Danny Kaiser - Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY

Professor: Danny Kaiser

Department: Literature

College: Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Danny is, by far, the most brilliant teacher I have ever had - yes, I'm comparing him to Ilja and the other "greats". The profusion of negative comments he has received here only serves to demonstrate how the very culture he is critiquing has rendered the possibility of great education - meaning the negation of unformed thought - nearly impossible.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: LITR3188
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Danny Kaiser is a genius and a sweetheart. Anyone who says otherwise is just bitter that Danny burst the bubble of pseudo-academia they had so carefully constructed. If you care about the material, Danny cares about you. All he wants to do is teach, so if you want to learn, take his class. If you hate him or dismiss him as crazy, examine yourself.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: LIT69
• 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:

My view is that Kaiser is intelligent, but not brilliant. His personality is tragically erratic. I don't think he means any harm, but he's too narcissistic and threatened to engage in any idea other than his own. I get the impression he's immensely frustrated and lashes out at students rather than trying to help. Great list of books!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: LITR101
• 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:

An absolute genius. That being said, I would not recommend Kaiser's class if you value actual, productive conversations about literature. He doesn't accept different interpretations, and will assign you a level of work beyond intense. If you have experience with insanity and love to do TONS of work, then by all means take his class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: LIT1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Danny is a genius-maniac of the highest order.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: LIT1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I was pretty cocky when I showed up in Danny's class but he blew me up pretty damn quick. I went home with 'Madame Bovary' and read it again, because I needed to understand the connections he made. Irritable, suspicious, yes, but generous with smart, dedicated students. If you love literature, he's a way to go. Does NOT suffer fools gladl

Rating # 7

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Danny is an absolutely amazing professor! He's insane and brilliant and if you handle him it's well worth it. You have to accept him for all his eccentricities. You either hate him or love him. He does yell in class, he is offensive, he is tough, but he is hilarious and genius. Work hard he'll love you too.

Rating # 8

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

I am never taking a class from Kaiser again. He is a complete nightmare. He is obscene and offensive...my favorite Kaiser quote is "like most lower middle class people, Emma [from M Bovary] thinks she is extraordinary." He has such a negative viewpoint about literature and he doesn't let the students even get one word in. Terrible.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CW1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Prepare to take a deep dive into the material, and DO NOT take his class if you have only a casual interest in the material. It's been 10 years now, but even now I remember how insane he was. I hated his teaching, but I can understand why some would find him brilliant. Unless you are willing to immerse yourself in his Kaiserisms, pick a diff. prof

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: LITEURO
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I was fortunate to have a lecture in literature as well as a course in opera (w/ B. Rose) a long time ago. Sounds like he's getting crazier and crazier. Somehow I managed to pull off A's in both courses. I'll never forget how he fixated on the line "But I believe in opera!"(from Dost.) I remember that, and it means the world to me.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: LIT101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

OMG, he is so vain. He encourages opinions, yet shoots them down when you express them.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGL1101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

kaiser is the best prof I ever had--when you take a class w him, you have to just sit back and soak in the brilliance. all those silly people who have written that you have to agree with his always-current and decisively brilliant insights are just jealous b/c they're not as smart as he is...who could hope to be? Take notes and learn something, fo

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CULTUWARS
• 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:

Danny's screeching voice, gyrating hands, and fervent belief in his ideas, along with other eccentricities to boot, convey a man besotted by madness and brilliance alike. But, most of what he says is obscure: his speech vitiates as it follows a path of free-association without any seeming purpose. He suffers from tourettes. He is a bully. Be warned

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: LITR3315
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His train of thought swerves all over the place. He doesn't "teach" Culture Wars so much as argue one side. His arguments are often insightful, though, and cannot be found in textbooks. If you can make sense of chaotic free-associations, you might like his classes, although I wouldn't recommend more than 1, as he repeats the same arguments.

Rating # 15

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

the trick with kaiser is to take scrupulous notes and, in your papers, try to basically parrot back what he said, making at least one brilliant connection along the way. the man is out of his mind, but he's smart as hell. and i think he probably knows it.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MODERNISM
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 19THCLIT
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Eh? Brilliant? Amazing? Puhleeze. In my class, the guy would ask questions, then snap "NO" at students until some sheep in the front repeated his own words back to him, at which he would exult "Exactly!" Did not even pronounce slavophile correctly. Terrible class. AVOID.

Rating # 18

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

You'll love him or hate him. But love him or hate him, there's no denying that the man is brilliant, and if you effort into listening to him you'll learn more than you ever dreamed you'd be able to.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

crazy

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

If you survive, you love him, and he loves you. He's tough, but you'll never read in the same way again.