Daniel Boucher - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Professor: Daniel Boucher

Department: Theology

College: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The professor takes a topic that has a lot of potential to be fascinating but makes it somewhat dry, he's just talking at you for 50 minutes without usually incorporating videos or pictures. He's very passionate though and if you take good notes the quizzes are easy, and you don't really have to do readings.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN127
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Though stern he gives very clear lectures and unlike other reviews he was always there to offer extra office hours and talk to people outside of class. He is very straightforward in his grading which made it difficult to mess up. He really makes it easy and my TA was a gem as well. Just go to lecture and he explains everything for essays and quizs

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• 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:

The professor is definitely passionate about the material, but he can come off as abrasive/irreverent during lectures (which are completely technology-free by the way--no powerpoints). Weekly assignments, a couple easy quizzes, and two big papers. As far as stress/workload, nbd. But I left with less enthusiasm for the subject than I came in with.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

If you do the homeworks (which are easy) and go to class, you'll get an A+

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

If you are at all interested in the subject matter, you should find the readings and lectures very worthwhile. I especially enjoyed that he picked a lot of colorful and engaging primary sources rather than dry commentary. This class gives an excellent survey of religion in Asia and provides a good foundation for future investigation.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Quiz preparation is vague, unhelpful feedback on papers and discussion responses, hardest class of my semester and it was not even for my major!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher! He's very passionate about the subject matter and explains it very well. He does speak very quickly so it can be hard to get all the notes, but he is extremely helpful and will answer any of your questions after class. If you ever need help on a paper, go to his office hours!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN250
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The class was easy; a couple simple quizzes and two papers. He is a great lecturer, although he does talk really fast, and always answers questions and even goes over old material before each lecture in case you weren't there.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN2250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A great lecturer and a ridiculously interesting topic. Lectures aren't mandatory but you won't want to miss any of them. He is a very clear speaker and really holds your attention. One page paper due every week, three quizzes and two papers. A pretty easy class but he speaks very quickly, get a digital recorder so you don't miss what he says!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN250
• 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:

I thought he was a really good lecturer. Despite just talking for an hour with no slides, I rarely found my attention wander. The readings seemed appropriate in content and length. Overall pretty easy with a weekly response that takes no time at all and occasional quizzes. Quite approachable.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN354
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Boucher is quite a disturbed individual. He says things without thinking and tends to blurt out things that are completely disrespectful and out of bounds. Overall, he is a rude person. I really do not know how he received tenure (hasn't published a book yet and most students try to avoid him). It is a shame, actually.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN127
• 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:

While this class was interesting, it was hard to write papers on the subject because we had only been exposed to the topic for a few months.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN127
• 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:

Very tough and sometimes very boring when he lectures. His material is usually complicated and hard to understand. He IS very nice and helpful if you approach him. You have to go to office hours and he will help you.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Word to the wise: Boucher not only reads the same notes every year, he uses the same quizzes and essay questions. Just check with a friend who took it the year before, like I did.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I don't know how you can find this class hard. I never did the readings and still easily got an "A" in the class, all becauase of Prof. Boucher and his lectures. Although he doesn't seem to show it as often as people would like, this man is absolutely brilliant.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The class had a lot of reading and the professor often made me fall asleep. I actually did bad in the class mostly because I was asleep during the class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I can see why some people wouldn't like Prof. Boucher, because he doesn't take any crap. I liked it, though, and thought it was a solid intro to Asian religions. His lecturing is very well-organized, he's helpful if you go to his office hours - my only complaint is that the quizzes were too hard.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ASIAN441
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class was very much like having my toenails removed and then aggressively salted.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: AST441
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This was a seminar class, so it brings out a different teaching style than lectures. Boucher really was good at fostering discussion, and I learned a lot in this class due to interesting discussions. There was a bit of reading, but it was all pretty interesting. I recommend this class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: RELST354
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He does know stuff, he just can't teach it. He is scary during office hours when you just need clarification. Take Gold's classes. He is more interesting and knowledgeable. Law is good too. Avoid this guy though.