Larry Nesper - University of Wisconsin - Madison

Professor: Larry Nesper

Department: TBD

College: University of Wisconsin - Madison

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Nesper is definitely a character and can be quite funny sometime. He's really passionate about what he teaches, and if you go into it with an open mind and are ready to think critically, this class is great. It really helped me thing more broadly. My one critique is that his grading is a bit ambiguous, but it's definitely manageable.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Larry is very passionate about what he teaches, but doesn't make sense half the time. It's super easy to get him off topic and discuss random things which is great, but he doesn't tell you what is expected on tests. There's a lot of reading and he doesn't outline what the grading rubric is. Doesn't put any grades on learn@UW which is annoying

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The grading criteria was very unclear. However, the material discussed in class was extremely interesting and broad. I walked away from this class having read a wide variety of texts, which are applicable to many subjects. If you don't care about getting an A, this class is a must take.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I never understood what we were talking about and none of the lecture time was actually used to explain concepts or make anything clearer. The professor teaches cultural anthropology but uses almost no examples and literally everything is just theory. Definitely regret taking this class

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I am an Anthropology major and took both Nespers Anthro 300 and 314 classes. Nesper is a poor but passionate lecturer that will have you endlessly staring down the clock. He is a terribly unfair grader and if he does not like you, you will not do well. Make sure to participate! I would never recommend any of his classes, but if you do- Good Luck!!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ANTHR300
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Are you sincerely interested in coming out of college with knowledge that will be respected by other academics? If yes, take his classes. They will challenge you to think and learn like an academic. No computers in class should mean you are engaging in the material. If you are an in experienced essay writer go to office hours.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely anti-technology which is frustrating. He is also an unfair grader. You can write basically the same thing as someone else but receive a full letter grade lower. I got a C on the bluebook midterm and asked him for feedback and he told me that all of my concepts and ideas were correct, but he didn't like some of the word choices I used.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures and assignments aren' structured and pretty vague. Most importantly is, as long as you come to class and participate in class, group activities, and discussion you'll do just fine. His grading is pretty easy on the writings and exams.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Ek! No technology whatsoever! But goes through slides quickly and doesn't post them either. Talks alot and sucks at keeping time. Even if he ran out of things to talk about he wouldn't let class out early so you're stuck being bored w/o tech for another 30 min sometimes. Very vague and assignments are pointless. 2 papers both take home!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ANTHRO300
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Nesper can be very hard to read at first. He comes off as sort of intimidating, but if you read the material he assigns and raise your hand in class to say something at least halfway intelligent he will really appreciate it! Go to lecture, take notes, and pay attention to what he says about different ethnographers and anthropologists.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ANTHRO448
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Thought provoking. Interactive. MUST DO THE READINGS. Go to office hours.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ANTHRAIS314
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Nesper is great! I loved his class; he was really knowledgeable and passionate about what he taught. I would love to take more courses in this vein. However, this is not a good course to take if you have no interest in the subject material. If you do the readings & come to lectures you should be able to do fine. There are few assignments.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ANTH300
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Nesper is very passionate about his teaching, but it is a bit hard to follow what it is he's trying to say. I didn't know what i was supposed to be learning until about mid semester. Very few graded items so you have to do a stellar job on all of them to get a good grade. You HAVE to go to lecture if you want to pass this class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 448
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Nesper is one of my favorite professors. He is passionate about the topic and he really cares about your understanding. I've heard a lot of people speak poorly of him and I think it's because they didn't care about the class and IT SHOWED. If you come to class and participate, you do well. Easy as that.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ANTHRO448
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Take this class! Prof Nesper assigns a lot of reading, but most of it is fascinating. It is very important that you keep up with the readings. Lectures are unconventional; most of them turn out to be discussions! This course may be more difficult for students that aren't familiar with basic anthropological theory. I really enjoyed this course!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ANTHRO448
• 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:

Anthro of Law with Nesper was a fantastic combination of legal studies and anthropology. I was enthralled with the class throughout the semester and found Nesper to be a very knowledgeable and kind professor. Although he can seem intimidating, he is very helpful and willing to discuss anything with those willing to talk with him.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: AIS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Would not recommend this class! He was very unclear about assignments and exams and turned an interesting topic into a boring one with his tideous lectures.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: AIS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I was very interested in this course (Indians of Wisconsin) and fairly knowledgeable going into the class. He did talk about a couple current issues, he mainly spoke of the WI tribes as ancient entities and lectured with a huge emphasis placed in anthropology. He barely followed the syllabus. Very disappointed in the way the course was taught.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: AMIND250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable, and really cares a lot about the subject matter. Lectures were clear and engaging, and exams and essay were quite easy. A great ethnic studies class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ANTHR104
• 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:

TESTS are very hard. Even the TAs could not really help us prepare for them. So many readings and random obscure questions on the test. I liked my TA a lot, lectures were actually very interesting IMO, I did well on the fieldwork paper and I got a B overall. But yes the in class tests are VERY hard.