he Cleary was very passionate about archaeology and willing to do whatever he could to help his students succeed!

He is such a nice professor. He clearly cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He is never trying to trick you or make you feel bad. He always had guest speakers that were very interesting. One of my favorite prof at UVIC!

What a caring, helpful prof. He was really understanding during pandemic times. Lecture was a little slow and hard to get through since it was such a late class, but it often ended early.

Really nice, caring, and understanding prof. But boy is he a tough marker. I had him for both ANTH 319 and 347 and never got full marks, even on things I thought I did really well on or thought it was just for completion marks. He is really smart and expects a lot from his students. Also very socially aware. Lectures were a bit dry.

Seriously such a funny guy. Yin always made the lectures interesting even if the topic was a bit boring at times. If you understand some basic math and ANTH topics then you should do well. This class would be much more fun in-person, but online I still learnt a lot and met new people which was cool. Yin also talked about his personal experiences.