Philip Jacks - George Washington University

Professor: Philip Jacks

Department: TBD

College: George Washington University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: AMST2521
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Professor Jacks does not respect you at all. One time he yelled at me in front of the class because I wanted to take a walk because I had a headache. His lectures are really hard to take notes on because of his style. It almost seemed to me he was setting us up for failure.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: AMST2520
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

One of the most self-righteous "educators" I've had the displeasure of knowing. Exams are unrealistically specific and it's hard to do well no matter how much you study. Micromanages like a middle school teacher; he locks the door a minute BEFORE class starts, and gets outwardly pissy when students leave class to use the bathroom. Avoid him!!!!!!!!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: 3146W
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He teachers for himself. Unnecessarily locks the door when class begins, micromanages all students, and shuts students down during class discussions. He is extremely passionate and knowledgable, YET, calling on students and interrupting them before they can begin to answer proposed questions only serves himself. do not take whatsoever.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: AH3131
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Jacks is the worst professor I had at GW. He does not treat the students with any level of respect and has even made inappropriate comments to some female students. His lectures are extremely difficult to follow. His tests focus on minute details and he rarely provides any form of study guides. His only good trait is his passion for art.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: AH4149
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Jacks is one of the most difficult lecturers at GW. That being said, the material you'll learn and the care with which it's taught is profound. I would highly recommend taking a seminar with him over any lecture based class-- it will be reading heavy but remarkably participatory, and will enable you to explore your own lecturing ability.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: AH1031
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Jacks is so passionate about architecture and that really shows in his lectures, but that is really his only upside as a teacher. He puts WAY too much information into lecture, expects you to remember it all, and his slide shows can be very confusing as a lot things are unlabeled and he jumps from place to place, often without explaining why.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: AH3120
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took 2 classes with Jacks and both were terrible. While he has a passion for what he teaches he crams so much information into the course, starting from day one, that it's hard to keep up. One of the only good things about him is that he's not a tough grader and he's willing to meet with you. However, his comments DO NOT HELP - at all.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: AH1032
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

There's a ton of content in his lectures, but he's so passionate it's interesting. Just take good notes and you'll be more than fine. He genuinely cares about you doing well and wants everyone to discuss in class to be better prepared for tests. He looks for ways to give points.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: AH3120
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

One of the smartest professors at GW. He is captivating. He will keep you engaged throughout his lectures. His lectures have a profound impact at how you look at art for the rest of your life. Having said that, the tests are near impossible. You have to know art and historical context. Anything talked about in class is fair game.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: AH3121
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Jacks is by no means easy, but if you're willing to put in the work and you show a genuine interest for the subject, you will do very well. He's incredibly inspiring and absolutely one of the most brilliant men you will ever meet. Don't take him expecting an easy A but do the work and you will do well. His class is truly life-changing

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: AH3121
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I was confused at first because Professor Jacks does load in a lot of primary source material (re: Italian literature from the Renaissance) and contextual details. He just wants his students to know as much as possible, but if you are not an art history major it is a tough class. Lots of reading. If you get help on papers he gives great feedback.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: AH3131
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

One of the smartest if not the smartest professor at GW. His lectures are nothing short of amazing. Having said that, the class itself is incredibly demanding almost to the degree of being a joke. He is super helpful though and is very willing to help if you have the courage to meet with him.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: AMST2520
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Jacks is one of the worst professors I have had at GW. His tests are extremely difficult and focus on specific details hardly covered in class. The lectures barely provide any information -- WAY too difficult for an intro level class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: AH1032
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Jacks is one of the smartest people I've ever met. He clearly knows his stuff. The class is quite challenging but he makes the material interesting and engaging. If you're not interested in art history, though, you will find the class quite difficult. I loved it though!!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: AH1032
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very difficult class. Professor Jacks is very knowledgeable but his expectations for the exams are more than a bit unreasonable for an introductory-level class. Lectures will commonly cover 40-50 new works each day, of which only a dozen or so are on the exam. It is thus possible to know 95% of the content but fail the exam anyway.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: AH120
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I feel that these are reviews from disgruntled students. I will say there is nothing easy about his class, there is a lot of work but Prof. Jacks' knowledge of the material he teaches is amazing. I guarantee if you can pay close attention to what he has to say you will have a deeper appreciation for the material and you will not be bored.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: AH1031
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Jacks is brilliant. Students often complain but if you go to his lectures and pay attention, you'll find the material fascinating. His lectures are a bit scattered and a ton of material is covered but take notes on everything, study in small chunks (try not to wait until the night before!) and you will get an A. It's not hard class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: AH032
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Jacks persists as a thorn in the side of any aspiring art history student. From lecturing in Italian, & making ridiculously obscure references, to his grading system which even the TA's can't figure out, he's a difficult teacher. But it's more than possible to get an A, it just means rote memorization. Despite his flaws it's an interesting class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: AH032
• 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:

Had him for intro art history. I felt like he picked on students and even after the TAs and students asked him to label slides he refused. His exams were impossible. He asks you to memorize everything about 100 artworks when only about 15 are on the exam. It is a difficult class with an awful prof! Avoid it.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: AH102
• 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:

If you miss class, theres no making it up. He doesnt teach with notes so there's no way to know what will be on the test. For a 3 credit course, the work is rediculous. It is possible to make up bad grades on tests with good papers in discussion but with 3 tests and atleast 3 papers its ALOT of work. Be ready to study more than you are in class.