Alan Sidelle - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI

Professor: Alan Sidelle

Department: Philosophy

College: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Sidelle is awesome! I really didn't read the book that much, and I still understood all of the concepts as he covers all important points in his lectures. He really likes it when students participate, so raise your hand in lecture; he is a very open minded and nice guy. Tests are really not bad, but they are mostly in short essay form.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHILOS101
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Sidelle is great. He obviously loves teaching, and even makes an effort to learn student's names in lecture (if you participate.) He tends to ramble, but he reiterates important points enough that you can get away with dozing off a bit. Interesting and fairly easy class overall.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHILOSOPHY560
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The class is rather difficult, but it is not by any means Professor Sidelle's fault. I started by not really reading any of the papers (something you can easily get away with in most philosophy classes), and found myself falling behind in the class. However, the material is extremely interesting (mindblowing, really), and Sidelle is great.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHILOSOPHY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Alan is a cool guy who clearly loves the topic, however he tends to ramble on and on, so if you don't pay attention the whole time it can be easy to lose track of where he is. Not tough when it comes to grading, and the course load is fairly light. Overall it was a cool and interesting course.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• 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:

This is my favorite class and by far my favorite professor that i have had at UW!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Sidelle is an incredible instructor. His class is hilarious, and he really is an incredibly intelligent person. I do not exactly understand what people are saying about reciprocating his lectures in order to receive a good grade, because being precise is possibly the most important aspect of philosophy. He teaches you to be extremely clear.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHILOS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Sidelle is an above average instructor. He explains things well, but takes forever to do so. Because of his lengthy rambles, it was hard to pay attention for entire lectures. Exams were pretty straight-forward. The workload was quite small for a 4 credit class. Only 2 (1-2 page) papers. DON'T BUY THE TEXTBOOK. ONLY BUY THE COURSE PACKET.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHILOS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Funny, energetic professor. Tends to ramble on about one particular topic, and therefore gets behind on syllabus. Grades essays and exams based on EXACTLY what he says in lecture. Book reading could be tedious and unhelpful since he would clearly explain it in lecture. "Okay" class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHIL560
• 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:

Professor Sidelle is super nice. reading these other comments is sad because their dislike, I am sure, is due to more them not understanding the material than him being a bad teacher. The content of 560 is difficult, but it is a very interesting class and sidelle is a great prof and great guy overall.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHILOS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I hate PHILOS 101 but not because of Sidelle. He is a good professor, I just regret taking a philosophy class in the first place.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHILO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This course is very interesting and not hard to gain a good grade. Just got an A. And I am an international student, I took this class in the first semester studying in a English language country.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHILO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures mostly consist of him talking to the class. He's very friendly and approachable, but rambles quite a bit. Grade consists of one midterm, a final, 2 quizzes, and two papers, all of which are graded specifically, but its easy to earn an A if you pay attention in class. Don't buy the texbook, you really only need the course packet.

Rating # 13

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Very intelligent.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL516
• 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:

Language and Meaning, Fall 2010. Very knowledgeable and helpful. He could be a bit confusing, but the topics were difficult.

Rating # 15

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

I can't help but wonder if I had the same prof. as a few of the other people who commented here. I greatly enjoyed Sidelle's class. I thought he was an eloquent, enthusiastic, and above all very kind teacher, very approachable and always willing to help. I also found the exams and both papers VERY reasonable. Highly recommended.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHILO101
• 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:

Alan is a nice quirky guy. He is a little awkward. But, his lectures are so out-there that i never know whats going on, which makes them boring. He likes to use big words that make him sound smart, and on top of how confusing he is makes lecture incomprehensible. do not take this class unless you are a VERY abstract thinker.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Sidelle is extremely boring, very monotonous and grades everything as if you are a philosophy expert. The class is not worth taking, especially with him as the prof. Very nice guy, but awful awful awful teacher. Avoid this class at all costs if you don't want to pull your hair out

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Sidelle's lectures were terrible, and his grading even worse. Exams were near impossible, multiple choice was made of trick questions - he even admitted it, and 4 excessively detailed essays in 60 minutes? BARELY any graded material-2 writing assignments, final and midterm, and two 10 point quizzes. Sidelle ruined philosophy for me, and many others

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Sidelle rambles more than anyone I know, and we got REALLY behind on the syllabus. Boring! But the class was easy, and he was very thorough and clear. If you pay attention in lecture at all you should be fine. Don't bother buying the textbook, you'll only need the coursepack. There are 2 papers, 2 quizzes, a midterm, and a final.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHIL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Excellent professor. He makes things very easy to understand. Even though the readings are sometimes dense, they are short, and he clarifies them perfectly. Very reasonable expectations for a 101 class, very helpful overall - take this class if you are interested in philo.