Roy Richard Grinker - George Washington University

Professor: Roy Richard Grinker

Department: TBD

College: George Washington University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I absolutely loved this class. It gave me a new lens on why society does what it does, and the medical/psychological topics, such as mental illness, were also very interesting and relevant to me. Readings can be dense but are interesting, as are the documentaries. Grinker is engaging and intelligent. Highly enjoyed discussion sections as well.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Easily one of the best lecturers at GW and always made the content interesting. He can be a bit pompous but he is pretty funny. I wouldnt recommend this class if you dont like long reading assignments. Your TA does all the grading so it is a very easy class

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ANTH3504
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Grinker is an amazing professor. If he ever teaches a medical anthro class (or similar class) again, take it! His lectures are fascinating (although occasionally disorganized) and his passion about medical/psychological anthropology is inspiring. He is also a fair grader and checks in with students periodically about assignments.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ANTH3503
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Grinker gives interesting lectures that can at times stray off topic into lots of side discussions. He isn't the most organized in his style and doesn't give lots of feedback, but a quirky guy worth taking a class with

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Class is an easy A. Lots of reading. Hes a great lecturer, but really pompous and unaccommodating. Avoid all direct contact and you should be fine.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

take this class! you won't regret it! the lectures are very engaging. your TA does all of the grading. easy A

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Although the lectures are interesting, they have little to do with the exams. You can skip every class and do well as long as you stay on top of the readings which tend to be long and complicated. Other Sociocultural Anthropology professors usually have multiple choice exams whereas you will be required to write in class papers in this section.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lecture's kind of related to the exams but main content of the test was based on the readings he assigned, most of which were on Blackboard. Lectures are anecdotal but not really helpful. Midterm and final were a list of ID terms to memorize and he chose 3 to put on test. Your grade depends on the TA you get cause they grade everything.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Grinker is an OK Professor. For an introductory course into sociocultural anthropology, I feel that it was too in depth. I didn't really learn about anthro as a field or the history behind its development, just a lot of terms from 50 page readings you have to do every night. You can choose to either read or go to his lectures, it's the same.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Grinker is a good and engaging lecturer, he has very interesting opinions on certain subjects in Anthropology and some info goes way over my head, its very technical info. Grinker expects a lot from you and there are many readings. But there are a few grades which is nice because TAs are nice about them. READ THE READINGS-you will need it!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1001
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

As everyone else says: having a great TA matters. I had Kaitlyn and she was absolutely lovely, accessible, and helpful. Grinker's lectures are more or less optional. They're very interesting and engaging, but not necessarily helpful for the exam. Didn't go for the second half of the term. Lots of reading, but the exam is not too difficult.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

An overall great lecturer, I loved his study of Autism. But that being said, this class is all about what TA you have and how good they are at both teaching/grading style. My TA (Robert) was awesome but he was a tough grader. The subject material for this course was very very interesting though and I felt like I learned a lot.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Whenever I was in Professor Grinker's class I never wanted to leave. Time moves so fast in that class because of how interesting Grinker is as a man not only a professor. He mentions his African study a lot, which I thought was very interesting. I thought that showing up for lecture was very important, even though there is discussion.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Grinker's lectures can be exceptional given his visible passion for Anthro, however, it has very little to do with what we are tested on. The midterm and final are as close to "cram and throw up" as I could possibly imagine - literally memorize thirty definitions, relate them to the inordinately long and boring readings, and hope for the best.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Grinker is an amazing lecturer, but make no mistake, he grades nothing. The graduate TAs do all of the grading and help you understand the material in the discussion. This year he started putting lecture material on the midterm and final, but you could still get away with not coming to a single lecture as long as you read the (IMO boring) readings.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I went to the lectures until the midterm when I learned he doesn't put anything from the lec. on the exams. Discussion was really important because we went over the readings which where the entirety of the midterm and final (so take notes). Drinker is a really smart and funny guy, knows a lot about his field, but you learn most outside of class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Overall an easy class. The lectures were interesting, but you definitely didnt need to be there to get a good grade in the class. Getting a good TA is literally everything, since they grade everything and go over the readings. I had Marine and liked her a lot.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ANTH1002
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I did not find Prof Grinker to be an amazing lecturer. I learned more in my discussion and by going to see my TA, which is what matters since they are the ones that grade everything. Just pray that you get a good TA. I found Grinker to be very annoying in lecture, and he seemed very conceited. Made us buy his book when we didn't even need it.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ANTH002
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

liked Grinker, but most of his lectures were useless to the exams. You can get high grade without going to a single lecture. Make sure to get a TA you like, I had Robert, he was great. Grinker does have great stories and lectures if you are interested in the topic. If taking only to fulfill a requirement, do the assignments work on study guides.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ANTH002
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The teacher is okay, his lectures are pretty interesting, but the most important is to have a good TA ! Very interesting class and pretty easy