Professor
Mariko Tamanoi
1 of 2
Most Helpful Review
DO NOT TAKE HER. Unfortunately I did not listen to the other reviews and decided to try taking her class. It was the first time she taught Anthro 9. She SUCKED. She was so disorganized, had a very strong accent, focused on Japan, didn't care about her students, and just rambled. Lectures were stupid and my TA was even worse. She spoke MINIMAL english. I got A-s on both the papers and a B+ on the final, somehow I got a B in the class. I have never had a teacher who needed to email the entire class about them requesting grade changes HA. I spoke with many students in her class who said they got lower grades than what they deserved. She is ridiculous and is an AWFUL teacher if you want a good grade or if you want to learn.
DO NOT TAKE HER. Unfortunately I did not listen to the other reviews and decided to try taking her class. It was the first time she taught Anthro 9. She SUCKED. She was so disorganized, had a very strong accent, focused on Japan, didn't care about her students, and just rambled. Lectures were stupid and my TA was even worse. She spoke MINIMAL english. I got A-s on both the papers and a B+ on the final, somehow I got a B in the class. I have never had a teacher who needed to email the entire class about them requesting grade changes HA. I spoke with many students in her class who said they got lower grades than what they deserved. She is ridiculous and is an AWFUL teacher if you want a good grade or if you want to learn.
AD
Most Helpful Review
All right, she's an okay teacher. I absolutely do NOT recommend her to ANYONE. Lectures are word for word her slides, the readings aren't all that interesting (and rather useless for the class as a whole), and her midterm exam was ESCRCIATING! The midterm was filled with vague "critique this passage as an anthropologist" questions... seems easy right? Imagine my surprise when my coherent, cogent, well thought out critique of Margaret Mead and was met with 7 points taken off with NO comments! OH! If you take this class do whatever you can to NOT have Camila as your TA. She is absolutely TERRIBLE! Not only was she useless (she wouldn't answer questions if we didn't participate), she also LAUGHED AT US when we DID ask questions! I would leave every discussion feeling like a child who had just been sent to time out. She was no help at all!
All right, she's an okay teacher. I absolutely do NOT recommend her to ANYONE. Lectures are word for word her slides, the readings aren't all that interesting (and rather useless for the class as a whole), and her midterm exam was ESCRCIATING! The midterm was filled with vague "critique this passage as an anthropologist" questions... seems easy right? Imagine my surprise when my coherent, cogent, well thought out critique of Margaret Mead and was met with 7 points taken off with NO comments! OH! If you take this class do whatever you can to NOT have Camila as your TA. She is absolutely TERRIBLE! Not only was she useless (she wouldn't answer questions if we didn't participate), she also LAUGHED AT US when we DID ask questions! I would leave every discussion feeling like a child who had just been sent to time out. She was no help at all!
Most Helpful Review
I don't recommend this class to anybody! The syllabus is misleading because you think you are signing up for a really interesting class but it's not. Also the way the class material is presented, you think you are learning about current situations but most of it is outdated. Professor Tamanoi is not a great lecturer. She is however the sweetest lady ever. I absolutely adore the professor but her class and T.A Misa Dayson is disappointing. This class does not teach students to think critically and to analyze, because they aren't really given the tools or practice to do that. This class does have section. I had a terrible TA experience. If Misa Dayson is one of the TA's, do NOT take her! She is horrible. She grades ridiculously and yet is never around. She went out of town during the quarter, was sick, and missed class. She is unreliable- she missed 4 sections because she missed her bus. Misa never answers her e-mail either. She also discloses on the first day of discussion that if you are unhappy with your grade, do not bug her over summer. I dismissed this comment thinking that the students that complained previously probably didn't do their work. But now I totally understand! Misa also docked me several points that did not make sense on my midterm and I had to go to the professor to have her re-grade it. The project is so easy but they grade difficult. It is ridiculous. It is your opinion on the articles yet they will grade you, on your opinion..... . During office hours, It seemed like neither Professor Tamanoi nor Misa could really explain what they wanted, and weren't really able to help me. In the end, this class is disorganized. There is a lack of unity and connection between lecture, reading, section, and the assignments/ exams. I don't recommend this class. I did not enjoy it Sadly because of the budget cuts, this class will probably remain. Maybe the professor will get the hint that she is here for her students and if she is going to set up specific expectations, address them more clearly and do not use T.A's who are hard on their students but are never around or available
