William Isbell - Binghamton University (SUNY)

Professor: William Isbell

Department: TBD

College: Binghamton University (SUNY)

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ANTH263
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are painfully boring. All it is is photos of his vacations and him talking over them. Clearly has a lot of knowledge, but takes a should be interesting class and makes it incredibly boring. Unless you need the credit, do not take the class. But the papers are easy, so at least there is that.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ANTH263
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Isbell is extremely knowledgable about the topics he discusses as he is one of the few professionals that worked in these areas in South America. Sometimes, his lectures can be long and are just of picture but it is an interesting course with not much work.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

this guy is so smart! I am not an anthro major and got an A. His lectures are him going through his powerpoint of personal trips in South America, he really knows what he is talking about.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ANTH263
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I absolutely loved Dr. Isbell. The class could sometimes get boring and it feels like he's going over his vacation photos, but I learned so much. The readings were interesting and Dr. Isbell is probably one of the most flexible professors I've had grading wise. Do the readings, as your essays are based almost entirely on them.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Avoid his classes if you can. His lectures are boring, not informative, and completely lack structure. I'm sure he has lots of archaeological experience, but the man is not a professor. Don't even bother going to class and just do the readings to write the papers and you'll do fine.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ANTH111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I love this guy. He's interesting and knows what he's talking about. When he veers from the book and talks from his own experience, be sure to take notes because he tests on this stuff. I am 99% sure he came to class stoned one day. That was a good class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Excellent and amusing professor. Tons and pictures,interest and information. A must if you're into archaeology. Probably boring if you don't like archaeology.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ANTH480
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Fantastic teacher. Definitely goes on tangents, but would you rather have a boring teacher? Really great working with you in and out of class. Grades on a curve and works well when you are sick and late with papers. I've taken 3 classes with him so far, and loved each one!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ANTH263
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Not too hard... must do readings to get reasonable grades on papers. Nice guy with a lot of information to share. He does go on tangents and would likely show you every photo he has ever taken if class never ended but worth the time if you are interested in the Inca.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ANTH263
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

hard grader for sure and was never at his office hours and on top of that hes sooooo boring avoid!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ANTH263
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

hard grader, never at office hours avoid!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

not an easy A by any means....

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

easy A if you do the readings..

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is a great professor, very clear mastery of the material. he engages you with interesting stories from personal experiences and digs

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ANTH380
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

CLASS: Interesting, unique, philosophical, lots of participation. TESTS: Midterm was impossible but curved, final was a gimme.OTHER: Readings tedious, papers fair, gives extra credit. PERSONALITY: Endearing, kind, funny, down 2 earth,good listener lots of field experiance. OVERALL: My favorite class of the semester and I loved this professor!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's a nice guy, just kind of like a really boring Santa Clause. This class could have been a lot more interesting, but I seriously went to 4 classes all year, just read the textbooks for my papers and got an A-. You can't really ask for anything easier.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ANTH262
• 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:

Isbell is a professor that is passionate about what he teaches. He knows a lot about the field and is definetely a well-known and well-published authority. The course is interesting and his experiences only strengthen every class. I'd take any course he teaches, although sometimes he can make it difficult to follow periods in terms of chronology.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ANTH167
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I was so bored by this class. I learned one thing the whole semester: I DO NOT WANT TO BECOME AN ARCHAEOLOGIST! He has terrible taste in course materials and movies, they were all really boring. That being said, he seems like a nice guy and tells kind of funny stories. He also doesn't notice when you fall asleep in his class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ANTH380E262
• 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:

The class on the incas is interesting and fun, but cultural evolution is boring as hell. He's very full of himself and is easily distracted. He's well read and experienced and oftentimes funny, but when he goes on long tangents it's hard to pay attention.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ANTH167
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took his class as a history major, dropped it after he changed essay deadlines after assigning them- you get one week from a Wednesday to do them, yet he collects them on Monday. He can be boring, but he knows a lot. I'd steer clear of him, just because he's confusing on assignments and grades.