John Matthews - Boston University, Boston, MA

Professor: John Matthews

Department: English

College: Boston University, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: EN327
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Matthews is by far my favorite professor. He's intelligent and helpful without being condescending, and I could always be honest in class even if I hated the book he chose for us! He is a lot of fun if you read, but you can get away with skipping some short stories if you participate regularly. His pre-discussion lectures are great too.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: EN220
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Excellent professor! He really knew how to stimulate interest in English; it was clear he is very passionate about his profession. He makes it a point to be accessible to his students, constantly offering office hours for every major paper there was. He is very down to earth and also engages his students in important conversations.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: EN327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor! Loved this class. He has a good attitude and always manages to crack a few jokes. I would recommend him to anyone looking for an english class!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: EN327
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst English professor I have had at BU. I found him to be pretty condescending during class discussions and during office hours. He uses his own political views to guide the discussions and doesn't consider other sides. The reading was depressing and there was a lot of it.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: EN323
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Best English professor at BU. Makes you feel like you're getting the education you came for at BU; it doesn't feel like another required class. He picks the best material and really cares that everyone understands main themes and concepts. Really heartfelt guy though a little snarky at times. I loved him. Wish I could have him every semester.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: EN406
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you're an English major, definitely take this with Matthews. The readings are philosophical and dense, but discussion-heavy classes allow students to access difficult works of literary theory. You're not expected to master all the theory -- just to understand key concepts and their relation to literature.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: EN327
• 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:

Genuinely a wonderful professor/human being. As a previous review mentioned, he is completely unpretentious, which is a rarity in the English department. He's unbelievably knowledgeable and approachable. No, you won't get A+'s on everything, but if you make an effort he will meet you halfway.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: EN600
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Modern American Novel. Matthews is an inspiration. Not only is he the leading Faulkner scholar to study under, but his ability to entice thorough understanding of all novels read is just plain impressive. Best teacher in the English department, undoubtedly.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: EN546
• 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:

If you have the opportunity to take The Modern American novel with Matthews, do it. It's a demanding class, but the novels are incredible and his wealth of knowledge is immense, not to mention, he is the president of the Faulkner Society and the key essay in the Norton anthology--not a bad person to read The Sound and the Fury under.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG304
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's hilarious! Way to stick it to the man!

Rating # 11

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: EN546EN583
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

i remember a class discussion on "dry september."we had some harebrained theories, which prof. matthews was kind enough to humor and guide in the right direction and then,literally in the last moments of class, he brought all that murky faulknerian subtext to the surface, turned the story over in a light we hadn't seen before.best 5mins of teaching

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: EN125HONORS
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He knows his stuff,leading productive thought provoking discussions. He grades fairly and makes himself available outside of class. However, he's incredibly opinionated and politicizes everything, and is eager to mock his students if they express a different point of view. He's a decent guy, but very frustrating if you don't like being walked on.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: EN125HP
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If you can take Readings in Modern Lit Honors, you absolutely should. The discussions are amazing, the books are interesting, and the grading is very reasonable. My favorite class this semester!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: EN546
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The class is really interesting and he makes it worth the while but your grades won't reflect what you've learned. I think the subject is worth it only if you don't mind your hard work not reflected in your grade

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: EN127
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I really enjoyed the class. There is a lot of reading (and I mean a LOT), but class is always interesting. I thought he was a pretty fair grader.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: EN546
• 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:

How shall I begin...the workload was very heavy...~3500 pages...his lectures were boring and pompous beyond belief; he sees everything as political commentary...he grades as if passing grades cost him a pint of blood each..I have never hated a class as much as this one...stay FAR FAR AWAY.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: EN546
• 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: Mandatory

Comment:

probably the best english professor i've had at bu so far. not at all pompous (like a lot of others in the field), very helpful, cracking jokes. grading is a little tough, but show up to class and do the reading. very approachable. go to office hours.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: EN546
• 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:

His grading is very tough, and the workload is pretty ridiculous...if the course's reading list looks like something you'd like to read for fun, go ahead, he's not a bad teacher...but if not, stay far far away. Don't expect much effort on his part to make the material interesting.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: EN546
• 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:

Prof Matthews is amazing! Take his class - he is by far the best professor I've had so far in my 3 years at BU...