Ira Nadel - University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Professor: Ira Nadel

Department: English

College: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENGL464A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are pretty chaotic but still super engaging, he pretty much just gives his insights into whatever topic he deems he's interested in that day. You'll need to study a lot on your own for midterms and papers. For his term papers he gives suggested topics and half of them are on works assigned and lectured on only after the paper's due.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: 394A
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Don't be afraid of straight up & down. Malicious sneaks beware! Secretariat on the lookout for American Pharoahs. This life is tricky-- beware. Reading intensive-- just do it! If you think you're ducking into the Louvre to remove a few valuables and be gone you are going to be most sad. Aforementioned, man, Doctor, Professor here to crack the whip.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENGL4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Ira's lectures are more a series of insights and interpretations than straight-forward guides. This approach worked well for me because I like to do my own thing on papers, but I can definitely understand that it could be difficult for others. If you want exceptionally interesting lectures that feel more like a good novel than a class, he's it.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENGL466
• 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:

Nadel is a world-class prof. He's intimidating but in a way that makes you want to do your best work. Not too tough a marker and appreciates a creative approach. His lectures are pretty brilliant but thorough and clear, so that you never feel lost or unable to approach the poems in your own writing. He's also hilarious, and a compassionate guy.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENGL491
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nadel is a great seminar instructor. He asks thought-provoking questions and provides valuable insight we otherwise wouldn't have had access to. He clearly knows his stuff.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENGL462E
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are indeed interesting, entertaining, and inspirational. It makes you think a lot. But that also backfires making his words ambiguous, and it's next to impossible figuring out what he wants to see in the essays and papers. He requests something original, but if you give him your original, you also have to say goodbye to your grade.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENGL348A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof Nadel starts lecture by writing ambiguous, barely legible words on the board, barely clarifies, talks about things of little to no relevance. He is very hard to listen to as you never really know where he is going with any thought. Little to no lecture structure, and admits he makes up some of his lectures on the drive to school. worst.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENGL466
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Inspiring prof who is dedicated to excelling in his field. Grades you on how well you argue your points for papers. Don't add fluff--he'll know. Extra marks for creativity. It may not seem like it at first, but he genuinely cares about us students--he even brought cookies to the last day of classes (enough said)

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENGL227
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nadel picked several interesting books & several extremely boring books. There also didn't seem to be one theme which wove through the whole course- it was rather disjointed. As well, it seemed that he'd read all the books, but not recently. He kept getting details wrong. His exams are difficult, but doable as long as you paid attention in class.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENGL464B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. Had a bad beginning of term and he was challenging, engaged, and extremely helpful. Brilliant individual, amazing lectures. Would highly recommend his course to any literature major.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENGL227
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great lectures. Basically does a one hour long story. Not a lot of discussion in class with students. Regarding midterms, I'd recommend you take the 1.5 hour sections if you can. An hour for an essay question is not a lot of time.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGL362
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I actually found his "obsessions" (fog, newspapers, colors, city) really interesting as they made me read novels in a new way. His class improved my close reading skills and he was a fantastic prof who seemed to really care for student learning. Answers emails quickly and helpful during office hours!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENG362
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Heard good things about him from Professor Sirluck (the queen of ENGL) and was utterly disappointed. Don't waste your time -- 19th cen. lit is my favorite genre to study and he almost ruined it for me. NOT A STIMULATING CLASS. He has topics he obsesses about (fog, colors, newspapers), and doesn't encourage creative thinking. Boring proff.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENGL462E
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nadel's the closest thing to a 'superstar prof' I've found at UBC. Hilarious, well known and knows his material well. Not a particularly tough grader, but that shouldn't imply he does not have high expectations from the students in his course. I really enjoyed the texts we studied, (though I didn't finish Gravity's Rainbow either). Defs recommend.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: 462
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's ok. Super funny, so that's a plus. I personally didn't find his grading very hard. The reading list was rather epic, but somewhat manageable (I never did finish Gravity's Rainbow ...) His knowledge is vast, and he is approachable on good days.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENGL110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Ok prof. Some lectures were interesting. However, he is super pretentious. Also, he calls people out in a very malicious manner if they're on their phone, talking or sleeping. He humiliates them beyond reason and then makes them leave. Its cringe worthy to watch.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENG110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He was an okay prof. in the way that he was interesting when he talked but was also very picky about our essays. He also hates it when people are on their cellphones, and will literally call you out and embarrass you. I also really disliked his reading selection it was unpleasant to read.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENGL362
• 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:

It was fine. Really. Just go to his office hours a lot. If you show a genuine interest, he will be very helpful. Readings were great, lectures were wonderful. If you are willing to work a bit, take this course! You will get a lot out of it.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENGL362
• 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:

Heavy reading list, but worth it. Nadel's lectures are not only entertaining, but extremely informative. I found some of these reviews off-putting, but if you put effort and a little creativity into this course, it pays off. He inspires you to think out of the box and look at texts differently -- making for a nice change of pace for a lit class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGL464A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Amazing man. Highly recommended. Provide some insightful ideas on the essays and final and the A is yours.