John Cunnally - Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Professor: John Cunnally

Department: Design

College: Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ART292
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

By far one of the hardest classes I have taken which affected my other classes. When anything got graded by a TA, I often got good feedback and a grade that made sense. When Cunnally decides to grade he will find any flaw and dock you insane amounts of points. He is the stereotypical art history guru who is smart but won't level with his students.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ARTH292
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

An awful teacher. Took an online Art history class and it was easy enough at first, but eventually he had some quizzes (3 a week) which were downright cryptic. It turned into busywork at best and killed my interest in the subject. When asked about the quizzes, his responses were basically "up yours".

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ART292
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I went into this class thinking it was going to be an easy A. Oh was I wrong. So many quizzes and essays, two of which required going to art galleries around town. The only plus was that there were no tests or final exams. The material was interesting, though. Overall, it was probably a similar workload to my 5 credit physics class (221).

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ARTH292
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lots of homework, all lengthy written quizzes and essays. Tough grader who requires extreme detail, sometimes with little basis in lecture or reading materials. Course was more like a 300-level class, and when concerns were brought up came off as rude/uncaring/snobbish. Interesting lectures and materials but be prepared to work for a good grade.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ARTH292
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He assigns an absurd amount of homework, probably 15 hours a week, and grades it all intensely

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ARTH292
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

On the 3 lengthy (roughly 1.5 hour) weekly essay quizzes he gives terms and asks how they relate to lecture but they are very cryptic. For example, there was a clue about a royal angler referencing a painting of a noble looking fisherman. He will not help you so you better understand the association. One minor detail left out results in Cs & Ds

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ART292
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I really dislike his ART 292 class but that aside he seems fairly knowledgeable but the approach he takes to teaching the class is not very helpful. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, he simply posts his lectures and you are to read over them. After reading the lecture he gives a quiz over the material.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ARTH489
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is very knowledgeable in his field and he expects you to become knowledgable during the class, making it fairly difficult. 3 quizzes, a forum post, and an essay a week can get pretty exhausting. However, it's not overly hard if you just write a lot. Be as detailed as you possibly can, and leave up the PP when taking the online quizzes.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ARTH292
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

3 lectures & essay quizzes a week, paper due every Wednesday (sometimes every other) & other assignments as well. This heavy work load would be fine if he wasn't such a hard grader, but if you make one small mistake in your essays you will suffer. I mentioned my concerns to him & his response was snooty & rude, threatening to increase difficulty.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ARTH489
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took history of comics online so I was able to access lectures for quizzes. There's a lot of work, three quizzes a week, a short paper each week over a chapter in a graphic novel and a weekly forum post. There's also a big paper where you also have to respond to two other classmates paper. It's a pretty fun class though but its a lot of work!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ARTH489
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

JC is one of the most respected art historians at ISU. That being said, he expects high quality work from all of his students. There is a steep learning curve for his aggressive teaching style, but it is for the best. If you take yourself and your studies seriously, you'll learn to appreciate how much you take away from the thoughtful lectures.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: DSN183
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

John is the best lecturer I've had at Iowa state. He has a way of weaving stories together that reveal connection you never saw before, he makes you see the cultural complexity in some of the completely mundane objects in our lives. If you miss any classes it will affect your grade. You kinda gotta bomb the first test in order to be ready for rest.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ART292
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Class is not very exciting, professor seems to make up things about pieces. Gives lots of homework, especially during exams. Would not take again, even though it wasn't very hard. Professor is also not helpful in the slightest

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ARTH489
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

too much assignments going on at the same time, you don't learn in this class yo memorize, dates, names, mediums ext. If he doesn't hear what he wants to hear in an answer you're dead.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ART292
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

It was a very interesting class, but there were a lot of lectures, readings, and essays to write. It felt like a 300 level class with the amount of work. I thought it was really fun going to museums around campus to learn more about art.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ARTH292
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I took an online class from him thinking it would take up less of my time than a regular course because I work a lot. I was completely wrong. You have a two page paper due every other week, two 7 page papers during the semester, 3 quizzes per week and "journals". The only redeeming factor is that you can use the lectures during the quiz.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ARTH281
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

John is the most interesting and best lecturer I've ever had, I took 4 or 5 full pages of single spaced notes every class. After studying fairly hard I got a 20/100 on the first exam. You will be expected to know artist, title, date, and technique of around 50+ art pieces for each exam.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ART281
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Cunnally is the one professor I avoid at all costs. The way he talks is like nails on a chalkboard, he won't help the class with notes at all, gives exams after every single class expecting you to know 100% of what he rambled on about, and you'll obviously fail that quiz if you didn't go to class. If you can, find a different professor for ART H.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ARTH280
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Cunnally is by far the hardest professor I have had so far at Iowa state. During lecture it's best to type notes because you should write everything he says because even the smallest details are important to him since he has quizzes 3 times a week and the tests are very hard. Recommend studying for the test with a group. Overall, a very smart prof.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ARTH280
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Cunnally knows what he is talking about, pretty sure he has a photographic memory, but this isn't an easy class. You need to pay attention, and don't hold back on details, there's no such thing as too detailed in terms of quiz/test answers. Expect to put a lot of time into the class. Recommend starting to study for the final exam at week three.