Joseph Portanova - New York University, New York, NY

Professor: Joseph Portanova

Department: History

College: New York University, New York, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SF3
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Portanova can be a great guy but most of his lectures were irrelevant and he would often go off on tangents. Wanted students to participate for a grade but never opened the class for discussions and whenever students did participate, he would talk down to them to prove he had more knowledge on the subject.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

DO THE READING!! if you do the VERY CLEARLY LISTED READINGS and take okay notes than you're solid for his class because he pretty much goes over the readings in more detail. For SF1 there are 2 essays, pretty easy midterm and final. He lectures mostly but adds humor ever so often. It's not THAT hard to do well in his class

Rating # 3

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

It was hard to keep up with his course, but he is a great person.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SF3
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Portanova is one of the best professors I've had at NYU. You definitely have to do the readings before class, but it makes the lectures engaging. He also picks really interesting literature for the class that covers more than just White European authors. His exams are straightforward but he's a tough grader on papers - but office hours are helpful

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

You have to put the time into this class. Do the readings, take notes, listen well in lectures. Portanova is a fantastic lecturer - so much knowledge to share and fun stories thrown in for effect! It's a hard class, but it's rewarding when you put in the effort. Lots of reading, and he expects you to participate in speaking to it in class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SF3
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Portanova is incredibly intelligent and knowledgable. His lectures are very interesting and he has a sweet, quirky sense of humor. He is always at least 10 mins late. But he gives very straightforward and interesting reading and paper assignments. Ask him about his dachshund.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Joseph is my favorite teacher at NYU. His lectures are hysterical, and incredibly interesting. Make sure to go to class because he bases his exams on content of class discussions, but they're really not hard if you do the reviews. His office hours also helped in the two papers he assigns, and he's a very fair grader. All in all a phenomenal human

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SFIUF101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He knows literally everything about the material. Very knowledgable but his reading expectations are wild. He never cancels class, but he will likely be about 10-20 minutes late every single day. Midterms/finals aren't hard (only 3 questions) so really only need to thoroughly study 2 texts for each exam. Don't waste your time studying everything.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SFIUF101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Honestly I was surprised by the class quality based on these comments. Boring lectures, talks over you, always late, completely arbitrary grading system that he almost refused to explain. Sweet guy but not a great professor.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Showed up late to class 7 out of 10 times and would start class 15 minutes late. He grades for participation but doesn't ask a lot of questions. Tried to participate and he spoke over me. Goes on tangents a lot, can't be sure what to write down.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SFII2
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took him for both SFI and SFII and it was a blast. He is knowledgeable and loves participation. If you do the readings and listen to the lectures, you will do fine. He expects a lot in essays but the exams are definitely doable. He's hilarious and just an adorable human being. 10/10 would take again. I wanted to but his classes fill up so quickly

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SFII2
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

My friend and I used to refer to him as King Joseph the Reasonable. If he gives you a bad grade, it's totally fair, and he doesn't expect anything insane from you in order to get an A. He can be surprisingly funny and charming, and his map-making skills are INSANE. Super memorable!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, signed "swifty Morgan."

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I LOVE Portanova. He expects a certain amount of dedication and effort from his students, but altogether he's not a particularly hard grader. Read the assigned hw, and you'll do just fine in class and probably on the midterm/final, too. His lectures were interesting (the man is so knowledgeable) and he told fun stories in them. Also, field trips!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SF3
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Portanova really cares about the material he teaches, very prepared for class, and there a wide variety of materials used: literature, poetry, art, photography, film--you name it. He makes the class exciting with his jokes and whiteboard drawings, also very engaging. Helpful during office hours, excellent professor. Assignments are interesting too.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SF3
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Portanova is really knowledgeable and passionate about the areas he teaches, but he can be unclear on grading criteria. Definitely do the assigned readings (there's a lot) and answer the discussion questions before class. Really helps you understand the material better.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

SF1 Funny guy who loves his dog

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• 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:

Just love him, amazing class engagement!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SF1SF2
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Portanova gives out a syllabus with the exact assignments for each class in the semester and sticks to it, which is nice. Sometimes he gives questions to be answered and turned in for a grade just to keep you on your toes. Real talk though, he's easily the best professor I've ever had - the passion he has for the texts is contagious.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SF1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Portanova is really nice and funny but also very intimidating in class. He knows his stuff and is super intelligent, will definitely help you if you go to his office hours. There's a lot of reading and you better know your stuff because he will expect you to always have done your reading.