This class was fine, it was pretty simple and completely based on writing assignments. I think the grade was based on two papers (each 3 pages, pretty short and easy to complete), a final (which was basically just writing essays), and discussion attendance/participation.

I personally stopped doing the readings after week 1, and I missed quite a few lectures, mainly because I found it really easy to zone out in the class, especially since Blank doesn't use any powerpoint slides, so it's easy to zone out. He's a good professor and nice guy, but it's just kind of hard to stay attentive in the morning when there aren't even slides to help. But I still got an A in the class without paying attention or doing the reading. I did put a lot of effort into discussion, though, because the TAs are really helpful. I also wrote my essays early and talked through them with my TA, which probably helped with my grade. Focus your effort more toward your essays, final exam, and working hard in discussion rather than doing the readings and making it to every lecture.

Your grade is entirely based on the essays, which are graded by the TAs. So you could honestly get through the quarter without going to a single lecture because as long as you grind on the essays and do the appropriate readings for those essays, you're good.
Blank is super knowledgable and a genuinely nice professor, but it's sometimes hard to pay attention in his lectures because there is no structure, no slides, just him lecturing the entire time. Some of the material can be interesting, but overall, it's weirdly philosophy heavy and definitely not science.

I took this class because I thought it would be interesting for someone interested in science/medicine, but was disappointed with the course content. The readings and lectures can be quite dry and I often found myself asking why I cared about the “4 humors” or what the ancient Greeks believed. This is further exacerbated by the nature of the texts (historical documents) and contemporary knowledge—you know what you are reading is false by modern standards. Some people might find these topics interesting, but don’t take this class just because it is about “medicine”.

Grading is heavily dependent on your TA. There are two 3-4 page essays and the final is 4 in-class essays (which is quite excessive IMO). I received high marks on my essays and think I will end the quarter with near 100%, but by now I am quite bored with the course. “Participation” and “attendance” in lecture are also graded (along with in discussion sections) but I don’t know how that is possible considering attendance is not taken in lecture and most of the time is spent by Professor Blank lecturing. He is a cool Professor by the way, very funny and knowledgable. I was just very bored with the course content.

For those of you that think that this class is all about greek medicine, then you might want to reconsider taking this class. When I first enroll, I thought that I was going to learn the different types of methods ancient greeks used their medicine, however, as the class went on, I found out that it was more about the philosophy behind the ancient greeks' use of medicine.

The work load is very easy and the professor gives you the option to chose which assignment you want to work on. So it gives you the option to manage your time better. Professor Blank is so nice that he even reads your drafts for you and makes them better! He grades very fairly and never cease to amaze me with his profound knowledge about everythin (especially this one time when he mentioned the physics of music/sound frequency)! As a freshmen, this was the first upperdiv. class that i've taken and well worth it.

After reading the many comments left by others here, I was hesitant about taking a class with Professor Blank - but I'm glad that I did in the end. He's an extremely knowledgeable professor who's enthusiastic about the topic and down-to-earth. He makes jokes occassionally and if you answer a question, he does sometimes put you on the spot but I think it's to help further address the question at hand. Our class was based 90% on 3 essays (although you could choose to write another one to drop a previous graded essay) and 10% on participation. The class size is about 40 people, so for me it seemed to run like a small discussion. I'm totally not a philosophy person, I've never taken a philosophy class before either, so some of the topics got confusing, but for the most part I really liked learning about how the early Greeks developed the art of medicine. Attend all lectures if possible (although I realize most people found that it wasn't necessary to do so) because he does bring up previously discussed writings and compare and contrasts them. He is not an easy grader, but I think he's fair and if you answer the question and provide clear explanations and examples, you'll do fine. =)

Dr. Blank is a really cool guy. For Classics 148, your grade is based on 3 short papers (you DO four and drop the lowest one). There was no final. The papers were kind of hard, though. If you go to class and do the reading you should do okay--you can also go to his office hours, which really help. As with anything, you have to put some effort into your grade. He has a very dry sense of humor..very witty! =) The one day I missed class, I heard he was hilarious...I was kind of bummed. He seems very proper, so to hear that he was using slang was really funny. I can SO see him driving a Jaguar and sipping a Martini on weekends at his friends mansion in the hills. ;) You'll know what I mean if you take his class. At first, I was really intimidated by him, but he is actually very friendly once you get to know him. I really enjoyed the class and got a B+.