I don't recommend this class to anybody! The syllabus is misleading because you think you are signing up for a really interesting class but it's not. Also the way the class material is presented, you think you are learning about current situations but most of it is outdated. Professor Tamanoi is not a great lecturer. She is however the sweetest lady ever. I absolutely adore the professor but her class and T.A Misa Dayson is disappointing. This class does not teach students to think critically and to analyze, because they aren't really given the tools or practice to do that. This class does have section. I had a terrible TA experience. If Misa Dayson is one of the TA's, do NOT take her! She is horrible. She grades ridiculously and yet is never around. She went out of town during the quarter, was sick, and missed class. She is unreliable- she missed 4 sections because she missed her bus. Misa never answers her e-mail either. She also discloses on the first day of discussion that if you are unhappy with your grade, do not bug her over summer. I dismissed this comment thinking that the students that complained previously probably didn't do their work. But now I totally understand! Misa also docked me several points that did not make sense on my midterm and I had to go to the professor to have her re-grade it. The project is so easy but they grade difficult. It is ridiculous. It is your opinion on the articles yet they will grade you, on your opinion..... . During office hours, It seemed like neither Professor Tamanoi nor Misa could really explain what they wanted, and weren't really able to help me. In the end, this class is disorganized. There is a lack of unity and connection between lecture, reading, section, and the assignments/ exams. I don't recommend this class. I did not enjoy it Sadly because of the budget cuts, this class will probably remain. Maybe the professor will get the hint that she is here for her students and if she is going to set up specific expectations, address them more clearly and do not use T.A's who are hard on their students but are never around or available
Most Helpful Review
Professor Tamanoi is fantastic! I would not recommend this course if you are not interested in gender studies though. The guys were actually very comfortable in the class it seemed, and participated when possible. Personally, from the view point of having had almost no knowledge of Japanese culture, I feel this class was a gem. If you have questions about differences in "Asian" countries this is a great place to begin. I think many people are ashamed at how ignorant they are about this region of the world, but Professor Tamanoi answered our questions with patience. Also, the tests are straight forward and she gave a study sheet, not much else you could ask for.
Professor Tamanoi is fantastic! I would not recommend this course if you are not interested in gender studies though. The guys were actually very comfortable in the class it seemed, and participated when possible. Personally, from the view point of having had almost no knowledge of Japanese culture, I feel this class was a gem. If you have questions about differences in "Asian" countries this is a great place to begin. I think many people are ashamed at how ignorant they are about this region of the world, but Professor Tamanoi answered our questions with patience. Also, the tests are straight forward and she gave a study sheet, not much else you could ask for.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Like the others say, extremely nice lady, mediocre lecturer. The readings are rather dry, but on the plus side I didnt read any of them and got an A anyway, so the grading scale is pretty easy. If you're into Japan, she does cover some interesting stuff, so I'd recommend her on the whole, but dont expect edge of your seat excitement. Oh, also she will say the phrase "And so on and so forth" literally 7-8 times per class. Just so you know.
Like the others say, extremely nice lady, mediocre lecturer. The readings are rather dry, but on the plus side I didnt read any of them and got an A anyway, so the grading scale is pretty easy. If you're into Japan, she does cover some interesting stuff, so I'd recommend her on the whole, but dont expect edge of your seat excitement. Oh, also she will say the phrase "And so on and so forth" literally 7-8 times per class. Just so you know.
Most Helpful Review
this class is AMAZING! it was a small seminar class, about 17 students, and each week the class was taught by US! the class was about college campus life and it was really fun. we talked about dorms, romance, facebook, suicide, etc. the book we had to read was interesting (about a prof who pretended to be a student lived in the dorms). since it was a small intimate setting, we all knew each other pretty well by the end and it's pretty easy if you go to class and do your projects. TAKE IT.
this class is AMAZING! it was a small seminar class, about 17 students, and each week the class was taught by US! the class was about college campus life and it was really fun. we talked about dorms, romance, facebook, suicide, etc. the book we had to read was interesting (about a prof who pretended to be a student lived in the dorms). since it was a small intimate setting, we all knew each other pretty well by the end and it's pretty easy if you go to class and do your projects. TAKE IT.
AD
1 of 2
