Tyler Roberts - Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

Professor: Tyler Roberts

Department: Religious Studies

College: Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: REL0
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very high expectations of class discussion and of paper content and quality. Can come off as intimidating, but overall is very friendly and passionate about what he is teaching! Be expected to work very hard.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: REL241
• 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:

Great class! Roberts is amazing at leading discussion in thought provoking ways. You think, you get angry, you argue, and you come to conclusions about the place of religion in the US. Class is mostly discussion based on the readings (which are also great) but he is not afraid of calling students out on being unclear or incorrect in their comments.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: REL115
• 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:

Best class I ever took at Grinnell- I left the class thinking deeply every day. As someone said, his lectures are better than his textbooks, but his book selection is phenomenal as well. He covers basic "what do they believe" material as well as how to study religion thoughtfully. Take this class. It will change your life.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: REL395
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Amazing professor, very intelligent. A difficult grader, but his comments transformed my writing. Does a good job of mixing lecture with discussion so you avoid just having a class of everyone sharing their opinions.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: RELIG115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

We aren't learning about the different Western Religions. I still have no idea which religion has which tradition. If it wasn't for having taken classes previous to Grinnell I would still have no idea about the Five Pillars in Islam. Doesn't really teach anything related to learning about these religions, off topic and distracted often.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: RELIG295
• 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:

Perhaps personal problems are invading his professional life. I found him especially vague and anything but brilliant, completely unable to express himself with any amount of grammatical complexity. Additionally, he seems disinterested and perhaps even vindictive towards religion. He is a philosophy prof in the wrong department.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: 115
• 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:

very interesting. if only class was later in the day

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: REL111
• 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:

A great teacher with some great reading. Comments on tests were sometimes a little vague. Despite having the class at 9:00, I never felt like I was going to fall asleep.

Rating # 9

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: REL115
• 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:

Prof. Roberts is one of the best professors I've had at Grinnell. I still refer to things I learned in his class in my current course schedule. If you get a chance, take Major Western Religions with him. It's awesome.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: REL115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A fun class with different movies, music, and readings. The class could have gone deeper into certain issues, but we had a lot of material to cover.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: REL115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I loved this class. Yes, he loves maps, but that was only a cople days of the semester. The man is brilliant and I thought his lecutres were very interesting. I, for one, thought his lectures way better than the textbook.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: REL295
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

this is one of the most engaging classes i have taken at grinnell. yes, he's challenging, and yes, he does expect a lot of students. yes, he's even a bit pompous. but he's allowed to be: he's brilliant. and very interesting. enthusiastic recommendation.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: REL295
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The others are right - he is brilliant. I found him occasionally difficult to understand, but working on the final I realized I had learned SO much.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: REL115
• 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:

He is nice, smart, and likable. But there is too much emphasis on unrelated topics; for instance, the man loves maps. The lectures are boring and repetative. Sadly, the textbook is more interesting than the class. I liked him, but not the way he taught.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: REL115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Some people here are overly enthused. Roberts is extraordinarily pompous, though admittedly very knowledgeable.

Rating # 17

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Brilliant beyond belief. But tea parties at his home have a tendancy not to work out well.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 295
• 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:

Simply brilliant, and he communicates it well.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

knows his stuff and organized. but hard grader and not always easy to talk to.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: REL285
• 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:

Tyler and his wife Kathleen are far and away the most brilliant people at Grinnell. If you can take a class with either one of them, DO SO NOW!