Thalia Pandiri - Smith College, Northampton, MA

Professor: Thalia Pandiri

Department: Classics

College: Smith College, Northampton, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CLT202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

*Very* flexible about due dates and grading (not great if you're a type-A person who likes a syllabus and definite expectations). Her Classical background and hilariously snide comments made slogging through the densest of material a little bit easier. She can be intimidating, but she's wonderful in office hours.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CLT202
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The subject matter of the class was super interesting, but Professor Pandiri can sometimes be unclear as to what exactly our assignments are. However, she is super flexible about everyone's schedules because she tends to teach such small classes.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: FYS172
• 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:

We did not focus on mother-daughter relationships but topics like cultural gaps and forced prostitution, esp. in Asian literature, which she's not an expert on. Left class alone/was late a lot. Lectures were boring because we rarely got to talk. She often went off-topic and ranted/rambled about anything besides mothers & daughters. Not recommended.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: LAT330
• 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:

Stop whining! Yes, Thalia is a tough grader and can come off as harsh sometimes. But I found her sarcasm to be pretty funny, and she warms up to you if you actually engage with the material. Not my favorite professor, but definitely not as bad as the reviews make it seem.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: FYS172
• 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:

Very blunt in critiques, but very much helpful.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: FYS172
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Completely disorganized. Does not have her grading policy on her syllabus, and when a student asked how our semester grades are formed, she said she didn't know-- and this was halfway through the semester. Mocks us about our "unlimited spare time" and then acts inconvenieced to have to grade our assignments. Doesn't care about the class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

a legend in her own mind!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CLT240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Only wanted to talk about herself and her own opinions. Was rude and often mocked students when they participated in class. Gave useless assignments that did not help students grasp the material and were just busy work, then hardly bothered to return them or thoroughly grade them. Ultimately made an interesting topic feel like dental surgery.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CLT202
• 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:

Not recommended. Not helpful, doesn't seem to care at all about the class (or, from what I've heard, her other classes either.) Spent the last month barely even bothering to teach. Don't take a class with her if you can avoid it.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GRK100Y
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Our class was obviously not her top priority and she didn't even bother to try and help us. Wait for another prof to take Greek 100y!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GRE
• 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:

Thalia Pandiri is my favorite prof. at Smith! Her sense of humor is biting and her insights are brilliant.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GRK100Y
• 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:

she's brilliant. knows her stuff (obviously) and is super helpful with everything. also very funny. Classic Greek class with her is lots of fun, as well as challenging.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: LAT330
• 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:

I took medieval Latin with Professor Pandiri, and really felt like I understood the foundations of Christian literature. She did expect that we all understood Greek, but that was alright - we weren't graded on it.