D Davis - University of North Carolina at Asheville

Professor: D Davis

Department: TBD

College: University of North Carolina at Asheville

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHIL352
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

AMAZING material. Don't take if you're not super into conceptualizing ideas because you have to present original theses on very difficult readings and he wont tell you the "right" way to interpret things. He doesn't give easy As but the classes are laidback, he is pretty charming and nice, and no homework.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Davis is very knowledgeable about what hes teaching, but HE expects you to synthesize the information and if you dont understand it, clarity will be hard for him to give you. 12 page mid term, 10 page research paper and heavy final. Lots of reading, egotistical, tangent prone. Dont do it. UNCA makes you take HUM324, choose someone else.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHIL320
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Davis is by far one of the best professors with whom I have ever taken a class. If you have an interest in continental philosophy he is definitely your guy. He makes you work, and you have to read a lot, but it's worth it for the knowledge and experience you get from his classes. If you care, and really show up, you will do fabulously.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Exams were 9 to 12 page essays, final was 12 to 16 page essay, plus a 10 page term paper and other misc writings. Over 70 pages of writing all in all for this one class. He also is far more interested in indoctrinating you into communism than teaching (and that is not a criticism, he defines himself as "left of Leon Trotsky".

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHIL320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Davis is the kind of professor who expects a lot from his students. He wants them to succeed and he knows that in philosophy that means doing the work of reading and writing. You can't BS your way through his class, so if you aren't serious about the subject matter you might be better off elsewhere. If you are serious then he's a gold mine.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHIL100
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

If you hate reading old books don't take this class. He lectures the whole time no matter how long the class is and will call you out if you're on your phone. Super boring and if you succeed in paying attention he's really confusing and egotistical sometimes which gets annoying.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHIL200
• 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:

Don't let ratings deceive you. Davis is the MAN if you want to be serious about philosophy. His modern philosophy class was one of the hardest class I'd ever taken but boy was it worth it! Readings are intense and long but if you can power through them (speed read if you have to) then you're golden. He'll help you make sense of it all during class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Davis is definitely an interesting man. He reads a TON and will expect you to do the same. He gives essays instead of tests and they are very heavily based on the text. The reading in humanities is very dry, but Davis made it more interesting in the discussions. Show up, pay attention, PARTICIPATE, and you'll do fine.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He doesn't learn names and if you don't talk, he won't know who you are. For Humanities, I would NOT recommend him. He talks a lot about his personal life and is very knowledgeable, but very boring and loves to just talk to students. He is big on participation, but makes a fuzzy subject and makes it harder. Tests require a lot of studying.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Davis wants to make sure you jump through hoops so he can prove humanities is a "real" course. He assigns an asinine amount of reading and essays but does not go into anything in depth. This section will be the bane of your existence. AVOID AT ALL COST!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• 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:

Dr. Davis has a vast amount of knowledge, but he goes off on tangents a lot. The reading is massive along with the take home exams and projects. It is a lot of work especially since he spends only about 1 Day on each text. Too much reading, just not enough time. He is a really interesting guy though with a lot of experience.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He tells a lot stories about his life and teaches more philosophy than needed in a humanities course. He assigns readings and they're needed for his take home exams but he rarely went over them in class. He rambles a lot so get ready for some stories. An interesting guy and a fun class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HUM324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is an interesting character, but he assigns TOO MANY readings that aren't following with the other humanities classes.We haven't used all the books we had to buy.I would take it over the summer if I could have. He assigns group projects, take home tests are an average of 10-12pgs, plus a 10pg research essay, and all the readings. Hard to keep up

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Word to the wise: out of my seven professors, he was the only one to push students to a thorough and deep immersion in the subject. If you truly enjoy reading philosophy, TAKE HIM! Having to bear his teaching style is worth it - little elsewhere will you get such an opportunity.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHIL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I can't say he's a good teacher, but he's really not that hard. Most people I know who were in his classes got B's. He just doesn't many A's, you have to do all the readings and be on top of things..

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHIL352
• 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:

An excellent professor pending: that you are not lazy and you do your work, that you ask for help, that you actually show up to class, and that you do more than read a wiki entry about your subject matter.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHI300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hardest prof in UNCA by far but not for good reasons.Does not help students, does not explain the complicated ideas you are expected to learn from reading straight from hundreds of pages of philosophical works, you might as well be teaching yourself.Not worth the time or the effort.He seems to revel in students' failures which I find contemptible.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHI300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Too hard for how useless working that hard becomes. The pay off for working as hard as you do for this professor is minimum (and that's optimistic). The kamikaze of classes, except far more painful.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHILO300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was an amazingly difficult class. On the first day he announces how difficult the class will be and from that point on is unclear concerning everything else. You will learn a lot, but primarily as a result of self-teaching rendering class time a waste of time!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHI200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His classes are VERY difficult and VERY reading intensive, to the point of being overwhelming. I feel as though I could have been handed the syllabus and be better off teaching myself, because he did nothing to help with teaching the class. He is vague in the assignments he does give-I went to him multiple times and he gave minimal direction.