David Levy - SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY

Professor: David Levy

Department: Philosophy

College: SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHIL205
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is the best professor I have had at geneseo. Don't get me wrong, he expects a lot out of you but as long as you are putting in the work and showing him you are trying he will help you reach your goals. He is incredibly intelligent and quick witted. If you are willing to work for your grade, the reward of knowledge is very worth it.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

One of my favorite professors at Geneseo. His lectures force you to think incredibly deep. I genuinely feel smarter after every class. The number one key to doing well in his class is taking detailed notes in class and providing your opinion during his lectures. He is extremely smart but it's easy to keep up with him. Great professor!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: HONR102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

You need to get on his good side to get a good grade. If he likes you you're in, if not good luck.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHIL205
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

David Levy is the best professor I've had at Geneseo yet. He is intelligent, articulate, quick minded, and he has made Ancient Philosophy my favorite class so far. He demands a lot from you intellectually, but that is by no means a negative. If you are willing to show up to class, pay attention, and do the reading, you will be rewarded.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

KEY to get A: 1. Read and Participate (10% of grade,speaking twice a week for full credit) 3. Take in-depth notes during lecture (exams are very easy,questions directly from lecture) 4. Essays (be concise:intro should describe overarching problem, second para. should describe case, body paragraphs. relate to past readings) Straightforward class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHL237
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I am not sure how he got Teacher of the Year. I found him arrogant and unapproachable so does not invite participation. He writes unclear essay and MC questions. He is a very picky grader. He does not grade on what you have learned about the course material; rather he grades on your recall of irrelevant details. His lectures go on and on.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: HUMN220
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

made hum 1 content very interesting, didn't need to do that much reading because his tests were based on what was covered in lectures. Will need to read at least some for the essays though.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hard class. I cant say more.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHIL340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I've had Dr. Levy for a few classes, and I'm doing a directed study with him right now. He's snarky as heck, and can be intimidating and off-putting to people who don't know him, but he's a great lecturer and is fantastic in office hours. I would strongly encourage anyone taking a class with him to go to his office hours, bc he's super helpful.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This class is really straight forward as long as you understand the main idea of the readings and go to class you will get a good grade. Lectures are pretty boring especially by the end of the semester but Levy is sarcastic so it can sometimes be interesting.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Easily my favorite professor at Geneseo. Hard but far paper grader. Nice on tests. Clear and engaging lectures, and an entertaining sense of humor. If you do the readings and make strong, logical arguments on your papers, you'll be fine.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very interesting, sarcastic, vivid professor. Need to participate. Lenient grader on tests. 2 essays, difficult grader, u need to think like a philosopher to do well on the essays, tough task. TAKE VERY GOOD NOTES, as textbook material might seem obfuscate to a non economics or philosophy major.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

10% of grade is participation, so you have to speak in class for an A, which is easy if you read. Easy grader on tests, but tougher on the 2 papers (only 3 pages each). Tests are very short. Very helpful during office hours, a nice guy. Overall very good.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL237
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Levy is very knowledgeable about the material however he is arrogant when he teaches it. He is a very tough grader, if you more or less don't agree with him then you won't do well. If you want to do good, just go to class and repeat what he says on the papers and exams.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHIL324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy, no doubt. He's very intelligent in what he teaches and he's willing to help if you ask. I was not ready to take a 300 level philosophy course so I struggled but it wasn't his fault. He teaches well and is a very fair grader. I'd take him again.... he's by no means arrogant though idk why people say that he's just intelligent.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: HONR102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

You'd be much better off taking this class with someone else. Levy is arrogant and impossible to please. No matter how well-constructed your paper is or how hard you work, he'll rip it apart for some inane and inexplicable reason. He said in class that he purposely enjoys confusing students, and it shows. His class is frustrating. Avoid him.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: HONR102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hate this class. Levy is way more interested in hearing himself talk and sounding smart than running a relevant class discussion. Says he wants students to come to office hours but makes no helpful input. Will give poor paper grades if you don't write what he would have written, even if he admits the paper is good otherwise. Avoid him.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: HONR102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is not supposed to be an English class. It's a critical reading class, which is transdisciplinary and universal. His grading is fair, based on the strength of the arguments in the paper. To my knowledge, there are no philosophy majors in the class, so any accusations of preferential treatment are unfounded. Fun guy, interesting class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: HUM201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I like him a lot because he brought up very interesting concepts and didn't spoon feed us the material. He spent a lot of time on our papers and left helpful comments which was nice. If you're not a vegetable you should do well in his class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: HONR102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Do not take! This was supposed to be an English class but discussions were dominated by philosophical nonsense. He grades essays based off of what he would've written, not the strength of the essay as a whole and is unwilling/unable to explain the rationale behind his grading. Basically, if he likes you (aka you're a philosophy major) you'll do wel