Brian Orend - University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON

Professor: Brian Orend

Department: Philosophy

College: University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHIL327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I just graduated with a degree in Phil and found his course to be completely lackluster. His classes are not hard, but his personality is not very understanding which makes him hard to like. Plus, his content is absolutely bland and taken straight out of books, so I don't see him as being either gifted or charismatic. Definitely quite forgettable.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHIL327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Not sure why the latest reviews are demeaning towards him. Had him again and his quality of lecturing is still unmatched - and I am in my last semester of undergrad. Definitely a gifted, charismatic and open-minded professor; definitely my favourite professor in the entirety of my undergrad

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Not impressed with him at all. Found him to be a good lecturer but didn't really find him to have much depth in his content or his thoughts. I also didn't enjoy his style which was too rigid with students and lacking understanding about their perspective.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: LS351
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Orend is easily the best professor I have had while at Waterloo. His lectures are engaging and he often ties content to real-world examples (through documentaries). He has a genuine interest in his students and will call everyone by their name in class. If you have the opportunity to take a class with him, make sure you do!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Agree that Brian Orend is grossly overrated in both teaching and scholarship. Don't understand the hype and having taken classes from other brilliant profs in the department, he falls short. On a personal level, I found him rude and insensitive. Mentions PhD from Columbia to brag, but it just makes me question their standards.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHIL328
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This prof writes fluff and gets paid for it. He badly wants people to like him, and relies on his looks and egomanical and megalomanical charm. Then, he switches, really fast, to being cuttingly mean with absurdly demeaning email responses at 3 am. If you have him, pretend to like him or else he will hate you.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Disengaging due to lack of new or challenging content. Everything is regurgitated or paraphrased from texts. I have found other phil classes to be much better in terms of bringing students to a higher quality level of thinking and reasoning.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Great prof, interesting lectures. Really engages the class for all the topics he covers. Felt like a real PHIL 101 course.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHIL327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Not worth it to be honest. His courses tend to lack feedback and he has a higher opinion of his own teaching than he should. I didn't find anything about his lectures really interesting. I learned from the book mostly and ended up with a decent grade which shows that you don't have to attend - he is not insightful at all.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Orend is the best professor I have had while at Waterloo! His lectures are clear and easy to follow, his testing and grading is fair, and he shows genuine interest in his students. I wish I could have taken more classes with Dr. Orend!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: LS351
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Wouldn't use the ratings on here as an indication of his teaching. Don't feel the course was well-taught - I learned more from the textbook. He doesn't provide anything new or challenging.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHIL327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Lecture material was straight out of the textbook / slides. You don't have to attend - just watch the documentaries. He is not this amazing thinker. Standard worker with very little interest in the individuality of his students. More focused on governance and rules than teaching. Poor feedback was given if at all.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHIL327
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Fantastic prof, really engaging and knows what hes talking about. Really interactive during lectures; always an opportunity to engage in discussion. Great visual aids, and Im sure you could skip lecture and do well, but his lectures are such a treat so go!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Not impressed and wished I hadn't taken a class that would be so easily forgotten - I could have learned more from reading advanced texts. If you want a brilliant professor in Phil, take C. Eliasmith's class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Taught biomedical ethics- my fav class for 1A.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHIL329
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He's one of the greatest philosophy professors I've had! Extremely passionate and knowledgable in his field. Very insightful and open-minded. The course itself is very useful in the real-world as well, it's one of those courses that will actually stay in your head, unlike those courses where you write the final and forget the entire course after.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHIL327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

First, he's not hot. He's average & has a small build. Moreover, I find him analytically lacking. He has decent elocution; he isn't monotonous but nothing he says is remotely intellectually striking. Boring because material was directly out of the text. He's VERY bureaucratic. Can't be late even if you have good reasons. Lacks compassion.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures were long, but he made them interesting. Being thorough and detailed is important for the exams, but he gives clear structure and expectations for the exam questions. Final is take-home, and there's a free 5% in the form of a course reflection. Overall great prof, but could be better at providing sample case studies and feedback.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He's a reasonably good lecturer - however, he didn't provide much feedback. In this course, he simply gave some overall comments on the final exam. Midterm was marked by TA (2 short comments). The more detailed you are in your exams and essays, the better you'll do. I don't feel challenged in his classes which is a serious weakness. Meh.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHIL226
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Brian Orend is AMAZING! Lectures were really interesting, he encouraged questions from students. Most fair tests I've experienced - if you showed up for class and could give an opinion, you could do very well. I will definitely take more classes with him.