Daniel F. Melia - University of California Berkeley

Professor: Daniel F. Melia

Department: TBD

College: University of California Berkeley

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: RHET24
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Easiest seminar ever. You show up and pass, and just post one thing on a Facebook group each week. He spends most of the class chatting about life or playing Judge Judy. Really fun! And you can take it for a 1 unit letter grade.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CELTIC70
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Decent professor, but the amount of readings assigned was ridiculous compared to what he tested and mentioned in class, especially when considering a lot of the stuff tested came from his lectures instead. Can be picky when grading.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: RHET20
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Professor Melia is really funny. I'm in his freshman seminar and he always has interesting stories and anecdotes. He described grading as "show up and get an A."

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: RHET24
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you can learn not to take what he says personally then you will find that he has some really interesting things to say. While some of these may be very off-topic and he's really rather pompous, lectures are always funny and interesting. Then again, I'm taking a freshman seminar with no tests. In my experience, though, being in his class was fun.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: RHETRHET
• 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:

Jeez, what a bunch of whiners. I know this guy. He is Smarter than you. These comments sound as if most of the students are in some sort of vocational school. Prof. Melia is easy if you're not a fuzzy thinker. Get a clue

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: RHET20
• 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:

I respect Melia's teaching style. This was the most challenging class I have ever taken. No easy A here. It was refreshing to earn the grade I received- even though I was disappointed to get a B. Melia is funny, lectures were rarely boring. and My gsi, (Jarcho) was also challenging but appreciated.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: RHET20
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I ignored these comments and took his class anyway. He gives little guidance on assignments, asks for silly plot details on quizzes (make sure we've read book, NOT about rhetoric), rants a lot. My GSI wasn't exactly pushing us into becoming rhetoric majors either. Some interesting points in lecture, but generally felt like a waste of time.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: RHET20
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I liked his quirky opinions and I do believe his paper guidelines helped me become a better writer (I will never start a sentence with "however" again!). I have to say though, the lectures were less than stimulating and I'm glad I had such a good GSI. I didn't even bother with lectures after a while, you leave with mere tidbits of information.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: RHET20
• 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:

One of the most pretentious men I have ever encountered. Comments made during lecture (or, rather, during his rants) can sometimes be entertaining, but that does not make up for his general lack of guidance and tendency to scare students away from really caring for the material.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: RHETO20
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

It's lucky that I took another rhetoric class this semester, or I would have been turned off the subject completely. He is completely pretentious, self-centered and uninteresting. He gives almost zero guidance in terms of the actual subject matter we're expected to be responsible for. I really don't understand how he teaches at Cal.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: RHET20
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

AVOID!! I had a horrible experience, I would never take another class with him. He does not care about students and doesn't teach anything; just rants about what students should get from texts. He adds no material of his own. He scared away multiple underclassmen thinking about a Rhetoric major. GSI "I can't believe that guy is allowed to teach"

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: RHET105A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Melia is just what you'd expect from UCB--highly intelligent, challenging, and a little quirky. It may seem like he goes off on tangents, but in my experience his stories always applied to what we were talking about and, in fact, made the material more enjoyable. I would take another class with him.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: RHET24
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tended to go off on massive tangents, sometimes spending 50minutes on one of his "rants". Homeworks were ok, but hard to stay attentive in class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: RHET103A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Bad attitude, lectures are just a Cliff Notes analysis of the assigned readings, his favorite thing to do is tell his students how inadequate they are and then give them no feedback (not very constructive...)

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: RHET119
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Avoid. The subject of his quizzes didn't reflect what we were supposed to be learning. He constantly questioned on obscure and trivial information from large portions of reading, which weren't relevant or helpful to know. His lectures involve long, unhelpful tangents. He's cynical and dismissive and can be cruel, though nicer during office hours.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: RHET103A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The short answer is to avoid his class if possible. I am a rhetoric major and did learn from him but it was a horrendous experience on to many levels to cover. His reputation is well deserved. He told us to shoot ourselves if we got a particular question wrong. (Usually he recommends hanging). Its baffling he is allowed to interact with students.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: RHET103A
• 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:

Despite what many people will tell you, Professor Melia is a great professor who loves his job and his students. If you don't like his style, see him in his office hours. You will find that he is extremely approachable and a genuinely good guy. I feel like I learned so much from his class!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: RH103A
• 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:

You are assigned many readings, & he can ask whatever he wants from them on the test. I dont understand why everyone thinks he is smart. I actually think he is pretty dumb. he always asks people to define things during class and he says 'wrong' to about six of the definitions, thinking that his definition is 'objectively correct' in some way.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: RHET103A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Melia's lectures are irrelevant sermons from a disgruntled quiz-master. He is snide, sarcastic, and above all unpleasant?offering no interpretive generosity or depth to the ancient texts covered. Simplistic and silly man. Avoid at all costs, oh wait it's a required class!!! Your best bet is to take it in summertime.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: RHET103A
• 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:

This guy is helpful, fair, and doesn't give bad lectures, but he is also a huge butthead. He likes to shoot down students in lecture if they don't have the right answer (because, you know, there are so many "right answers" in rhetoric). Generally treats students as products of a failed education system.