Lou Bastien - Clark University, Worcester, MA

Professor: Lou Bastien

Department: English

College: Clark University, Worcester, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG245
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Take a shot every time this man says: "In any event..." In all seriousness, he should be a staple to every undergraduate English major's education at Clark. He will wander off topic and rant at times, but if you push through that, you will absorb from his reservoir of knowledge.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENG245
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This guy is absolutely nutso intelligent. His lectures are interesting, if not prone to wandering away from the topic. His class definitely seems more difficult than it is. He's the sort of professor that has an intimidating intellect but really understands students and is willing to reward honest efforts and hard work.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG169
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He is a great professor but really starts to wonder off topic, ending up telling stories that has to do remotely with the class. He is very smart, though, it is just that sometimes his rambling takes up more of the class than discussion on the actual topic but he really wants the best for you and wants to help you. Is willing to re-explain things.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MYTH000
• 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:

As said in many of these reviews, this is a man with an intimidating intellect. If he reads these, I hope he will take from them a common theme, that is, a tendency to swerve off-topic. If he can stay on subject, he would easily be seen as one of our school's great professors.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENG232
• 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:

He is the best English teacher at Clark. After a class I would just think about his gems of wisdom for hours. He is very intimidating but that is due to his intelligence.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Scary guy. Really scary. He never actually talked about anything related to english, but we covered poetry, that was about it. The class was called "Intro to Lit" and we read no literature (excluding poems) and wrote 3 essays, took 2 tests. He's a hard grader and a straight up crazy guy.

Rating # 7

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable, entertaining lectures, and intimidating. One of the only classes I never skipped. Only four papers were assigned, but it's expected that they're great quality. Make sure you know how to cite and actually use secondary sources. I never read any of the books until the paper and got a good grade. Informative and highly recommended.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Amazing man. Exceedingly intelligent. His lectures are entertaining, but tend to be full of tangents. Like others have said, he's perfectly willing to give students A's, but he expects you to work for them. His course work takes effort and a lot of outside research. Hands down, the best professor I've encountered at Clark so far.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG142
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is the most unorthodox teacher ever! Simple and doesn't really post grades on cicada which leaves you lost. If your used to a prof who is more "go with the wind", HE IS PERFECT!He is a very lively professor who makes jokes. I never read the books and left with a B. Beware thou, if you dont pay attention....you will be lost.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG245
• 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 Bastien is fantastic. Anyone who dislikes him is merely too lazy to do the work and therefore doesn't get a good grade. His lectures are amazing, this man knows EVEYRTHING.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Lou is a superlative professor, but as other comments suggest, he's going to be difficult for students who aren't used to dealing in weighty ideas even in low level english classes. He does, though, give out As (I received several), but reserves those for students whose full performances merit them, and not for people who merely work hard.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENG020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Warning: do not take ENG020 with this professor if you want your final grade to be higher than a B.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENGL201
• 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:

Bastien knows his material and will help students; he's great in office hours. But he's not the kind of professor who spouts treacle at students; if you're in his class, prepare to think, to read, and to say something interesting if you want to be heard.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENG103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

It has been 15 years since I took his classes in the summer and I must say out of the classes in college, this one, that was unrelated to my major stuck for life. Professor Bastien made me think of myth and life! I still want to take his classes again. Out of pure pleasure.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENG144
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

he's wicked smart. but a wicked hard grader. There's 0.5% of the chance you can get anything above b+ when he scales. That is to say, if there's 35 people in a class, there will not be an A at all. So save your grade, don't take his class!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENG140
• 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:

Bastien, like all the other comments have noted, is intimidating in his intellect. If the student is prepared to be wrong some of the time, he is really a nurturing professor invested in his students' learning, not their grades. He is a tough grader initially, but he scales up most of the time. Note to the reader: he IS serious about absences!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENG128
• 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:

Outlandishly smart and inspiring to anyone with an eye towards majoring in English, Dr. Lou is a valuable resource and tremendous speaker.

Rating # 18

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Passionate professor who obviously knows and cares about the subjects he teaches. Get ready to use your brain and be challenged. If you need support and coddling, he's definitely not your guy!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGLI20
• 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:

Bastien is a renaissance man; a wealth of knowledge. He is committed to his craft and to his students. He is a brilliant man...casting his pearls on pavement. If you don't like him...chances are you're stupid.